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I nod, crossing one high-heeled shoe over the other, staring at the pile of flowers covering the loose dirt.
"Were the magnolias your idea?" He asks, easing the tension.
"Yeah, they were."
He picks one up, twirling it between his fingers, my eyes shooting to the magnolias tattooed above his wrist peeking out of the edge of his jacket sleeve. He kneels, placing it back down perfectly on the top of the other flowers. "They're beautiful."
I feel tears wetting my cheek, but I'm unsure of why I'm crying. Is it because I miss my dad or because I miss Jameson?
"You didn't know my dad that well. It was really nice of you to come all this way."
Jameson stands, straightening in front of me, his eyes never leaving the ground. "He came to my graduation."
"Excuse me?" I choke, unsure if I heard correctly.
"Yeah," He sighs, fighting back the tears, "My own father wasn't there but yours," he stalls, tears welling in the bottom of his eyelids, "he was."
"You kept in touch with my father?" I gasp, feeling a little dizzy.
"Not really. He showed up at my graduation, and we had lunch the next day. When I finished flight training, he was there to give me a pat on the back and a smile that I wish my father could've given me."
"Did he? I mean, did he talk about me? About Ellie?"
"Of course I asked about you," He huffs, "He never would tell me anything other than you were safe and doing alright. He told me if I wanted to know, I'd have to get off my ass and go find out."
"But you never did."
He laughs, "I had taken enough of your time. I didn't want to come back into your life only to leave again. I knew I'd have to leave. It's the fucking Air Force. Seeing your face again and then being forced to leave would've been torture."
"Sometimes, you men can be so stupid."
He points to his chest, "Me?"
"Yes, you. I dreamed of the day you'd come riding into town on your white horse, saving me for a change. That day never came. You guys think that us women aren't capable of making our own decisions."
"I never said that," he snaps.
"You never gave me a choice. Maybe Ellie and I would've wanted to be with you, wherever you were."
"Guess we'll never know what would've happened."
"Guess not," I agree.
He takes another fifteen seconds staring at the dirt before turning his face to mine, "I didn't mean to interrupt your time. I'll get going. Do you need anything?"
"Oh… No. I'm fine. Thanks for coming. It's been nice talking about him. Everyone else just wants to tell me how sorry they are."
"Sure." His smile is sincere, "I'll see you around then? Let me know if you need anything for Ellie."
He turns to walk away, my heart screaming into my eardrums to stop him, "Jay! Wait."
He stills, turning back to me, "Stay."
"Stay?"
"Yeah, stay here. At least for the night."
"Hanna, is that really a good idea?"
