I nod, allowing her to take my hands into hers.
“I would never be upset at you or anyone else who’s lost what you have and is terrified of giving your heart to someone else. Love is a beautiful gift, but man, it makes us open and vulnerable to so much hurt.
“Travis’ father had to convince me to take a chance on him.”
“What made you?”
She snorts. “The man is relentless. I didn’t trust athletes, and he was at the top of his athletic career. But his actions spoke louder than any words could have. He was protective, attentive, and a major pain in my ass.”
I actually laugh.
“No, seriously. He showed me in small and big ways that he would protect my heart.”
“And he has?” I ask, knowing but still needing to hear the answer.
“Every day since the day he slid this ring on my left finger.” She holds up her hand with the sparkling wedding band.
My chest tightens, my mind filling with all of the ways Travis has protected me over the past months. Somewhere along the line, he’s become the place where I feel the safest.
Yet, now my heart hurts every time I think of him, how he could withhold information from me.
“You don’t have to think about forgiving him now, or honestly, ever,” assures Mrs. Townsend, surprising me. “He hurt you by not giving you the full truth. Take your time. If he’s the person I believe I raised, he’ll be standing there, ready to make whatever amends he needs to, to win you back, if you want to go back.”
Her words fill my heart in a way that I didn’t know I needed. Without thinking, I lean in and pull her into a hug.
I hear her shocked gasp and think I’ve maybe gone too far. But when I start to pull back, she hugs me tighter, comforting me in a way only a mother knows how. My heart aches, longing for my own mother but appreciating Mrs. Townsend.
The second we separate, my phone buzzes from a text message
Travis:I’m so sorry I lied to you and I’ll spend a lifetime making it up to you.
Today I’m grateful for:
A love for you that I didn’t know was possible.
The little hitch in your laugh when you’re watching something hilarious.
The way your entire body glows whenever you wear the color yellow.
All of the nights we spent together in bed talking for hours.
