Howie stood in front of an apartment building. He spent the past day driving from Florida to West Virginia. He could have flown but he wanted to have the time to think things through. He came to one conclusion once he got there. He should have done this two years ago.
He walked into the building and found Regan's door. He took a deep breath and raised his fist to the door. He racked his knuckles and waited. He heard a faint "I'll get it" and the door flew open. Howie looked right into the eyes of a five year old girl. She had thick curly brown hair and chestnut eyes.
"Savannah," Howie whispered. She looked so big and mature. She looked at him questionably. Her eyebrows wrinkled as she looked at Howie. Suddenly, her eyes widened and her mouth opened.
"Howie?" she asked.
"You remember me!" Howie said, cheerfully.
"Where have you been?!" she asked, jumping into his arms. He hugged her tight.
"I missed you," Howie said.
"I missed you more!" she smiled. Howie laughed and placed her down. He looked up and saw Regan standing in the doorway. She looked exactly the same and Howie could feel his heart beat faster.
"Howie..." she breathed. "What are you doing here?"
"Regan, I'm so sorry. I should have done this two years ago," Howie said. Regan tried to compose her shock and looked down at her daughter.
"Honey, can you leave us alone for a minute?" she asked. Savannah pouted and walked to her room.
"She's so big," Howie said.
"Why are you here?" Regan immediently asked.
"Ray...I need you," Howie said.
"You just can't come back like this, Howie," she said, ignoring what he said.
"...you need me," Howie kept going.
"You just can't drop in because you know Savannah will miss you more," Regan said, trying to avoid eye contact. Howie started moving closer.
"Ray..." he said, grabbing her hand and forcing her to look at him. She looked away fearing tears that were beginning to come. "I love you."
There was silence. Regan tried the best she could to hold back tears.
"Then why did it take two years to come back?" she asked.
"Because you left. You wouldn't let me love you. I had to give you the space and time you demanded. I know my career is tough to deal with but Ray, I still love you. I love Savannah," Howie said. Tears started to glide down Regan's cheeks.
"He died," she sniffled.
"What?" Howie asked.
"Savannah's dad. He died last summer. He got shot," she said. Howie didn't know what to say. He knew it was good news but didn't know how to react.
"I'm sorry," Howie said.
"Don't be. To me, he's been gone since he took off," Regan said. "But I've loved you. I loved you so much that I had to leave."
"But everything is okay now," Howie said. "Let me take care of you. I want you to let go. Let every fear you have go. Love me, Regan."
A small smile formed on Regan's face.
"I heard your new single," Regan said.
"It's yours," Howie whispered. Regan nodded.
"I thought so," she whispered back. Howie placed his hand on the back of her neck.
"Please," he begged. She hesitated. He knew she would. "Listen. Let me take you and Savannah back to Florida for a week. And in that week, if you can't do this then I'll bring you back, drop you off and you'll never see me again. If you decide you can't love me for a week, then I'll leave. But please Regan, I know you're scared to try. But I'm scared too. But we'll never know if we don't," Howie pleaded.
"Okay," Regan agreed.
"Let's pack."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashleigh woke up the next morning hoping she had a horrible nightmare. She groaned and rolled over as she realized it wasn't a dream. She opened her eyes and found herself starring directly at her diamond engagement ring that sat on the dresser next to the bed. She picked it up and stared at it. New tears started to fill her eyes as she set it down and threw the cover over her head.
Ashleigh turned the doorknob and stepped inside their house. She immediently noticed the house was dimly lit by various candles all over the floor and shelves. She looked down at her feet and saw rose petals. A smile grew on her face as she followed the maze of petals around their house. She ended up outside by the pool which was lighted by white Christmas lights. The petals led up to the diving board where at the edge of the board sat a little black velvet box. She looked up into the starry sky and around their yard for Nick. She couldn't stop smiling as she took off her coat and put down her purse. She took off her platform boots and carefully walked to the end of the diving board. She picked up the little box and walked off onto the cement. She opened the box and gasped as she saw a beautiful diamond ring sitting on top of a gold . She desperately looked around for Nick and saw him come out from behind the bushes. He walked up to her, not taking his eyes away from hers and stood in front of her.
"Marry me," he breathed.
"Yes," she smiled. Nick took the ring and slid it on her finger as their lips met. He wrapped his arms around her as their kiss deepened and they got closer to the edge of the pool. They continued kissing and Nick pulled away.
"I love you," he breathed into her ear.
"I love you," she said. They starred into each others eyes and Ashleigh grinned. She shoved his arm and sent him flying into the water. He came up for air as Ashleigh almost fell laughing. Nick grabbed her arm and sent her flying into the water that was lit by the moon in the sky.
Ashleigh wiped her tears away at the memories. The memories that made her happy. She climbed out of bed and reached under it to pull out her suitcase.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
