The Heartbreak Factor - Part Three

Chapter Twenty-Four.

“It looks so much different in real life than it does on photos,” I smiled to George as we made our way up the street in between the towering jungle of skyscrapers and other buildings.

George smiled at me, squeezing my hand tighter as we got closer and closer to our original destination. I knew exactly where we were going; as much as I didn’t want to go there, I knew I had to one day. I smiled back at him as we stopped at the edge of the road, waiting for the traffic to come to a stop to let us and the billion other pedestrians cross the road.

“We don’t have to do this,” George said to me as I looked down the street that looked identical to the one we were walking down with all the soaring buildings. “If you’re not ready then that’s fine with me.”

I looked back at him as all the pedestrians rushed past us once the lights turned to red. “I’ve got to do it,” I smiled. “I’ll be fine as long as you’re by my side.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he grinned.

We continued to walk down the street, swinging our arms back and forth as we held hands, nearly knocking out the people walking behind us. I couldn’t help but giggle as an old lady attacked George with her handbag when we accidentally bumped into her.

“It’s not funny,” he chuckled.

“If it’s not funny, why are you laughing?” I winked.

“I’m allowed to laugh,” he smiled, draping his arm around my shoulder. “You, on the other hand, cannot laugh until you get violently savaged by an elderly lady and her bag.”

“Violently savaged?” I asked. “She hit you once and it didn’t even hurt.”

“I bruise like a peach.”

“Peachy George,” I laughed, pinching his cheek with my thumb and finger.

“Get off the face,” he said.

As I giggled, George stopped walking and looked past me.

“What is it?” I asked, looking at him, confused as to why we’d stopped in the middle of the busy street.

George didn’t say anything in reply; he just kept looking past me. I turned to see what he was looking at and there it was.

Ground Zero.

*

“So that’s it?” I asked as we crossed the road, dodging the yellow taxis that rushed past us.

George grabbed hold of my hand again as we got to the other side of the road.

 “That’s where my dad died?”

“If you want to go, just tell me and we’ll go,” George smiled to me, reassuringly.

I’d always seen photos of Ground Zero and never actually thought of even coming to see it in real life, but here I was. Standing in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the pavement, I looked at George as he looked at me. “Come on,” I smiled.

We made our way into Ground Zero itself – all the way through I held onto George’s hand.

“It’s huge,” I said, looking at the huge area of land where the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. “I can’t even imagine what they were like when they were still standing.”

I could tell that George was watching me to make sure I was okay, but surprisingly, I was fine. We walked around the side of the fountain’s wall that ran the perimeter of where both towers were towards the part where my dad’s name was. Scanning through the vast amount of names, a huge lump appeared in my throat as I read all the names. It just made me realise that I wasn’t alone; it made me realise that all these people that died were just like my dad – innocent people who died leaving their families behind. Some would have had husbands and wives; some would have had kids. They all had lives that were ruined when it happened, just like dad.

As I got further and further down the list, George wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder as he held me close.

I finally found it.

There engraved into the bronze memorial was my father’s name – Kevin Jones. I stood staring at it, tracing the imprint of the letters with my finger. As a tear dropped from my eye, George kissed me on the cheek, hugging me even tighter. We stood in silence for a few minutes.

“Thank-you,” I smiled to George as I turned to face him.

“For what?” he asked.

“For bringing me to see it.”

He kissed my forehead before pulling away. “I’m gonna go get us some coffee but you stay here,” he smiled. “I’ll be right back. I promise.”

I nodded as he walked off down the path towards a row of shops. All alone with the memorial, I stood looking at my dad’s name again. All the memories came flooding back to me as I listened to the gushing from the fountain on the other side of the wall – the last time I saw my dad, finding out he had died, his funeral.. everything. So much had changed in the thirteen years since he died. I couldn’t help but think how different life would be like if he had turned down the job and had just stayed at home with me and mum. Mum wouldn’t have met Michael; Jack wouldn’t have been born; I probably wouldn’t have auditioned for the X Factor meaning I wouldn’t have met George, Jaymi, Josh and JJ. There would be none of this. Part of me was thankful, but the rest of me wished dad had turned down the job. I might not have met George, Jaymi, Josh or JJ and Jack might not have been born but at least I’d still have my dad.

“I love you dad,” I smiled, tracing the lettering again.

*

“Your dad would hate me if he ever met me,” George laughed as we stood looking at the memorial.

I looked around at him. “Don’t be so stupid,” I grinned. “He’d have loved you.”

“I’m dating his baby girl. No man ever likes their daughter’s boyfriends – it’s a fact of life,” he smiled.

“My dad was different,” I giggled as George wrapped his arm around my back. “Mum always used to say to me that dad planned for me to marry a prince because I’m his princess.”

“I’m no prince, but let’s do it.”

I turned to look at him in confusion. “What?”

“I hope your dad doesn’t mind but..” George reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a bag of haribos. “Sammy Jones, will you marry me?”

I looked down at his hand as he held a red and yellow haribo ring out at me. “Oh George,” I laughed. “You joker.”

“Who says I’m joking?” he asked.

Looking into his eyes, I could tell he was serious. It actually scared me as to how serious he looked. He didn’t even smile. “Oh my God. You really are serious, aren’t you?”

“I never wanted to do it like this but as soon as we got here, I knew I wanted to do it here,” he smiled, still holding the haribo ring out at me. “Marry me.”

I held my hand to my mouth, trying to hide my giggling. “Okay.”

“Okay?” he grinned.

“I’ll marry you,” I giggled, throwing my arms around his shoulder as I kissed him.

“I hope you don’t mind, Mr Jones,” George laughed, looking at my dad’s name on the memorial wall.

I smiled, resting my head against George’s chest as we both looked at the memorial wall. “Sorry dad,” I giggled. “But you’ve got to share me from now on.”

“We’ve just turned a horrible place into a beautiful one,” I whispered.

“You did that when we walked onto the site,” he chuckled.

“Proposing with a haribo ring was cheesy enough, George,” I laughed as he put the gel ring on my finger. “Do you want some burger with that cheese?”