Minnie was gone, but I was still here.
I was still alive.
I could still try to write again.
I could still play my guitar.
And I could still sing.
Halle was right.I couldn’t give up.
I had Roger and now I’d found another amazing person who believed in me.
I was gonna try again.
And this time, I’d make it happen.
38
JAKE
I kissed Halle on the cheek, then crept out of the bedroom door.It was only early evening, but after getting back from Venice Beach about an hour ago, Halle said she wanted to take a nap before dinner and she was sleeping so soundly that I didn’t want to disturb her.
Although I offered to lie beside her, I couldn’t sleep.Ever since our conversation about Minnie, my mind had been racing.So instead of tossing and turning beside Halle, I decided to get up and go for a walk on the beach.
After finding a piece of paper and a pen, I scribbled a note to let Halle know where I’d be so that if she wanted to join me later, she could.
Before I went for a walk, I needed to find Sammie.She wasn’t in her office and when I checked with reception, they said she wasn’t at the hotel, but suggested I message her so she could pick it up later.
There was something I needed her help with that was related to Halle, so I quickly fired off a text before heading down to the beach.
I took off my sliders and as my feet sank into the soft sand, my shoulders loosened.The beach was pretty empty, which was perfect.
I looked out to sea and listened to the sound of the gentle waves lapping at the shore.I didn’t want to leave this place.
My thoughts turned back to the last few days, which had been awesome.Wilma was finally off my back (Halle posted another photo of us today that Sammie had taken of us on the beach with our backs to the camera which definitely helped).And opening up to Halle about my situation (well, most of it) was a weight off my mind.
I was starting to realise that there was a strange kind of freedom that came with hitting rock bottom, because there was nowhere else to go.I was basically homeless and jobless.My sister was gone.I didn’t speak to my parents any more.I’d already lost everything, so how much worse could things get?
Despite all that’d happened to me, I could still sing.I could still play guitar.That would never change.And I had to believe that my ability to write songs would come back soon too.
Minnie would hate that I’d stopped writing.And she would’ve been just as excited as Roger was to hear that I was enjoying spending time with a good woman.She would’ve loved Halle.
Who could blame her?
Halle was a breath of fresh air.She was like a bright light in a dark room.Like sunshine on a cloudy day.A rainbow after the rain.
I paused, reached in my pocket for my cell phone and quickly opened my Notes app.
A flash of something raced through me and I smiled.
It felt like…hope.
I sat down on the sand with my cell resting on my knees and started typing.
With Halle firmly fixed in my thoughts, I started writing down how she made me feel.How somehow, things with her hit different.
I flicked to my voice memos app, pressed record and sang a melody.
