That was before life pulled us apart.
"I always wondered about you," Garrett said one afternoon, stirring sugar into his coffee.
"You had a funny way of showing it with five decades of silence," I rebuffed.
"Life got in the way."
"Life always does."
***
Six months later, on my front porch, Garrett kept part of his promise by asking me to marry him! He didn't have a ring yet, but he was working on it.
I said, "Yes!" Not for his mansion or the money his children would whisper about. I agreed because of the boy who once walked me home in the rain.
"You had a funny way of showing it."
The engagement dinner was held at Garrett's mansion, and that was the first time I met his children in person.
Margaret hugged me with her arms, but not her shoulders. Daniel shook my hand as if I were a contractor.
