The End

Leana sat back down and picked up the stack of letters and postcards. Richie looked over, “what’s all that?” “Nothing, just…” she sighed. “What are we doing Richie?” He closed the scrapbook and set it aside. “I’m not sure. Seeing you the other night brought back a lot. I haven’t thought about you for a long time and then all of a sudden here you are.” She understood. “I know what you mean. I have been a bit out of sorts myself.” He glanced down at the papers in her hand, noticing his own handwriting. “You didn’t answer my question though,” he pointed at her hands, “what is all that?”

Leana looked down at her hands and then back up at him. What could she do but tell him the truth. “These are the letters and postcards you wrote me from the road.” His eyes widened in surprise. “You saved them?” Leana nodded her head, her voice thick with emotion when she finally spoke. “Your words were all I had left of you after we split up. Part of me just couldn’t let go. I figured if I held on to them, I would always have a part of you with me. I guess that was just the young girl/first love part of me wanting to hold on to something, wanting to believe what we had was real.” She put the letters into the box along with the rest of the stuff.

Richie slid off the couch to kneel by her. He was moved by what she had said. He took her hand, “Leana, look at me.” She raised her head, her teary green eyes meeting sad brown ones. “I can’t take back what I did to you and I am sorry for it. It has been a long time and I am not that guy any more Leana. I have changed and I am sure you have too. But what I want to know is, can we get past it? Can we try again? Will you let me prove to you that I am a better man now than I was then?”

Leana didn’t know what to say to him. He was saying everything she had ever wanted to hear from him. “Richie, I…, I don’t know. I am so afraid to get hurt again. We tried it once and it didn’t work. Who’s to say it will be different now?” Richie stood and paced the room, “Unless we try, how will we know?” Leana stood and went to him. She took his hands in hers and looked up into his face, “It’s been a long time Richie,” his eyes met hers and she saw sadness but she also saw a flicker of hope there. “I am not the same girl I was then. You may not like me much anymore.” He squeezed her hands, “I doubt that, but I am willing to find out.”

“We’ll have to take it slow.”

“As slow as you want darlin’.”

“Okay, but just one thing.” “What’s that?” She pulled her hands from his and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Can we start with a hug?” He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. They stood that way for a while, just holding each other. The words to song he and Jon wrote came to mind as they stood there.

If we take the time to do it right, I know we'll pull through
If it took all my life, I'd prove it to you
If that's what it takes, that's what I'd do
If that's what it takes...

Starting over wouldn’t be easy he thought, but he was going to do whatever it took to make it work this time.