Page 66 of Nineteen Letters

“She wanted some extra money so she could buy you a Christmas present. She wanted to get you something special this year. That’s the only reason. It’s only a temporary position over the summer.”

“I didn’t know that,” I whispered.

“To be frank, Stephen and I aren’t overly happy about her working; we both think she’s a bit too young, and we’d much prefer she concentrated on her studies for now. But this was important to her … you are important to her, Braxton.” She placed her hand on my leg and gave it a gentle squeeze before she stood. “I just thought you’d like to know that.”

I’m glad she told me, but it made me feel lower than I ever had in my life.

After she left, I set off on the long walk into town. I had no money for the bus, but that didn’t bother me—I would have walked to the ends of the earth for you.

You were busy serving when I got there, so I stood out on the street and watched you through the large window. You looked cute in your uniform: tiny hot-pink shorts, a white polo with matching hot-pink dots, and a white hat. Your beautiful brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail.

I tried hard not to focus on your long, lean, bare legs, but it was impossible. You’ve always had the most amazing legs.

I stop reading again and stare down at my legs. He wouldn’t say that now. I may have had amazing legs once, but not anymore. They’re horribly disfigured by the huge, ugly scars that will forever remind me of the accident.

The older we got, the harder it became for me to hide my true feelings for you. You were no longer the little girl with the missing front teeth who stole my heart; you had grown into a beautiful young woman who owned me completely.

I must have stood out there for about fifteen minutes until all the customers had left. You were wiping down the counters when I entered.

Your eyes widened in surprise when you noticed me standing just inside the doorway. I was worried about howyou’d react to seeing me, but I needn’t have been. Moments later your face broke out into a beautiful smile, and it made my heart race.

“Braxton,” you said as I stepped towards the counter. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to apologise. You were right, I acted like a jerk yesterday.”

“You did,” you agreed, as your gaze moved back down to the countertop, “but I forgive you.” I can’t even put into words how relieved I felt when you said that. “Would you like an ice cream?”

“I don’t have any money on me,” I replied.

“That’s okay. I still have my lunch money … I didn’t eat anything. I wasn’t hungry.”

Sadness flashed through your eyes, and the guilt I had been burdened down with all day quickly returned. I knew exactly how you felt, because I hadn’t eaten anything either.

“I’m sorry, Jem.”

“It’s okay. You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

You moved over to the display cabinet that held all the different ice-cream flavours. “I want you to try the new creation I invented today, it’s called ‘The Braxton’.”

“You named it after me?”

“I did. I was going to call it ‘The Triple-Decker-Jerkoff’, but I didn’t think my new boss would appreciate that.”

I laughed as you picked up the metal scoop and rolled the first flavour into a neat ball. “This one is Apple Pie Delight. I know how much you love Ma’s apple pie.” You placed it on the cone and rinsed the scoop before moving to the next flavour. “Vanilla Dream, because you can’t have apple pie without vanilla ice cream. They’re made for each other.”

“Exactly,” I replied as my smile grew wider.

They were made for each other, just like we were.

“And lastly, Wicked Chocolate, because I know how much you love chocolate.” You grinned proudly as you held the cone out to me. “Ta-da … behold ‘The Braxton’.”

A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach so they say, but in that moment I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love with you, because I’d been hopelessly in love with you for years.

What we had is far too beautiful to be forgotten.

Yours always,

Braxton