Anna’s shoulder muscles tensed. “Do you have any neighbors in your building who can help you?”
He approached her, following the sound of her voice. “I’ll be fine. I don’t want you to worry about me.”
But I will.
A train whistle blew in the distance.
Anna’s breath stalled in her lungs. She kneeled and looked into Nia’s eyes. “I’m so proud of you. You’ve come such a long way, my sweet girl. You have a special job to do, and I know you’ll take wonderful care of Max.” She blinked back tears. “I’ll think of you every day. We’ll see each other again—I promise.”
Nia nuzzled into Anna.
Anna kissed Nia on the crown of her head, and then stood facing Max. “I’ll write you.”
“I’ll find someone to read the letters to me,” he said. “And I’ll have them write you back for me.”
The whistle blew, closer and louder. Anna’s pulse rate quickened.
“I guess this is it.” Max leaned in and hugged her.
She squeezed him. Her heart battered her ribs, like a bird attempting to free itself from a cage.
He released her and picked up his case.
A decision boiled in her gut.Do I say something now, or do I tell him in a letter?Before she changed her mind, she stepped forward and said, “Wait.”
Max stopped.
“Please don’t go.”
Sadness filled his face.
“It’s not too late to change your mind,” she said. “Stay here—with me.”
“I can’t.”
She approached him and placed a hand to his chest. “I know you want to live on your own but—”
The train rolled into the station and screeched to a stop.
“I must go,” he said.
“But—” Her body trembled. “What I’m trying to say is that I—”
Carriage doors opened and passengers began to climb on board.
Max, as if he sensed her turmoil, placed down his case and clasped her arm. “Everything will be all right.”
“No, it won’t,” she said.
His jaw quivered.
Tears welled up in her eyes. She squeezed the lapel of his coat, attempting to gather her nerve. “I’m afraid of letting you leave and never feeling—for the rest of my life—the way I feel when we’re together.”
“Oh, Anna,” he breathed.
“I know you might think it’s far too soon for me to say such a thing, but I began having feelings for you the moment you arrived.” She leaned into him. “And I think that you might be fond of me, too.”
He ran his hand up her arm and gently touched her face. “You deserve the best, and I want to give that to you. That’s why I must go.”
