Chapter 9 - Five Years After Their First Date, Mara Returned to the Restaurant Where She Almost Left—With a Question for WesleyFive years later, Mara walked into the same restaurant.
The same corner table waited.
The same tall windows.
The same rain tapping softly against the glass.
Wesley arrived on time.
Exactly on time.
Mara smiled.
"You learned."
He looked at his watch.
"I've learned several things."
"Such as?"
"Never arrive thirty-one minutes late."
"Good."
"And never underestimate a woman who asks for the check."
She laughed.
They ordered the same dessert.
Apple pie.
June's favorite.
After dinner, Wesley reached into his pocket.
Mara raised an eyebrow.
"Another ring?"
"No."
He pulled out a photograph.
It was old.
Their parents.
Together.
Smiling.
On the back, someone had written:
Maybe our children will finish what we couldn't.
Mara's eyes filled.
"They knew."
"Somehow."
She leaned against him.
"I used to think the biggest decision of my life was whether to sell Asterline."
"What do you think now?"
"Whether to let someone into my life."
He kissed her temple.
"And?"
"I made that decision five years ago."
Wesley smiled.
"Good answer."
They returned home to two children sleeping upstairs.
A little girl named June and a boy named Arthur.
Mara looked at them.
A life existed here that she had never planned.
A life full of interruptions.
Noise.
Mess.
May you like
Love.
She wouldn't trade it.
