The days soon turned into weeks and then into years. Maggie realized that she had everything she could ever want. Kevin brought her so much happiness and showed her all the things she had ever dreamed of. She, in return, had given him the chance to be a “real” person again, even if only for a short time. Their gifts to each other would stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Kevin arrived just in time to see Maggie walk across the stage to accept her Education Doctorate. She was absolutely glowing, knowing that he was there to see her biggest accomplishment to date. She sat in the church with her fiancé as Kevin took his vows and kissed his new bride. She felt a twinge of jealousy and sadness witnessing such a moment, knowing it could have been her. He looked truly happy and that’s all she ever wanted for him.
The visits with each other eventually grew farther and farther apart, until a card and a phone call on a birthday or Christmas became the only means of communication. Both knew that they had shared something special, a secret to themselves.
As the years passed, not an autumn would go by without Kevin smiling and sending a dozen roses to her. He would always remember Magnolia in the Fall.