Under the Giant Oak
Epilogue
“Hey,” Ronnie whispered in my ear. “I got something for you.”
I looked up from where I was watching people bustle around our house. Some randomly showed up when they heard we got married, and most of them didn’t leave. There were the people we originally invited with neighbors randomly arriving, and some of our other high school bodies, people from Ronnie’s work, just anyone really. Anyone was allowed to come celebrate.
“And what would that be love?” I asked.
He sat on the arm of the chair that I was sitting at, leaning until he was practically on top of me, not that I minded. “Here,” he placed a small black box on my lap with a red bow. “You already put a ring on it, you know.” I said. He laughed and just waited for me to open it.
I opened the box, revealing a piece of wood. Now, I’m not going to say I didn’t appreciate it, but I was confused on what it was. It was just a little piece of wood, about the size of my thumb, that was stringed onto a black cord to make a necklace.
“You gave me bark,” I stated. He smiled with a nod. “Why?” I pressed.
“Well, over a year ago you were walking home from a strip club every single night to your crappy little apartment-“
“Thank you for reminding about that, Ronnie.” I deadpanned.
“I’m not done,” he deadpanned back. “What I was saying, you would walk home every night, and you would pass the park that I always thought was really creepy, but you seemed to like it a lot. And, I know you’re scared about the future because this is what you thought you would be doing with your life. So, I wanted to get you something to show you that everything will be okay. We’ll be okay.” He kissed my temple before having to go entertain some more guests.
I laughed, staring down at this insignificant, useless piece of a timber. He knew me so damn well, it was actually quite scary. I slipped the cord over my head, clutching onto the tiny part of the tree in my fist. I gripped it until my hand started to hurt, still laughing like something was funny.
“What’s that?” Linda asked as she walked up. She pointed to my almost white fist.
I just shook my head, still smiling while I replied. “The past.”
I looked up from where I was watching people bustle around our house. Some randomly showed up when they heard we got married, and most of them didn’t leave. There were the people we originally invited with neighbors randomly arriving, and some of our other high school bodies, people from Ronnie’s work, just anyone really. Anyone was allowed to come celebrate.
“And what would that be love?” I asked.
He sat on the arm of the chair that I was sitting at, leaning until he was practically on top of me, not that I minded. “Here,” he placed a small black box on my lap with a red bow. “You already put a ring on it, you know.” I said. He laughed and just waited for me to open it.
I opened the box, revealing a piece of wood. Now, I’m not going to say I didn’t appreciate it, but I was confused on what it was. It was just a little piece of wood, about the size of my thumb, that was stringed onto a black cord to make a necklace.
“You gave me bark,” I stated. He smiled with a nod. “Why?” I pressed.
“Well, over a year ago you were walking home from a strip club every single night to your crappy little apartment-“
“Thank you for reminding about that, Ronnie.” I deadpanned.
“I’m not done,” he deadpanned back. “What I was saying, you would walk home every night, and you would pass the park that I always thought was really creepy, but you seemed to like it a lot. And, I know you’re scared about the future because this is what you thought you would be doing with your life. So, I wanted to get you something to show you that everything will be okay. We’ll be okay.” He kissed my temple before having to go entertain some more guests.
I laughed, staring down at this insignificant, useless piece of a timber. He knew me so damn well, it was actually quite scary. I slipped the cord over my head, clutching onto the tiny part of the tree in my fist. I gripped it until my hand started to hurt, still laughing like something was funny.
“What’s that?” Linda asked as she walked up. She pointed to my almost white fist.
I just shook my head, still smiling while I replied. “The past.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Wow, it's over. I actually finished something. It feels weird.