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Will was confused. Why had she chosen to sit next to him? Surely, there had to be another seat in the sanctuary. If her family knew she was coming, they would have saved a seat for her.
Regardless of how she’d ended up there, Will’s parched heart soaked up her nearness. It wouldn’t make him get over her any faster, but since he wasn’t in a rush for that to happen, it didn’t matter.
He relaxed back into the wheelchair, deciding not to focus on why Janessa had chosen the seat next to him and just enjoy the fact that shewasthere.
Group after group of children went up on the stage to perform, and Will was impressed by the great job they all did. The kids and the adults in charge had obviously worked hard over the past few weeks.
The program ended with the kids singing an enthusiastic version ofJoy to the World. The audience was encouraged to join in, and Will felt the first stirrings of Christmas spirit as he sang along with everyone else.
At the end of the program, his dad invited everyone to join them in the basement for some refreshments. His mom had brought dozens of cookies as her contribution. The house had smelled great over the past few days as she’d done a large amount of baking. Since he couldn’t help her in his current state, his job had ended up being the official taste tester.
There was an elevator in the church for people to use if they couldn’t take the stairs, but Will wasn’t sure if he was up to that much socialization. He’d planned to retreat to his dad’s office to wait until his parents were ready to go home, knowing he could call Isaac or Reese to come get him if he wanted to leave before they were ready. Neither of his siblings had come to the program, but both had said they’d give him a ride home if need be.
As people surged to the exit to the foyer, Will stayed put because he couldn’t move himself very well in the wheelchair. He noticed that Janessa didn’t move either. Her family left the sanctuary, giving her smiles as they passed, but none of them stopped.
When it was finally just the two of them in the sanctuary, Janessa turned to him. He could immediately see the strain of the past few weeks on her face. She looked like she’d lost weight, and there were circles under her eyes that even makeup couldn’t completely hide.
Will wanted to reach out and take her hand. To reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Unfortunately, it might not be. He had no idea what was on her mind.
“Can we talk?”
It was all Will had wanted since she’d broken up with him. But now that the opportunity was there, he felt reluctant. Would this be their last conversation about their relationship?
While he hadn’t fought for his relationship with Daphne, he absolutely wanted to with Janessa. But what would that look like? If she didn’t want to be with him, wouldn’t fighting to keep her be forcing his own wishes on her? He’d never want to do that.
“Yes. Absolutely. I was just going to wait in Dad’s office until the evening was done. Do you want to go there? Or would you prefer to stay here?”
“Maybe your dad’s office?”
“Okay. My dad was supposed to help me get there, but he might have forgotten. Let me just text him.”
Will shot off a quick text to his dad, hoping he didn’t take too long to respond because Janessa looked like she was ready to bolt.
“Sorry, Son,” his dad said as he hurried into the sanctuary. His steps faltered for a moment when he spotted Janessa, but then he smiled. “Hi, Janessa. I’m so happy to see you. I can’t tell you how grateful Alice and I are that you and Will weren’t hurt worse in that accident.”
“I’m grateful too,” Janessa said.
“Can you push me to the office, Dad?” Will asked. “Janessa and I would like to go there to talk.”
“Sure thing.” His dad didn’t make any comment about the two of them finally talking, though Will knew that his dad would be happy about it.
The walk to the office took a little longer than usual since his dad paced his steps to allow Janessa to keep up with them on her crutches. Once they reached the office, his dad positioned the wheelchair next to the sitting area, then said, “Let me know when you need me to help you to the car. We’ll be among the last to leave, so no rush.”
Janessa settled onto the couch, choosing the end that was closest to Will. He took heart in that, but tried not to get his hopes up.
He couldn’t help but stare at her. She was dressed simply in a pair of black pants that were flared enough to fit over her cast and a dark green long-sleeved T-shirt. Her hair was smoothed back from her face. The style accentuated her cheekbones, which seemed more pronounced than before.
“I… I want to apologize,” Janessa said, her gaze lowered.
Will wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Of course, he’d forgive her for anything. As far as he was concerned, she hadn’t done anything that was unforgivable.
“I should never have agreed to date you without being honest about my fears.” Janessa clenched her hands together. “It wasn’t fair to you. I just thought… I just thought that I’d be okay. That I’d be able to get past them. I was wrong, and because of that, you’ve been hurt.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry.”
“I understand,” Will said. “And I don’t hold it against you.”
Janessa’s brows drew together as she looked up at him. “You don’t?”
“Even though you ended things between us, and yeah, I’m hurt, I don’t regret our relationship.”
