Chapter 37
This time when Clare stepped off the bus near the Poddle Neurological Institute, she was met by a classroom of children on a field trip, each boy and girl holding a green balloon.
They pointed at her and jumped up and down, chanting, “Clare the fairy, Clare thefairy.”
At the same time, they let go of their balloons and clapped as the green bobbing pieces of inflated rubber jostled their way into the blue sky above.
She waved at the children, not sure why they greeted her, and that’s when she noticed a row of large format video cameras hovering on the opposite side of the bus stop. The children surged forward and tweeted, "Tsee-hee-he-hee.Tee-hee-he-hee.” They flitted around, flapping their arms like little birds, and their teachers clapped to encourage them.
As she walked from the bus stop to the sidewalk, the children swarmed her, surrounding her, and they started sticking Post-It notes on her clothes.
“Tsee-hee, hee-tee-hee, tsee-see-hee,” they chirped and then followed their teacher down the street.
Thecameras zoomed in on Clare as she thanked the children for their blessings, because she had to assume they were blessing her the way the blue tit bird carried prayers from their beaks to God’s ear.
She picked a note from her blouse and read it. “You.”
Another note said, “Me.”
There was a question mark.
She was sure this was either a well-played prank or a publicitystunt for social media, but she couldn’t spot the culprit ready to jump out at her.
Another word was “Will.”
A Post-It fell to the ground, and she almost stepped on it. Her jaw dropped when she read the word, “Marry.”
Again, she looked around, aware of all the eyes on her and people making their own videos.
Could Griffin be around the corner? Or was this the doing ofone of her fans—some of whom were male?
“You have some notes on your back,” a woman pointed out. “Do you want me to get them?”
“Sure, of course.” She stopped and let the woman hand her the notes.
There were seven letters.R, N,twoF’s, twoI’s and aG.
Her heart flooded with emotion, and tears leaked from her eyes. She walked faster toward the Poddle Neurological Institute.He must have read her novel in its entirety. Her ending scene had been played out. Children in the park, balloons, and letters, except he’d added a twist she hadn’t foreseen.
Instead of life-giving surgery, her story had ended too bitter to be sweet. Love found, tasted, acknowledged, and then lost to a final fit of forgetfulness, followed by acceptance that it was better to be fully lovedin an instant in time than to have never known real love in an eternity of pretend.
Was her real-life story going to end differently?
Could reality truly eclipse fiction?
She found her Griffin standing on the steps of the Poddle Neurological Institute in front of their bright-yellow doors. In one hand, he held the pages of her manuscript, and in his other hand, he dangleda large cut and faceted purplish-red diamond. It was quite a bit smaller than an egg, but it sparkled and shined like a million bright lights—no longer a diamond in the rough.
“Griffin, you remembered everything,” she exclaimed. “I read your memoirs like I was reading your heart.”
Tears welled in her eyes, a follow-on to all the ones she’d already shed while reading day and night.
He got down on his knees and opened his arms. “Come to me, dear Clare. I have a critique of your novel. I loved every bit of it except for the ending. Please forgive me, as I’ve taken the liberty to improve it.”
She stepped into his embrace and got down on her knees, facing him. “My story is yours to finish.”
“Nay, our story will never finish.” He looped the diamond pendantaround her neck. “It’s too big to fit on a ring, but will you, Clare Hart, marry me, Griffin Gallagher? Will you share your life with me and let us be witnesses and participants in our conjoined life?”
“Oh, Griffin.” She threw her arms around him. “I will. I truly will love you and stand by your side. No matter what happens and whether you’ll remember me or not. I’ll always know your voiceand feel your emotions, and I’ll know you love me.”
“You will always know I love you, and I’ll hold you to remembering, I’m going to get the surgery, and I’m not going to forget a single moment with you.”
“Then let our moments start right now.” She kissed him and her heart fluttered with the applause of the crowd witnessing their special and unique moment in time.
