Samira took several moments to pull herself together. She had already taken some time to feel sorry for herself. It was time to be strong and plan her next moves. After a few more unsteady breaths, she began to regain control over her emotions.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Mary. I thought I had myself together. I’m okay.”
“What’s bothering you? It’s not good for you to hold everything in,” Mary said with a soothing voice.
“It’s just happening all over again. I feel like I’ve gone back in time to relive one of the hardest things of my life.”
“What is, dear? What’s happening all over again?” Mary asked.
“The breakup. It’s just how it happened before. I can’t believe it,” Samira answered, doing her best to keep from breaking down again.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning? I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on,” Mary suggested.
Samira hesitated. She had to figure out how to explain what happened without going into detail about the things that happened leading up to it. It was important that her aunt know exactly what happened, but the thought of sharing those details with her sent Samira’s heart into overdrive.
“Well, I stayed the night at Andy’s after the party. The next day Elizabeth showed up, and while I was getting ready to leave, I overheard them talking. I can’t believe you can be her friend. She’s the most closed-minded person I’ve ever met.”
“What makes you say that?” Mary pushed.
Samira tried to explain the shock and anger on Elizabeth’s face when she walked into Andy’s house unannounced. Her reaction wasn’t the typical reaction of someone who accidentally walked in on something. She had been angry. Samira could understand embarrassment or surprise, but why be angry when they were all adults? And then she overheard the conversation that made everything clear.
“Well, honey, I can’t tell you what to do. All I can tell you is that even though you might marry into a family, your relationship is only with one person. I know you aren’t there yet, but it’s true for dating, too. Maybe you should talk to Andy. You didn’t hear him say anything negative or agree with his mom. Maybe you should just talk to him,” Mary suggested.
“There’s just so much going on. I got to work and tried to forget everything, and even though I was swamped because Andrea took another week off, all I could do was think about Andy. What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing is wrong with you. But I think you might be in love,” Mary said gently.
Hot tears once again stung her eyes before slowly streaming down her face. She knew she was in love, even if she hadn’t been ready to admit it. She wanted to keep pretending that she was just spending some time with Andy while she waited to put the house on the market. She knew better. Most days he was the first thing on her mind when she woke up and the last thing she thought about before going to bed.
“I wasn’t there for you the way I should have been the first time your heart was broken, but I’ll be here for you this time if you’ll let me,” Mary said as she moved to sit closer to her on the sofa.
Samira leaned closer and rested her head on her aunt’s shoulder. Having her aunt by her side took away some of the loneliness. Whatever happened, she would be okay, and she didn’t have to struggle alone the way she had before. Before she even lost her parents, the hardest part of the breakup was having to deal with everything on her own.
“Thank you, Aunt Mary.”
“Of course. Unlike the last time, he isn’t the only thing going on in your life. You have a career that you love, a house that you own and can decide what to do with, and an amazing aunt.”
To her surprise, Samira found herself laughing. Her aunt was right. There were other things in her life. She was an adult with a job, an apartment, a house, and family. She could make it through whatever life threw her way. It was also her decision if she wanted to figure things out with Andy or walk away. Her decision. No one else’s.
She sat up to get a better look at her aunt who was watching her with kind eyes. The woman had buried the only man she ever loved and, for the first time since she was a teenager, had to figure out how to live her life alone. Her life had been turnedupside down. And after all of that, she managed to be concerned about Samira and her happiness. Her breakup, which was trivial in comparison, was at the top of her list of priorities simply because it was important to Samira.
“I love you. You’re right. This is not the end of the world. I need to stop acting like it is,” Samira said before standing to leave.
“I didn’t say that,” Mary objected.
“I know. But you’re right about me being able to do whatever I want to do about it. That makes it not the end of the world. It’s been a week. At this point I’m not being fair to Andy by ignoring him. And I’m not being fair to myself by trying to make an immediate decision,” Samira explained. “Thank you. Are we still on for Sunday dinner tomorrow?”
“Of course. I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
Samira kissed her aunt on the cheek before walking out the door. The cold autumn air usually made Samira think of winter and dying plants and mud and cold. Winter was Samira’s least favorite season. But, as she took a deep breath of the cold salty air, hints of hope lingered in the background. Promises of new things to come.
Chapter 12
Andy tossed another log into the wood stove. He couldn’t seem to get ahead of the chill from the night air. Covering up with the blanket from the back of the couch only made him think of Samira. When he closed his eyes, her scent still danced through the air.
After stoking the fire, he returned to the sofa and opened his book. He had been staring at the same page all evening. His mind began to wander after a few lines no matter how hard he tried to concentrate. History seemed to be repeating itself, and he didn’t understand why. They were adults who lived on their own and could make their own decisions. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t understand any reaction beyond embarrassment on Samira’s part.
