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t h i r t y - n i n e

——— 最後に ———

The car finally came to a stop and Megan knew they had finally arrived at Duncan's intended destination.

"Where are we at?" Megan asked as she observed her surroundings from the window of her seat.

They had stopped in the middle of plains and a large oak tree stood towering above them as rocks of different sizes surrounded it's roots.

"The place where my father proposed to my mother." Duncan whispered and Megan lifted one of her eyebrows.

"Why are we here?" Megan asked as Duncan straightened his back laid his back against his seat.

She didn't get an answer immediately. Megan looked briefly, at Duncan, who just kept looking at the carpet of the car while fiddling with the end of his shirt, and then back to the tree, puzzlement settling on her face.

And then unexpectedly, in the very next breath, Duncan whispered, "My mother recently passed away."

"What?" Megan gasped in shock.

Duncan nodded his head and Megan could only reach out for his hand and squeeze it.

She knew how it felt. Memories of Joseph flooded her mind and various emotions began locking themselves in the chamber of he heart.

So this was the reason for the mask of sadness and pain he wore. If only Megan knew.

"I am sorry Duncan. I really am." Megan softly whispered as she bit her lip, not daring to look at Duncan's eyes, for if she did she could end up crying.

And she didn't want that. She wanted to be strong for Duncan. It was already hard enough for him to choke out the words without breaking down. What he needed now was a miracle, not another mess.

"You know my mother said before she left?" Duncan took a slight pause, contemplating if he should continued.

"Yeah what did she say?" Megan asked, curiosity replacing all the emotions just for a few seconds.

"She's a good one. Don't let her get wasted." Duncan closed his eyes briefly for a moment before staring into Megan's eyes.

"What?" Megan asked and Duncan shook his head slightly.

"I don't know how to say this but. . . Shucks, let's just get this done and over with."

With that Duncan pulled Megan into a passionate kiss.