Read Part 3 HERE

Lucy sits in the airport her stomach a ball of nerves, as she anxiously awaits her flight.

She pulls her cell phone out and dials.

“Hello?” The familiar voice of the other end, somehow manages to calm her.

“Kin-?”

“Hey love, what’ up? Where are you? I just got in and was surprised you weren’t here.”

“I’m at the airport. I’m going home.”

“Wow. So you finally decided to grab the bull by the horns, huh? Your mom must have gotten to you.”

“Well it was a bit of a mixture of my mom and Cami. Cami thinks that I’m still holding onto everything that happened with Dean.”

“Well aren’t you?”

“Oh come on, not you too Kin? You’re the one person I can count to calm me down.”

“Look I’m not trying to upset you Luc-. But let’s be honest. I’m the only one here in New York City that can say I knew both you and Dean. I’m the only one who knows what happened between you two back home. The only one who truly saw how you were when you were together. I know that you need closure.”

“And you never thought to express these concerns over the past 3 years since Dean and I have been broken up.”

“Well… I like to let you breathe. I think when you find things out on your own time, you listen to your heart more. I also know that you and only you can decide when you are ready to dive deeper.”

“Well aren’t you just full of surprises?” Lucy says slightly rolling her eyes.

“This is something you’ve been avoiding for years, it’s time… you’re ready. Whether you think so or not, you’re ready.”

“I hope so. I kinda wish you were coming home with me. I could use some back up.”

“Well you are in luck, I just bought my ticket. I’ll be there about 11:30 tomorrow morning.”

“Really?” Lucy asks excited, yet relieved.

“Well I’m always the one that goes home for the holidays, it’s you who I have to drag kicking and screaming, remember?”

Flight 326 to Oakland Valley Minnesota is now boarding, a woman’s voice is heard over the loud speaker.

Lucy sighs heavily and stands, heading towards the terminal.

“Ok well… that’s me. I should go.”

“Ok. Just remember to breathe, you got this. Have a safe flight.” Kinsley says her confidence in Lucy shining through.

“Wait…Truth time?” Lucy states.

“Shoot.” Kinsley notes in response.

“Kin, can I do this? What if he comes back, what if by some cryptic way of faith he’s back in town this year. Can I really do this? Could I really face him?”

“Yes. You can. I promise you.”

Lucy sighs.

“Lucy, what are you so afraid of?” Kinsley pushes for a hidden truth.

“I’m afraid that if I see his face again, I’m just going to fall apart.”

“Well that’s what best friends, chocolate, and wine are for. To pick you back up, when the world knocks you down. You’ve got this. Now go.”

Lucy hangs up her phone and walks toward the entrance to the terminal. Her heart beat quickens as she hands her ticket in.

On the plane Lucy sits at a window seat. She checks her watch; 9:30 p.m.

“Ok, Oakland Valley, Minnesota is a 2 ½ hour plan ride. I should get there by midnight,” Lucy whispers to herself. “2 ½ hours to prepare myself. Ok you can do this.”

An elderly woman finds her seat next to Lucy as she smiles kindly, Lucy reciprocates.

A stewardess comes over soon after.

“Hi, thank you for flying with us today, please keep your seats and strap yourselves in for take-off. Can I get you ladies anything at the moment?”

“Yes, a glass of red wine would be nice.” Lucy says leaning back and sighing.

The elderly lady near her notices.

“And for you ma’am?” The stewardess asks.

“Oh I’m quite alright, thank you.”

“Ok, so just one red wine, coming right up,” the stewardess says with a smile and walking off.

Lucy looks over nodding forcing a smile toward the stewardess.

Lucy’s body and mind are restless, she sighs trying to calm down and settle in.

“Nervous flyer?” The elderly woman says looking over at Lucy.

“No, not really. I just have a possibly anxious situation waiting for me, back in my home town.”

“Ah, an ex- lover, I presume?”

Lucy nods.

“Is it that obvious?” Lucy inquires.

“Not to many. But I’ve killed long. I’ve loved. I’ve lost. I’ve met plenty people in my lifetime. When you’re as old as I am, you learn how to read people. You my dear have kind eyes. People with kind eyes see the world differently. They believe the very best in people. So often so, that sometimes their hearts get broken pretty easily.”

“What would you suggest for someone in my position?”

“Continue doing just what you’ve been doing. Love, leap, it’s the only thing that makes you truly feel alive. Everything else; money, status, materialistic things, it all goes away. Don’t doubt yourself so much either, trust in yourself, trust in your ability to get everything you want. These days in age, women can have it all, it doesn’t have to be job or marriage, anymore.”

“How did you-”

The elderly woman smiles kindly, knowingly.

“You’re a good read, right.” Lucy says smiling.

“You keep being yourself. Follow your heart, you’ll be just fine….” The elderly woman says waiting for Lucy to reveal her name.

“Lucy.”

“Lucy… hmmm, what a beautiful name. You know there’s a Saint Lucy. She’s known as the protector of sight. In fact Lucy hails from Lucia which comes from the Latin word “lux” which means “light”. It’s funny how things just come full circle don’t they, kind eyes?”

“My mom actually named me after her, she said that when I was born she looked into my eyes and just knew my name was Lucy.”

