She came up through a trail in the sparse trees that Keith had showed her months ago, the one that wound through the underbrush that was covered with yellow feverfew. The night insects chirped through the dusky air still, and Elly let a deep sadness sink into her heart. There was a longing that would never be filled, and even though inside she was ripping apart, she told herself to be grateful. Grateful for her friends, for her beautiful little life in St. Louis, for a brother that she had never known, and for her time with Keith. It was short and the best she ever had, and at least she had known the taste of his lips on hers, the pull of his arms around her waist, and the kindness in his eyes that told her he believed in everything she ever could and would be. She wiped a tear away from her once starry eyes and pushed out through the foliage to the garden. At least she would be getting her dog back today. Dennis had finally agreed to give Cadbury a try.
Keith was standing by the broken cherub statue. Once, it had been littered with weeds and mold, but with Elly’s care, it had transformed into a whimsical flower garden. The statue was still broken and decrepit, but now sprigs of forsythia, diamond-frost euphorbia, and pink lantana burst out from its base with reckless beauty. Elly sucked in her breath when she saw Keith and had to refrain from bursting out into tears. His naturally olive skin was set off by the white polo that he was wearing. Dusty gray cargo shorts showed off his stocky legs. His bald head shone in the waning light. He was holding Cadbury’s leash and, at the sight of Elly, Cadbury wrenched away from him, barking joyfully.
Elly knelt on the ground and received a big sloppy kiss that somehow revived her broken heart, just a little. “I missed you!” she cried. “Hi, babes!” She buried her face in his soft fur, noting that he must have been groomed lately. Cadbury never smelled this good. He circled around her a few times before flopping down in the grass and staring at Elly with anticipation. She looked over at Keith and gave him a sad smile, but a determined one. Reaching her hand out, she touched the side of his shoulder and let it linger for a second before reaching for the leash. “Thanks, Keith. I guess that’s it….”
And that’s when Keith caught her hand, his dark-blue eyes meeting with hers in a steady gaze. “Elly.”
In an involuntary gesture, Elly turned her head up to his, as natural as breathing.
He looked down at her. “Can you stay? Just a minute? Just give me ten minutes, and then if you walk away from me again, I won’t … well, I’ll try not to chase you.”
As hurt as she had been, as broken as her trust had been in his imagined infidelities, Elly found herself curling down onto the soft and damp grass, Keith still holding her hand.
He knelt beside her and gently reached out, tucking a curl behind her ear. “You are so stunning in this light.”
Elly raised her eyebrows cynically.
“Ah, yes. I’ll get to it. Well, this won’t be fun.” Keith settled across from her. The wind tossed the now pale-blue grass around her feet as she stared at him, waiting. “I want you to know, first, that I never lied to you. Not once. I would never, ever lie to you. But I’ve come to realize that by not sharing certain things about my life with you, I’m just as guilty as if I was lying. I have hidden a large part of my life from you, because I was so terrified of … these ridiculous fears that I’ve carried with me for years. And I can’t believe that I let them take me here, to the point where I’ve almost lost you forever.” He took a deep breath. “You don’t know this, but three years ago, just before you arrived here, I was engaged.”
Elly’s heart pounded in her chest. “Oh God, was her name Lucia?”