33. Marissa
THIRTY-THREE
MARISSA
As I close up shop on another successful day for Enchanted Chapters, I glance up at the streetlight next to the door. Parked to the left is a Willow County Sheriff's SUV. It's been sitting there for the better part of the afternoon.
I've been waiting for Cain to come in, but he hasn't.
I recognize this for what it is. It's the impasse we've been dancing around for the past few months. He's better. Enchanted Chapters is doing the best it ever has, and we're happier than we've been in years.
It's time for me to make my decision.
As I turn to the SUV, snowflakes start falling, as if we're in some sort of Hallmark movie. I gaze over at him, waving my hand for him to come over. He gets out of the SUV, and damn. I always forget how hot he is in uniform until I see him again. He's got the swagger, and he wears the authority like some sort of shield.
"I was wondering when you were going to acknowledge me being here," he says as he slow-rolls his way over to me. He's got his hands tucked into his jacket, a beanie on top of his head, protecting it from the elements.
"You know you could've come inside." I point out. "Ask whatever question it was you had."
He unzips his jacket and reaches in. He pulls out a manilla envelope. Our divorce papers. "Did you want to file this? Because I intercepted it at the courthouse today. The post mark on it was way before I got hurt. It looks like it got lost."
My throat tightens as I see for sure it's what I thought it was. "I sent it a long time ago." I reach out to take it. "Not long after I sent it, I messaged my attorney to request that it not be filed. I had no idea it was still floating around out there."
"Then I guess we have a decision to make, Ris. Actually, you have one. What do you want to do with this?"
Reaching forward, I grab the envelope. Looking at it, I think back to the person I was when I signed the papers. The woman who was screaming into the void for her husband to recognize that she needed something from him, he hadn't been giving her.
I've changed so much. Cain and I have come so far. The snow is coming down faster as I glance up at him. "I love you," I whisper, tears popping into my eyes. "I love you so much." I cry, my chin trembling, the tears falling.
"Tell me the words, Ris. I need them."
"I love you with everything I have in me. I don't want to spend another night without you. I'm not sorry I left..."
He makes a noise, rocking back on his heels. "I'm not either. You had the guts to make a change. One we desperately needed. It hurt like hell when I came home and you weren't there, but I see it, for it was now. It was a cry for help. If you hadn't done it, we'd definitely be filing those papers. We weren't happy."
The tears keep coming. "No, we weren't."
"But we are now." He opens his arms, and I step into them.
"We are now." He says the words right along with me. "I love you, Ris. I'm going to spend the rest of my life loving you. No questions asked. Nothing will ever make me stop."
I hug him tightly, vowing that I'm never going to let go. "Thanks for giving me my own happily ever after, Cain."
He tilts his head to the side, his lips searching. "And you gave me mine..."