Page 12 of Wild Mistake
Dear Aiden,
You’ve only been gone a week and already I don’t know how I’m going to make it without you! The last party down by the lake was insufferable. Everyone flirting and sneaking off to make out. I left early. I don’t think I’ll go anymore. My friends keep telling me I need to have a better attitude. Even my parents were practically pushing me out the door last night, but I didn’t even want to go out. It’s not the same.
I told Marnie I could work more hours at the diner. It probably won’t happen because she’s fully staffed, but I could at least use this time before school starts to make extra money. I am dreading the first day of school. I already wasn’t looking forward to it, but now that you’re basically on another planet, it’s going to be so much harder.
Who’s gonna make me smile at the end of the day? Who’s going to laugh at my jokes and listen to me go on about stupid stuff?
I hope you know how much I love you. If you weren’t sure, I suppose the letters I’m writing will remind you ;-)
I don’t know when exactly you’ll be allowed to call and check in, but I’m counting down the hours. I hope you are doing better than I am. That you’re kicking butt and making all of us proud. I was always proud to call you my boyfriend but ever since you joined the Army, our entire town treats me as if I’m dating royalty. At least this heartache comes with some perks!
Love you forever,
Sarah
AIDEN
PRESENT DAY
I’ve surprised her.
I was hoping the news of my return hadn’t made its way to her already. Selfishly, I wanted a front seat to her reaction. Her lips might be pressed into a frown now, but I saw how she lit up when she first saw me. She was happy. At least, she was for a second.
The woman standing before me, expression impatient and hands on her hips, isn’t the same girl I left behind. Time wore its influence around her like a badge of armor, the same as it did me. She has wrinkles and laugh lines where her skin used to be perfectly smooth. Her hair is shorter and darker than I remember, but it suits her. Sarah had always been curvy. It was one of my favorite things about her, but those curves are now full and lush.
Fuck me. My fingers ache to reach for her, to press into her hips, to pull her against me and melt into her softness.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
Sarah isn’t mine. Not anymore.
It’s strange, staring at someone and knowing so much about them, yet knowing nothing at all. I’m hit by the desire to fill in the gaps, to know everything I missed. Did she feel the same looking at me?
“Sarah Baker.” I nod my head. “Wow. It’s been a while, huh?”
“Yeah.” Her smile is tight. “It’s actually Sarah Callahan now.”
Callahan.The reminder she married someone else hurts more than it should. I’ll always think of her as Baker. She should’ve been a Wilder.
She exhales a slight laugh. “What has it been? Eighteen years?”
Eighteen and a half, to be exact. I hate that it’s been that long. Clearing my throat, I glance down at the floor. “I thought I might see you at my mom’s funeral.”Was hoping to, actually.
“I’m sorry, Aiden.” Her toughness drops and she reaches out to touch my arm, but pulls it back as soon as she makes contact with the sleeve of my jacket. “I was heartbroken to hear the news. I thought about driving up, but I didn’t want to make a hard day any more uncomfortable for your family.”
“You wouldn’t have,” I say, melancholy filling my gut. Shame too. “She always loved you.”
“And I loved her. She was a good woman.”
“The best.” The thing with time is you always expect to have more of it.
It’s not as if I didn’t understand the ever-present fragility of life. Hell, I spent years in places and situations that should’ve gotten me killed but didn’t, and from which many of my comrades didn’t make it back alive. For that, I feel lucky. But I never thought to worry about my family back home. Mom should be living out her retirement with Pops, but cancer had other plans. A fresh wave of guilt washes over me for not being here, and for missing out on so many moments with the people I loved most.
“So, can I get you a table? Or are you ordering to go?”
My intent was to stop in and order take-out. Okay, and sneak a glimpse at Sarah. But now that I’m here and we’re talking, I’m not ready to leave. “I’ll stay and eat.”Shit.What if she doesn’t want me here? Uncertainty jumbles my confidence. “I mean, if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Why wouldn’t it?”