“Mother’s intuition never lies.”

“Do you have any children, Mrs…” Lucy drowns off realizing she still has yet to find out this woman’s name.

“You can call me Silvia. And yes I do have children, two daughters-twins.”

“Ah so you’re no stranger to dealing with heartbroken women?” Lucy laughs slightly.

“No, I am most certainly not. But my advice to you, came straight from personal experience. When I was young, I’d say around my late teens to early 20’s, kinda like you. I fell madly in love with a handsome boy. A few short years later, he became the father of my daughters. He was a solider. I found out I was pregnant, just after he deployed. And I wrote him a letter telling him the good news, and promising him that when he got home, we’d get married. He used to ask me jokingly to marry him throughout our relationship, I would laugh and tell him we were just a bit too young, but in good time. I never heard back from him. About a month or so went by. As my little babies grew, so did my worry. Soon enough I was delivered the news that he has been killed in battle.”

Lucy stills, unable to hide her shock.

“Silvia I- I’m so sorry. I don’t have any words worth saying.”

“I’m not telling you this to make you feel sad, I’m telling you to help you understand, that sometimes you have to take the risk, if you truly love someone, trust in that love to last you through any hardships. We always regret the what- ifs. If you love him, you have to fight for him. And in turn if he fights for you, you know it was meant to be.”

“But what if he doesn’t. What if he never really did?”

“Maybe he just wasn’t given a chance?”

“How do you find the strength to face the pain though, I mean you lost the father of your children and still managed to raise them and move on with your life. I on the other hand feel like I’ve just stopped in time ever since Dean broke my heart. In that time I graduated college, moved out of my hometown, started an independent magazine, and yet I still feel like I’m stuck living in this painful nightmare. And then I hear your story and I feel like I am just being so completely childish and selfish. That none of this really matters. My problems seem so trivial. And here I am boring you with them.”

“Oh hunny, you most certainly are not. Everyone goes through different challenges in life. Different things that affect them in different ways. Things that shape who they are and who they are to become. As you get older you realize how to accept things more, take things as they come, and value the time you did have with the people you were lucky enough to love. I may have lost the love of my life young, but I got to experience a love like no other.”

Lucy smiles slightly, her eyes watering a bit, she looks down.

“Tell me something Lucy, this Dean boy your talking about, did you love him?”

“Yes, very much. Sometimes, I think I still do.”

Silvia smiles, “And what made you fall in love with him?”

Lucy stills, she hasn’t let herself think about that in a long time.

“He knew my heart. I could go to him for anything. He was my best friend. And he had this way of looking at me that would just give me butterflies, every time.” Lucy smiles, remembering.

“Oh, he sounds like a good one.” Silvia says smiling brightly.

“Yea, he was.” Lucy wipes a tear as it falls and sighs.

“I’d hang in there a little longer. You may not know it yet, but I think your happy ending is right around the corner, just you wait.”

Lucy smiles.

“Thank you Silvia, you are an incredible soul.”

“As are you, kind eyes.”

Lucy smiles, turning toward the window, she looks out into the dark night sky, and twinkling stars as she has a flash back to a time when she and Dean took a trip to Vegas together.

Dean sits next to Lucy on the plane, he takes her hand as she looks at him and smiles.

“So you excited?” he asks.

“Yes. I hope we win some money.”

“Yea that would be nice. I mean I’d like to put a ring on that finger of yours.”

Lucy blushes.

“Lucy.” Dean calls staring at her.

“What?” she says hanging her head and avoiding eye contact.

“Why does that bother you so much, that I’d like to marry you some day?”

“It doesn’t bother me, I just-”

“Really? Because every time I mention it, you avoid it, you avoid me,” he says sinking in his seat to catch her eyes with his.

“I don’t think we’re there yet, I mean we’re still young.”

“Okay, understandable. Is that it though, or is there something else?”

Lucy looks over at him.

“There’s nothing else. I love you.”

She leans in and kisses him, cupping his face.

Dean cups her face in return as he deepens the kiss.

“Can I ask you a question?” Dean says pulling away.

Lucy looks at him.

“Don’t worry, it’s not will you marry me?” he laughs.

“Ok… what is it?”

Dean kisses her teasingly.

She looks at him.

“Have you ever fooled around on an airplane?”

Lucy’s eyes go wide.

“Dean, we can’t,” she looks around to notice if anyone was listening.

“Sure we can,” he smirks kissing her again, and grabbing her hand he stands up. “Follow me.”

Lucy gets up and follows after him as they walk back towards the bathroom.

Dean opens the door and Lucy runs in. He looks around before following, sliding the door lock as the occupied sign displays on the outside.

He looks at Lucy and smiles, raising his eyebrows as she laughs.

“I can’t believe you. Are we really gonna do this, here?”

“Hell yes. Come here.” Dean says pulling her waist to him and kissing her.

“Red wine, ma’am?”

Lucy is brought back to reality, as the stewardess hands her a glass of wine.

“Thank you,” Lucy says with a faint smile, “I’m gonna need this,” she whispers to herself taking a gulp.

To be continued…

*I do not take credit for any images used in my edits or otherwise.*

-<3-