All Chapters of Decisions I made : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Sarah and I stood overlooking the Valley for a long time after that.Neither of us seemed in a hurry to leave.The afternoon sun had started its slow descent, casting long shadows across the trails below.Everything looked peaceful.Calm.The complete opposite of how I had felt for most of the day.Eventually, Sarah nudged my shoulder."You know what's funny?""What?""I haven't seen you this honest in years."I laughed softly."That's probably because I wasn't being honest."She nodded."Not with me."I looked over."Not with yourself."That one landed.Hard.Because she was right.For years, whenever someone asked how things were going, I automatically gave the same answer.Fine.Everything's fine.We're good.Just busy.The responses became automatic.So automatic that eventually I started believing them myself.Or at least trying to.We started walking again.The trail curved around a small overlook that had always been one of my favorite spots.When we were younger, Sarah and I u

As I turned onto my parents' street, I immediately noticed something.The driveway was full.Not just one or two vehicles.Full.I started laughing before I even pulled in."Oh my God."There had to be six trucks parked around the house.Maybe seven.Knowing my father, possibly more.As I got closer, I could see people standing outside.Dad.Joe.Mark.Donny.Connor.All gathered near the garage.And every single one of them was smiling.The second my car turned into the driveway, Dad pointed."She's here."The group immediately looked up.I parked and shut off the engine.Before I could even open the door, Dad was already walking toward me."About time."I laughed."I was gone for two hours.""Three.""You counted?""Of course."I shook my head.Only Paul.I climbed out of th

The firefighter's announcement should have ended the evening.The detectors had malfunctioned.There was no carbon monoxide leak.No danger.No emergency.Just a very loud alarm and a lot of excitement for the neighborhood.Mom immediately started thanking every firefighter who had shown up.Dad was already trying to convince them to stay for coffee.One of the firefighters politely declined.Another laughed.A third looked genuinely tempted.Meanwhile, I remained in the rocking chair on the front porch with my phone pressed against my ear.Listening to Jack laugh at the chaos."Your father offered the fire department coffee?""He offered them coffee, pie, and apparently employment."Jack laughed so hard he had to stop walking."He did not.""He absolutely did."I could hear the smile in his voice."I need to meet this man."I laughed."Trust me. You're not prepared."The firefighters slowly packed up their equipment.The flashing lights disappeared.The neighborhood became quiet agai

The rest of the workday dragged.Not because I was busy.Because I wasn't.At least not mentally.Every time I looked at the yellow roses sitting on the corner of my desk, I found myself smiling.Several coworkers stopped by just to admire them.A few stopped by to be nosy.Most wanted details.Unfortunately for them, I wasn't sharing much.Mostly because there wasn't much to share.Yet.By the time five o'clock finally arrived, I was more than ready to leave.I carefully gathered my things, picked up the roses, and headed home.As soon as I pulled into my parents' driveway, I noticed Dad sitting on the front porch.Of course he was.The man somehow knew exactly when I would arrive.I climbed out of the car carrying the flowers.Dad immediately spotted them.His eyes widened."Well."I laughed."Don't.""Flowers?""Dad.""Yellow roses?"I pointed a finger at him."Not one word."He grinned."Not saying anything.""You are absolutely saying something.""Nope."I shook my head and heade

Dinner at Houlihan's was exactly what both of us needed.Simple.Relaxed.Comfortable.The potato skins lived up to Jack's expectations.The potato soup apparently changed his life.At least according to him.I laughed so hard at his dramatic review that people at the next table started looking over."I'm serious.""You are not.""I absolutely am.""It's soup.""It's great soup."I shook my head."You need higher standards."He pointed his spoon at me."I know what I like."That only made me laugh harder.By the time dinner ended, neither of us seemed interested in going home.The evening was still young.The weather was beautiful.And somewhere over the past few days, spending time together had become effortless.As we got into the car, Jack looked over at me."So.""There it is.""What?""The 'so.'"He laughed."Fine.""What?""What are you doing this weekend?"I thought about it.Honestly, I hadn't planned anything.The last week had been such a whirlwind that I hadn't thought much