Page 31 of Ripple Effect

Dawgs won.

Perfect day other than the fact I’m hundreds of miles away from Libby.

18

Present Day

Elizabeth

We’re both laughing as I recount my version of Cal’s and my date to the Small Town Nights concert from the early days of Brendan Blake’s career. “It was so much fun.” I’m gasping for air.

“After everything that happened to you, Brendan reached out to you, correct?” Dr. Powell asks.

“I was truly shocked. I mean, he’sBrendan Blakenow.” I emphasize Brendan’s name because he’s now country music’s megastar. “I thought it was sweet.”

“How did Cal react?”

The amused look I shoot him says it better than words can. There’s more I could share about Cal’s reaction, but I won’t. Those memories are just between me and Cal. And they’re delicious. My lips simply curve as I shake my head, refusing to answer.

Dr. Powell tries another tack. “So, other than the big dates, what kind of things did you do together?”

I cross my legs from one side to the other to get comfortable. “Everything and nothing.”

“Do you mind elaborating?”

“Not at all. I grew up in the city, but I got to experience it again through Cal’s eyes. Yes, we both lived there, but he never explored it. We’d wander the city checking out all of these must-do food places. I swear, for a man who grew up in the South, I was appalled he’d never had chicken and dumplings or fried green tomatoes! You’d have thought he was a Yankee with his eating habits.”

“That seems almost criminal. Is now the wrong time to admit I’ve never had fried green tomatoes either?”

“It certainly is,” I say with a touch of indignation. We both laugh again. I continue. “We went out to Fort Sumter and on the USSYorktown, which is a must do. Then there were just the days when we’d drive and talk until our voices got hoarse. Those were my favorite days.”

“The talking?”

“Any day I was with Cal, but especially those.”

“Why?”

“I felt connected to him in ways that can never be replicated. I wasn’t just learning about him in dribs and drabs; I was absorbing the information as if you’d dropped me into the Cooper River and I came out wet. I soaked it in. What we have now is different.” What we have now was the result of tempering the edges of misunderstandings, loneliness, and fear and forging them into a love so strong that no foe in heaven or hell could break us.

Some of what I’m thinking must be reflected on my face. “Would you go back and change any of it?” Dr. Powell asks me gently.

“To change any of it is to change all of it. And I’m sitting before you because in my heart, I know this.”

“According to my notes, after the incident on theSea Force, you didn’t reconcile immediately with your husband. Why is that?”

“Because accepting you can’t live without someone and forgiving every lie they ever told are very different paths. And the first step begins with forgiving yourself for believing you’re a fool when you have nothing to forgive.”

“Very true, Libby.” There are some papers shuffled before a smile breaks out. “I have a note here to ask you about the first time you told Cal you were in love with him.”

I groan. “I felt like an idiot.”

“Why? Did he not say it back?”

“No, because I screamed it. I never thought he heard me!”

“That makes no sense, Libby. You screamed it and you didn’t think Cal heard your declaration of love?”

“I thought my face was going to kiss the ground, Doctor. Literally. I was screaming prayers and goodbyes at the same time.”