“Sure do.” He gave a soft chuckle.
“I’m sure Rose felt like that.”
“That she did.”
“I want to fight for that feeling, but I am”—my lips trembled and I ran a hand over them—“so scared to get my heart broken again. I was…in a really bad place for a long time after I lost Jack. I don’t know if I can do it again.”
Richard grunted and shook his head with a small laugh.
“What was that for?”
“You’re talking about a broken heart like you can avoid it.”
“Can’t I?”
“No, I don’t reckon you can. Seems like you’re pretty tangled. Will moving out and signing divorce papers really make you feel better?”
It should’ve been a simple question. But I stared blankly at Richard as a humming bird flew past our heads. I watched as the little guy hovered over the red feeder a few feet away. “I—I think it’s safer that way.”
“I don’t. Tearing you two apart’s gonna hurt no matter which way you slice it. A pick your poison situation.”
My voice froze. Pick my poison?
“You staked it all at the very beginning. You’re no fool though. You knew what you were doing.”
“I don’t understand.”
He shot me a droll look. “You’re afraid you’ll break your heart, Jack’s heart, and your son’s heart if you try again and fail. But that’s happening already.”
My mouth opened, but I couldn’t say anything.
“Look at you. You’re all tore up. You’re in love with him and trying to prevent the inevitable.”
A choking sound came from me as I wrestled my emotions down. “I do love him. But love isn’t enough to save a marriage.”
A few deep creases in his forehead appeared as he frowned, taken aback. “It isn’t?”
“No, Jack and I have always loved each other. But, at the end of the day, it’s not enough. We need something we don’t have. Something we weren’t able to give each other.”
He shook his head, resolute in his conclusion. “No ma’am. That’s where you’re wrong.”
“I don’t understand.”
He pointed to my garden. “Look out there.”
I fought the eye roll, knowing a parable was coming.
“Those plants are at the brink of harvesting time, ain’t they?”
I nodded.
“It’d be a real shame if you plucked ’em out.”
I hesitated. “Yes. It would.”
“They’ve survived the most vulnerable, tender phases and lived to tell the tale. The harvest is gonna be just fine. It’d be downright silly if you pulled them up today and threw them in the weed pile because you thought they were useless. They’re alive and well. What they need is maturity.”
“Richard, just tell me what you mean.”
