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A burly security guard bursts into the room. “Do we have a situation here?” he asks, one hand on the holster of his gun.
I hold up a hand as Rhence’s green eyes remain fixed upon me. “The situation is under control. Please wait outside, officer.”
He hesitates a moment, eyeing Rhence up and down, before giving a curt nod. “I’ll be right outside, ma’am.”
“Thank you.” The officer steps outside and closes the door. “Are you done?” I ask Rhence.
“Just one last thing.” Rhence clears his throat again. “Whether I have five dollars or five billion dollars, you were always out of my league. I’ll never forgive myself for hurting you or for ruining the one true and good thing in my life. I’m an idiot, I’m the world’s biggest fool, but mostly, Rachel, I’m just hopelessly in love with you and always will be.” He bows his head and heaves a heavy sigh. “There. I’ve said my piece and I swear, I’ll never attempt to contact you again.” He gazes up at me. “You know where I live and you have my private number if you ever find it in your beautiful, generous heart to forgive me.” He hesitates a few seconds more, holds out his hands to either side before dropping them back down in surrender. “Goodbye, Rachel, and congratulations on the success of your new company.”
With that, for the third time in my life, Rhence Dalton walks out the door. This time, I let him.
***
I spend the next two weeks mulling over what Rhence said, trying to discern between the truths and the lies. I reach two conclusions: 1) Rhence is flawed and damaged; and 2) In his imperfect way, Rhence loves me and always will.
He still occupies a special place in my heart and probably always will.
I haven’t spoken more than two words to my mother since I learned of the part she played in all of this. Her blow cut as deep as Rhence’s. I loved and trusted my mother ever since I was a child. I looked up to her, adored her, viewed her as my mentor and role model. She was the woman I most wanted to be like, and then she destroyed all of that.
Her excuse was and always had been that she’d only acted out of love for me. That she’d taken the letter to prevent me from making the biggest mistake of my life. She was afraid we’d get married, babies would soon follow and I’d be derailed from pursuing my educational goals.
I was tired of hearing her excuses and lame justifications. But Dad, being the kind soul that he is, has been steadily working on me. He’s helped me to see that, like Rhence, Mom is deeply flawed but loves me in her imperfect way.
I don’t know that I can ever get past what they did to me, but for the first time in a long time, I feel like I’m ready to try. It’s a Saturday afternoon when I call my mom. The conversation is awkward at first, but eventually, we find our way back to each other. There are a lot of tears and heartfelt apologies, and she promises to never interfere in my life again. We end the call on a cordial note and plan to speak again next week.
The next call is far more difficult, yet far more rewarding.
Rhence answers on the first ring. “Rachel,” he says, his voice full of hope and desperation. “Rachel?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Rache…it’s so good to hear your voice. H-how are you?”
“I don’t know. It sort of depends,” I say evenly.
“On what?”
“On whether you’d consider relocating to Houston. I’ve got a burgeoning regional business going here, but you can work from anywhere in the world.”
There is stunned silence on the other end of the phone.
“Uh, Rhence, you there?”
“I’ll be on a flight within the hour, I’ll send for my things later.”
“Works for me.”
“Rachel?”
“Yeah?”
“Where’s the closest courthouse to you in Houston?”
“Not sure, but I can find out.”
“Good, because I’ll only relocate to Houston under one condition.”
“What’s that?”
