My Life Without You

Chapter 1: Moving On

Sunday, August 02, 2019

It's been four years since Valerie saw or heard anything from her best friend. After one year of crying and depression, Valerie learns to live and move on with her life. Although moving on came with a lot of lonely nights, feelings of abandonment, and new responsibilities, Valerie was not going to let her decisions in life define her, nor stop her from finishing her business degree at Wayne State University.

Now twenty-four, she reminisces on how she walked proudly across the stage with two-year-old Nairobi by her side. I remember just like it was yesterday when I had my daughter. My little girl is turning four in one week. Wow! She's growing so fast, Valerie thought as she stared at her daughter while she was sleeping in her pink princess-themed canopy bed.

"Valerie."

Turning around to face her husband, "Yes, Rick?"

"Are you going to stand there all night watching our little girl or you gonna come to bed?"

"Sorry honey, I must've lost track of time after I put her to bed. Let me go into Noah's room real quick and kiss him goodnight. I'll be right there." Valerie walks into six-year-old Noah's room—kissing him goodnight, she pulls the covers up over his chest and turns his Spiderman lamp off, before she leaves out.

Noah is from Rick's previous marriage. He loves frogs. His skin complexion matches that of his parents—his brown skin is a mix between cocoa brown and dark brown. Rick's former wife passed away shortly after delivering Noah. After just two years of marriage, Rick had to adjust to being a single parent.  

Walking into their bedroom at the end of the hallway, Val comes up behind her husband, wrapping her arms around his stocky build. Planting her head upon his back, she leans in and embraces the firmness of his body.

Turning around, leaning down to kiss his wife. Rick strokes her neck as he softly kisses her lips, her left cheek and then her right. Finally, after kissing her forehead, he gazes into her deep-dark eyes. His smooth-warm skin envelops his wife with comport.

"Meeting you is like waking up to a fresh new morning of ocean wave's rushing upon the shoreline," Rick said smoothly. His voice is deep and tranquilizing.

Valerie loves how he always reminds her of his affection for her often. She didn't imagine ever falling-in-love again, especially with a professor. She met him at a business seminar that was held at the university. There he stood at the podium talking and she just had to meet him. After the two-hour seminar ended, Rick stayed around for a meet and greet. Valerie stood listening nearby and found him very interesting and good looking. Approaching Val, Rick reaches his hand out to shake hers. "Hi, I'm Rick Finway, and who might you be?" he said. His deep-raspy voice catches her by surprise. Val would later find out that he had been eyeing her the whole time, and made it his business to make it over to her. Something about him piqued her interest, as she would later agree to meet the next day for coffee.

Wasting no time proposing to Valerie—Rick bent down on one knee after dinner one Sunday afternoon. After six months of dating, he had told her he knew she was the one, and needed her in his life—six months later, she was married--but kept her last name. The wedding was quick and simple—Rick announced to her that it was love at first sight. Rick confessed how much he adores her smile, her laughter, and the joy she brung to him and Noah. As they both stood at the Alter, she would watch her husband say to his friends and family... "Valerie you were not hard to fall in love with—I loved you from the moment we met. You clicked with Noah and me seamlessly, as we did with you and Nairobi. You make me live again...I will love you forever until forever doesn't exist anymore—and even then, you will still have my heart."