“Mimi! Stop! Wait!” Brady stood watching her run off through the trees and then went off after her. He could see her long hair flying behind her, the sun turning the red strands into fire, and his heart was beating so hard in his chest he could barely breathe. How could he have made such a terrible mess of this?

His stride was longer than hers and he caught up with her just as she entered the place of the huge oak where they used to sit and talk endlessly. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, whirling her around to face him. Her face was wet with tears, and Brady felt his heart crack open at that moment. He couldn’t remember a single time in his life when someone had cried over him, and he felt his eyes fill up.

“Brady, just let me go. Please. I beg of you. Let me go.”

“Mimi, I….” Brady felt like his tongue was too large for his mouth, and his mind shut down. There was so much he wanted to say, so much crowding his thoughts and strangling him, but it seemed he could not get the words out. He swallowed and tried again, but all he could see was Mimi looking at him with such pain, such misery, and his tears spilled over.

They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity, and finally Mimi bowed her head and pulled her arm away from Brady’s grasp. When she did that, Brady felt like something incredibly precious had pulled away from him, and he reached out and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her and letting his chin rest on the top of her head and began sobbing. He let go of all the pain, all the feelings of abandonment he had experienced, all the lack of warmth, and he let it all go. He felt her arms come around him, holding him in her arms, and they both let the tears come, no longer hiding their pain from each other, but understanding, finally, the only way two can become one is when they are willing to become vulnerable and trust the other to not hurt them.

Finally, Mimi lifted her face, and looked him straight in the eyes. She gathered up all the feelings she had for him, all the good and the bad, all the joy and the sorrow, and she captured his eyes so he could not look away.

“I love you Brady.”

Finally it was there between them. The words could not be taken back, they could not be misconstrued or denied. She had said it out loud and Mimi knew that at that moment, whatever Brady did, would either be a beginning or an ending, but either way would not diminish how she felt about him. She felt him suck in a deep, deep breath, and when he let out his breath she didn’t know if it was a moan or a sigh of relief, but he tipped up her chin, and with a deep shudder, he bent down to her and with the gentlest if kisses he laid his lips on hers.

It seemed as the very forest was leaning in with anticipation, and then Brady lifted his lips from hers and said, “You are my life, Mimi. I’m so, so sorry that I am such an idiot, but I will never let you go again. Never.”

And then the trees sighed.