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RICKY BOWEN EXITED THE FLOWER shop, carrying a bundle of red roses. Her favorite. Ricky was in a rush, already running late to meet up with someone, but he needed to get these flowers first.
The wind was a bit chilly as it thrashed the scarf around on his neck. The cold winter day was taking a toll on him, making him even later due to the harsh, frozen conditions of the sidewalks, driveways, and roads. He made it to his car, gently setting the delicate flowers in his passenger seat. Making a quick dash around the car, he slipped into the driver's seat and immediately turned on the car to start up the heat. A shiver passed through his body and up his spine. His mouth was clamped shut tightly to prevent his teeth from chattering from the cold.
The drive to the Sagewood Cemetery was short. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or annoyed that it wasn't as long of a drive as he previously anticipated.
He pulled off to the side of the road near the familiar gravestone, putting the car in park before resting his head on the semi warm steering wheel. This was always so difficult for him. But when was it ever easy for a person to visit someone's grave?
Ricky took one last minute to sit in the warmth of his car before he slowly exited his vehicle, not forgetting to grab the beautiful flowers he had just purchased a few minutes ago. He let out a shaky breath, the air turned visible in front of his mouth due to the low temperature.
He took his time walking up to the familiar gravestone, staring at it for a few seconds before he moved his eyes up to the sky where the sun was peaking out from behind a cloud. With a small smile, he began to speak aloud.
"H-Hi, um, I know I haven't visited here since the funeral, but I thought today would be a good day to come back. Now that I'm out here standing in the freezing cold, I'm realizing that this might not have been the best day after all, but I'm here anyway." Ricky let out a small laugh before cleared his throat, looking down at the stone once again. "I want you to know that I've kept your promise. I will continue to keep that promise for as long as I live. I've held onto it despite the curveballs thrown my way, despite the unpredictability of life that has taken me by surprise a few times, despite knowing that life isn't always fair for everyone. I've kept that promise for you."
Ricky smiled to himself when he felt the sun's warmth come upon him a bit more than it was before. This made standing in the cold just a bit more bearable.
Ricky heard the crunching of snow behind him as a result of someone's footsteps. He turned around and smiled at the person. He was expecting to arrive after them since he was running late, but he assumed the person must have been running even later than him.
"Hey, sorry I'm late," they called out as they approached Ricky. "Traffic was absolutely horrible on the way here. Have you been here long?"
Ricky shook his head, wrapping an arm around the person to help keep each other warm. "No, I just got here like three minutes ago. I thought I was running late because I had to buy the flowers still and sit through Salt Lake City traffic as well."
