She noticed his hesitation.
“You can sit here and keep Jules’ company until I’m finished,” she offered. “Jules, do you mind?” she asked, turning to her cousin, who seemed to have zoned them out until her name had been called.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was asking if you’d mind it if Trey sat with you for a while,” Rory repeated.
“That’s okay. I don’t mind,” Julia accepted.
“Great.” She turned to Trey. “I’ll be back shortly.” With that, she dashed down the three steps and made her way to the patio. “Here, Grandma, I brought you the blanket.” Rory bent and secured the warm material around her grandmother.
“Th-Th-Thaaa-nk y-y-you, “Becky responded.
Rory smiled warmly down at the woman.
“Becky, guess what I have here?”
Rory turned to see Maria waving what looked like an album as she came toward them. Becky smiled and slowly shook her head.
“It’s an old-school album from back when we were in high school,” Maria answered her question. “Boy, I haven’t seen these photos in a while,” she mused.
“I’ll leave you two to it,” Rory said. Placing a kiss on her grandmother’s cheek, she excused herself.
She grabbed two hotdogs from the tray that her cousins was walking around and serving from, then headed back for the porch. She noticed James staring at her but chose to ignore him. She didn’t know what his angle was, and she wasn’t quite sure what to say to him just yet.
“Hey, are you coming down?” she called up to Trey, who sat quietly with Julia staring out at the activities taking place.
“Yeah, sure,” he replied, rising to his feet. She handed him one of the hotdogs and took a bit of her own, groaning in satisfaction.
Trey did the same. Together they walked over to where her mother, James and a few other members of her family stood talking and laughing.
“Mom, look who’s here,” she called out, interrupting the conversation.
Andrea turned to them, her eyes widening. “Trey,” she said appreciatively. “I’m so happy you could make it.” Andrea reached over and gave the young man a warm hug that he returned.
James came to stand beside Rory. “Hey, can we talk?”
“Yeah, sure,” Rory replied. After excusing themselves, Rory led him toward the rose garden. That would be a private enough place for them to talk. After a few minutes of walking and admiring the beautiful colors of the flowers that hadn’t lost their petals just yet, she stopped and turned to James.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
James sighed, raking his hand over his face. “I was afraid you’d tell me not to come,” he said seriously as he stared at her. “I missed you…I miss you,” he emphasized. “Don’t you miss me, Ro?”
Rory turned her back from his piercing blue eyes that she was sure could predict just what she was feeling. They’d always had that connection which was why she couldn’t understand how he wasn’t aware of just how much his actions had hurt her.
“I miss you, James. How could I not?” she asked, folding her arms around her torso to keep herself upright.
She felt warmth on her back but didn’t turn around.
“I love you, Rory,” James spoke softly, his breath fanning her ear.
She inhaled sharply, the fresh, cold air stinging her lungs.
“I don’t want to live without you. You are the best part of my life.” Rory swooned as his arms came around her to hug her to his chest and his chin rested at the top of her head. Her eyes fluttered closed. “Tell me you still want a future with me, Ro.”
“I do,” Aurora’s words slipped through her lips. They remained that way for a few minutes, neither saying anything, just taking comfort from being in each other’s arms once again.
“How long are you staying?” she finally asked.
