“Of course, you do,” Debbie said. “It’s written all over your face. You need to get that woman back, Ben. Don’t stop until you do.”
Those were my sentiments exactly.
The question was, how exactly was I going to do that?
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Next Day . . .
LORI
The one thing I could always count on when I was feeling blue was my grandma Joyce. She always knew what to say and how to make me feel a little better, even if it was just temporary.
She had a rather simple yet effective solution for just about every problem under the sun.
Pancakes and bacon.
Grandma Joyce had gotten my multiple sobbing messages and texts late last night after she had returned from the meditation retreat with Wayne. She immediately replied with a text, inviting me over for breakfast this morning.
My emotions were all over the place: hurt, anger, sadness, regret.
I wiped my eyes again and sat down at the table on the other side of Grandma Joyce’s kitchen counter, tapping my fingers on the maple wood as she placed some pancakes and bacon on a plate, and set it down in front of me.
“Eat,” she said.
“Thanks.” My energy was low, from a broken heart obviously. “Butter?”
Grandma Joyce held up a finger. “I knew I forgot something.” She grabbed the butter from the counter, along with her plate of food, and sat down at the table across from me.
I nodded my appreciation of the tasty pancakes and bacon, grateful that I had an appetite.
Grandma Joyce reached across and placed her hand on top of mine. “Everything will work out just the way it’s supposed to. You’ll see.”
She was much more optimistic than I was. How was I supposed to think about the future or even the present when I couldn’t get my mind off the past?
I had a longing so intense, it felt like my body was starting to ache. I ate faster, hoping that would distract me from my thoughts or at least make me feel a little better about them.
Grandma Joyce looked up from her plate. “Whoa, slow down there. You’re eating like the world is about to end.”
“It already has.”
She smiled. “Not even close.”
I sniffled and forked some pancake and held it up. “Well, this makes me feel a little bit better. Thanks.”
She smiled. “Anytime, dear. You know that.”
Fortunately for me, my grandma showed me mercy and had the radio on her kitchen counter tuned to an adult contemporary music station instead of her usual choice, the Dr. Tough Love Show. It would have been too painful for me.
I had to be patient and understand it would take some time to transition back to the way things were before Ben had entered my life, but the heaviness in my chest was unbearable at times. My thoughts weren’t helping.
I had easily moved on from the breakup with Zachary, because deep down I had always known he wasn’t the right man for me.
Ben, on the other hand, was different. He would be more difficult to get over.
There were so many things about the man that I loved: His sense of humor. His compassion. His smarts. His touch.
Especiallyhis touch.
