9
Mikey stopped coming. So Jake came to find
- me.
First, he sent 9,999 roses. Then he set off
fireworks and put on a show of love for me on
- TV.
He came after an eternity, in a suit and holding
く
a red rose. “You always said I wasn’t good
enough to you.”
“Will you let me try again?”
I was furious.
They couldn’t handle the fact that I was happy.
“Can you stop with the grand gestures?”
“Your presence is a burden!”
“Every time you show up, my husband worries. I
can’t change who I love. I want to love him for
the rest of my life.”
“So don’t show up again. Don’t bother my
family. Or I’ll go back to Washington tomorrow.”
Jake smiled sadly. “Is that what you think of
me? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was bothering
you.”
<
He looked broken as he left.
“I’ll come back when you’re less angry.”
In the end, Jake never came back. He went
bankrupt.
Someone reported him for tax fraud and
stealing company secrets.
Jake was busy in court, and Lily took all his
money and left.
She started dating a rich man. But the man’s
wife publicly humiliated her and threw her out.
I never heard from her again.
I saw the 999,999 roses in Mr. Jones’s yard and
frowned,
But my daughter was lying in the flowers,
<
laughing. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were smiling.
Yuma, in a gaudy red suit, winked at me. “Don’t
worry.
I knew that Yuma had caused Jake’s
bankruptcy. And that Yuma had tricked Lily.
I wouldn’t blame him.
He was just punishing everyone who had ever
bullied me.
If I were Yuma, I would have done the same.
Love is taking over, destroying, and cannot
accept a third person.
I laughed, hugging him and calling him old and
acting young.
Yuma complained. “The competition is too
great. If I don’t try, I’ll lose you.”
<
My daughter chimed in, “If Dad doesn’t try, I’ll
lose Mom.”
Emotions surged through my heart.
This was everything I had ever wanted.
On my daughter’s first day of middle school, we
threw a party.
I saw Jake again.
He didn’t have the same swagger as before.
When he saw Yuma and me, he gave a perfect
smile. “Mr. Foster, Ms. Foster.”
Yuma casually chatted with him.
Jake said goodbye. As he left, he looked at me.
<
Someone told Yuma about Jake. “He had a lot
of determination. He went bankrupt and spent
years getting back on his feet.”
Yuma scoffed, hugging me. “Your ex–husband
is trying. He said he wouldn’t come here again. I
wonder if he can do it.”
“You’re not going to change your mind, are
you?”
He was about to cry, so I said, “No! I wouldn’t
trade Yuma for a hundred Jakes.”
He was satisfied.
I leaned on him, wondering how I would’ve
could have given up this good husband and
daughter.
