Could It Be?

Chapter 6 ~ Breaking Through

Chapter 6 - Breaking Through

     I took a deep breath, my eyes still closed as I was waking up to a new day. Musk and tobacco still lingered in the air bringing a smile to my face. I reached over to embrace Johnny but instead I reached over to an empty space in my bed. I quickly opened my eyes and scanned the room but there was no sign of Johnny. My heart fell, I couldn’t stand to not be near him. Why did he leave? I squeezed the pillow he had laid his head upon, it still smelled of his essence and it brought me comfort. As I glanced over to the front of my bedroom, I noticed something on the top of my dresser. It was a drawing and one long stemmed red rose that was almost fully bloomed. Curious, I walked over and brought the drawing closer. It was a drawing of a broken heart with sad eyes and band-aids around its body, looking up into the corner with an arm held out reaching for the sun. The sun had a gentle smile and was reaching down to the broken heart. Their hands barely clasped into one another. Under the sun it simply said, ‘You”, and under the broken heart it simply said, “Me”. What did this mean? Could this be his way of reaching out to me, asking me to help mend his broken heart? I looked down at the red rose, it was almost fully bloomed. Was he almost ready to merge his heart with mine? I pulled the drawing and rose to my chest, as tears escaped my eyes. I felt for this man, and I wanted to be the one to help end his pain. I had to find him.

     I made my way downstairs to an empty house. Where is everyone? Suddenly, Alex came around the corner of the kitchen. “Oh, hey girl! You’re up!” “Hi Alex, where is everyone?” “Oh, Johnny has meetings all day and didn’t want you to be alone, so he asked me to spend the day with you and keep you company until he gets back tonight.” Hmm, so this was the reason Johnny had told me to remember who Alex was. “Sounds great! What’s the plan then?” “Whatever you want, you just tell me what you want to do, and I’ll take you there!” Alex said with a huge grin on his face. “I’m also to tell you that there will be a small dinner this evening here at the house with Mark, myself, and you two.” Ok then, I wonder why Johnny had arranged this small dinner. He always has a reason for everything he does. I guess I will just have to wait and see what that reason is, the man after all was full of surprises. I wanted to get Johnny a gift but one that was special. “Alex, are there any vintage shops nearby? I’m looking for a gift to get Johnny.” “I believe there are a couple down by the beach, I can take you there and we can have lunch afterwards.” “Sounds like a plan!” I gave Alex a hug. “Let me freshen up and we can be on our way!” “Julie...” I turned and looked back at Alex, “Don’t give up on Johnny, he’s lucky you came into his life when you did.” “I don’t plan on it” I said with a wink as I turned to go back up the stairs. Why was he lucky? There are so many hidden messages going around but they all had the same message, to not give up on Johnny. That is the one thing I would never give up on.

     It was early afternoon; Alex and I were walking along the streets that led up to the beach. “What about this store?” I said pointing out an old, antique shop. “No, no. I think I know what kind of shop you’re looking for. There’s a cute vintage shop up here on the corner” Alex said as he pointed up the street. We made our way to a cute, purple stoned vintage shop. It seemed like a shop you would find in the streets of Paris or London, not on the corner of a beach town. The smell of old books drifted across your nose as you entered the shop. There were a lot of vintage clothes from years gone past, it truly was a step back in time. “Hello, young lady! What may I help you with?” “Oh, do you have any blank vintage journals?” “Hmm, actually I think we may here in the back!” The saleslady led me to the back of the store and in a display, case were 3 different vintage journals. I glanced at them….one particularly got my attention. It was a black and grey journal with white stripes that swirled around the cover. It had an antique look to it and reminded me of the rustic, medieval theme of Johnny’s house. “Can I see this one?” The saleslady handed me the journal. It felt delicate yet strong. It reminded me of Johnny. He was delicate yet strong. “How much is this one?” “$80 young lady.” Wow, $80 for a journal?! That was a crazy amount that I normally would not spend on a journal, but I had to get it, it fit who Johnny was. “I’ll take it!”