Saving Wishes

Saving Wishes Part 13

28. Three Options

I had no idea how Alex would take the news of me leaving town with Mitchell. What I did know was that I'd only have one chance to convince him that I hadn't lost my mind. I figured the best place to corner him was at home. It also gave me an hour to work on my speech.

The weather that afternoon was glorious. The miserable winter had given way to spring. Tulip blooms had popped from every spot in the garden. It was a happy sight that I looked forward to every year, secretly still hopeful that one day I'd find a sleeping baby fairy. Curiously, for the first time ever, we had a sea of orange tulips amongst the traditional red and yellow blooms. Alex thought they'd mutated over the years. It made sense. Some of the bulbs had been flowering since I was a kid.

Adam had once told me that the fairy garden would be my legacy. The thought of leaving town made me hopeful that the mark I left on the world would be much bigger.

I sat on the steps of the veranda, soaking up the last minutes of the day's sunshine. Gabrielle arrived home first. That changed my game plan a little bit. It was definitely favourable to have her there because her influence on Alex was generally calming. The Décarie effect. I'd fallen under that spell myself.

"What are you doing sitting out here?" she asked, walking towards me with a bag of groceries.

"Waiting for Alex. What are you doing here?"

I shuffled over to make room for her to pass but instead she sat beside me, resting the groceries on her lap. "I thought I'd surprise him with dinner. What are you planning to surprise him with?"

Lying in wait to ambush him the minute he got home made it pretty obvious that something was going on. I told her my plan in its entirety, which took about five seconds, highlighting just how harebrained it was going to sound to him.

"I have to go. It's come down to a case of now or never," I told her.

Gabrielle deliberated for a long time, making me nervous.

"Then go, Charli. I will support you all the way," she said finally, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand.

"Really?"

"Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I had my doubts," I admitted.

She laughed lightly, repositioning the bag on her lap.

I hadn't treated Gabrielle well in the past. I'd wasted a lot of energy making her life difficult, which was stupid. She'd turned out to be my greatest ally. One day, when I was braver, I'd tell her so.

"You seem to have a lot of doubts," she said, hinting towards a different subject matter.

"Not about this. Getting out of here has always felt right," I insisted.

"What about other decisions you've made lately?"

Her question was as subtle as an avalanche. Gabrielle had never once questioned me about my reasons for ending things with Adam. I was miffed that she'd chosen that moment to raise the subject.

"Have you spoken to him lately?" I asked.

"Who? Adam?"

"Of course, Adam," I grumbled. "Who else?"

"Well!" she said theatrically. "It's funny you should mention him. I got a letter this morning. He usually sends me emails so it was a wonderful surprise to see that he'd put pen to paper."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a crisp white envelope.

"Did he mention me?" I asked, trying to ignore the fact that she was waving the envelope in my face.