the short story after the real story
"Hey, Mr. Hanson." Bryce spoke quietly. He bit down on his bottom lip as he gripped onto the bouquet of flowers. They were dahlias. Bryce knew that Naomi's father loved dahlias. They brought them to him every year on father's day, as well as his birthday and plenty other holidays. Always going together, except today.
Bryce cleared his throat, "I don't know why I'm so freaked out. I've talked to you before." Bryce chuckled a little at himself. He sighed, "Naomi misses you. Of course, you know that. So does Ms. Hanson- I mean- Cynthia. She told me to call her Cynthia." Bryce laughed at himself.
He licked his lips, "You raised your kids well, sir. Naomi is wonderful. Of course, you know that too. So is Jace. He just got promoted at his job! I hear Marie is pregnant. I'm sure Jace will be a good dad." Bryce now spoke normally, he wasn't nervous. It felt natural.
"Look, I uhm- I just had to ask you something. Of course, after asking you I'll ask Cynthia and Jace." Bryce smiled to himself a little. He looked down at the flowers, running his finger over the petal nervously.
Bryce took a deep breathe, "I wanted to ask for your blessing." He blurted out. His nerves quickly came back. Bryce swallowed the lump in his throat, "It's just- I- I really love her, sir. I will always love and protect her and- god, I just love that woman." He gushed.
"We've been together since sophomore year! It's crazy! We both graduated college and we're still together. There's nobody else I'd want to spend my life with. I just love her with every fiber of my being. I'm sure you get it." Bryce spoke softly, "Cynthia has told us so many stories." He chuckled a little. He took one last glance at the flowers before gently placing them on the ground, leaning against the headstone. He placed his hand on top of the headstone, sweeping away the fall leaves that had landed on it.
Bryce sighed softly, "Thanks for listening to me ramble, Mr. Hanson." He looked around him, as if he was hoping to see someone or hear something. He looked back at the headstone, closing his eyes for a moment and imagining Mr. Hanson. Not from the last time he saw him, but who Mr. Hanson truly was. Radiant. Kind. A smile always on his face. He chuckled a little to himself, thinking of him and Naomi spending time with him when they were younger. Bryce opened his eyes, he could feel them sting a little but he just took a deep breathe and cleared his throat.
"I'll see you."
a/n
uh, hi thanks for reading! just wanna say i did not expect this to get the attention it did. i wrote this back in high school and i have no idea how it holds up, but i hope you enjoyed?! thanks for sticking through my moderately shit writing from back then
