Diane released another sigh and looked down at her clasped hands sitting on her lap. “I’ve had to do most of the planning on my own. He hasn’t met with the wedding planner once, and he barely has time to be with me. I asked him why he doesn’t just give up his apartment in Seattle and move here until after the wedding, but he’s adamant that his job is extremely important and requires him to be accessible at all times with the shortest possible delay.”
“Hmm.”
Diane looked at her mother.
“Have you expressed to him how you’re feeling?”
“I have,” Diane confirmed. “On numerous occasions, he usually says I'm being selfish because all he is doing now is for us.”
Tessa nodded her head in understanding. “That sounds more like a him problem than it is you,” she reasoned. “I won’t beat around the bush and pretend I’m fond of Derek. I’ll support your choice to marry him if that’s what you want to do, but if you’re having doubts, do not ignore them.”
She turned on the couch until she was facing her daughter. Diane did the same, folding her legs under her. “I want to let you in on a little secret about your father and me.” Diane leaned forward, and her ears perked up with interest.
“I’ve loved your father since we were in elementary school, and it only grew stronger as we entered high school. We were inseparable because it didn’t feel natural to be apart at any point. Mom and Dad weren’t too keen on our relationship because they thought he would hinder me from achieving my full potential. I almost gave in to their demands, but then I realized that if I gave up Don, it meant giving up the best part of me—my heart.” Tessa smiled as her eyes took on a faraway look. When she finally focused them back on Diane, she was eager to know the outcome of their love story. “I followed my heart because I loved Don and everything he represented. I didn’t want to change him then because I believed in his vision for us and our future.” She looked at Diane with a serious expression. “If you don’t love Derek for who he is now, then the answer is quite clear about what you should do.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Diane said sincerely.
“Anytime, sweetheart.” Tessa smiled before reaching to hug her daughter.
“So the doctor back at the hospital—”
“I’m not going there,” Tessa interrupted her to say.
“What? You don’t even know what I was going to say.” Diane smiled innocently.
Tessa raised a brow and gave her a skeptical look. “We are not discussing my coworker, which is what he is.”
“Fine.” Diane threw her hand up in surrender. “If you don’t want to discuss your cute boss, who definitely has eyes for you, then I won’t say anything.”
Tessa hit her with a cushion, and she burst into giggles.
In the morning, Diane’s grandparents Luke and Maria came to stay with Tessa, and she left for the café.
As she drove down the highway, her thoughts returned to her conversation with her mother about Derek, and she had to agree that her happiness was just as important as anyone else’s. She had spent so much time changing who she was to fit into Derek’s world when he wouldn’t even offer her the same compromise. She had a big decision to make.
Instead of going straight to the café, she turned onto NE Regatta and made her way over to the Maple Leaf Cemetery. After parking, she got out of the car and walked across the lawns of the sprawling park dedicated to the burial of the residents of Oak Harbor. She passed a few tombstones of persons she knew, but her goal that morning was specific.
“Hi, Dad,” she spoke softly, crouching before her father's tombstone. “The last time I came here was to complain about how much I hated what Mom was doing.” She smiled sorrowly. “Those times I was so wrong, and I know if you were here, you would have told me the same thing. I want to thank you for always highlighting all the things that Mom did for our family— the sacrifices she made. I didn’t recognize it at the time, but Mom was the glue that held our family together. I resented her so much for not being there, but in truth, I was the one who drew away even when she tried to be there.” She sighed.
Diane looked around the cemetery at all the tombstones running diagonally like guardrails. Life, indeed, was unpredictable and meant to be lived with that in mind.
“We had a scare yesterday with Mom, but she’s okay now. I’m sad she had to experience that, but I’m also glad because it was the push I needed to realize how much I didn’t want to lose her. Thanks for loving her the way you did, Dad. She needed that. I want you to know that Mom’s going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it. I plan to be there for her in a way I wasn’t. Thanks again for all you did, Dad, and I love you.” She leaned over and kissed the top of the tombstone before rising to her feet and heading for her car. A contented smile broke across her lips as she realized how much she needed to do that to release herself.
Her heart slammed against her chest at the sight of Derek’s Range Rover parked there. After parking, she got out and walked up, then rapped on the window. The window wound down to reveal an annoyed Derek.
“I’ve been waiting for nearly an hour, Diane. What the heck?” he expressed before getting out of the vehicle.
“I’m sorry. I had to make an emergency stop. Thanks for coming, though.” She fished her keys out of her bag, opened the shop door, and gestured for him to enter.
“So what was so urgent that I had to come here today?” Derek asked, folding his arms across his chest.
Diane took in a deep breath and released it. “Do you love me?”
Derek looked at her like she had grown an extra head. “What kind of question is that?”
“One that I need an honest answer to,” Diane threw back. “Are you in love with me?”
Derek huffed. “Di, I don’t have time for this. You’re asking a question to which there is an obvious answer,” he quipped.
