Chapter 1
It’s been 5 years since I last saw my Sarah. She was the love of my life we met in fifth grade and we instantly became best friends then we started secretly dating at the end of 8th grade. Sarah’s family never accepted her the way that she was and who she loved except for her grandma. She was the black sheep of her family. In her parents mind they only had one daughter Sarah’s older sister Bridget who is six years older than her. While Sarah had to get a job as soon as she turned 16 and help with the rent, her 22 year old sister stayed at home bringing guys home every night and eventually got pregnant. Bridget didn’t work a day in her life but not Sarah.
I never loved and cared for someone like I did with her but I broke up with her to go to marine training in a completely different state. She was planning on going to culinary school as she wanted to run her own restaurant.
During training we weren’t allowed to have any contact for 6 months and I didn’t want to put her through that so, I let her go and that was the stupidest mistake I’ve ever made in my life.
The training I had to go through was torture but I graduated top three of my class during graduation. I wanted her to be there next to my parents like she would during any of our functions.
I’m on an airplane going back home to New York after all this time to be stationed three hours from my hometown. My parents picked me up from the airport. I haven’t seen them since last Christmas ” Madison!” my parents waved me over before going to both of them for a hug.
" I’m so glad that you are home. We’ve missed you so much” I was my parents’ miracle child.
The doctors said that my mom couldn’t get pregnant but a year later she had me and I was my parents pride and joy ” I’ve missed you too. It’s so good to be home” New York air is different then North Carolina air.
I was going to spend the night with my parents then they’ll help me get settled into my new apartment close to base. My mom made my favorite meal. I really did miss my moms homemade meals and slept in my childhood bed. I put all my things into the u haul my dad was driving with me where we had to pass Sarah’s house in a gated community ” you know anything about Sarah? How is she doing?″ My parents loved her like a daughter.
" Last thing I heard she moved out of town. She was a sweet girl. I wondered what happened to her” What made her leave town? Did she find a new partner?
My mom drove my truck to the apartment and took us all day to unload and get everything situated. It was just a one bedroom apartment. It’s just me, it’s always just been me since Sarah and I split. ” You’ll come to visit us more often. I hope” I really missed my parents, they mean the world to me.
" I’ll come once a month for dinner. I love you guys, have a safe drive back” then I was left alone before I slept in a big room full of other women and woke up to a loud bullhorn and screaming from the lieutenant.
This time I woke up peacefully letting my body get the rest that it needs and I woke up at 11 and not the usual 5:30 am. I don’t have work and might as well sleep in after lounging around the apartment for a while. I decided to go for a drive during high school. Those drives were the only times that Sarah and I could be alone. I sure do miss her and wonder what she is doing. Is she happy? The town was small and homey all ma and pop shops. The farmers market was in town. I decided to get some food for my empty fridge and catch the vibe from the town. There was tons of vendors some with desserts, some with homemade jewelry, plants, most of the vendors sell fresh fruit and vegetables till I got to this one vendor that the line was really long that I couldn’t even see what was under the white tarp must be good so, I waited in line till I got close enough to see what the vendor was selling they were selling all organic and fresh produce products like fresh jam, natural salad dressings, fresh juice, fresh fruit and vegetables and so much more. Everything looked so delicious my mouth watered ” you want to try some fruit?” a little girl asked, holding out a fresh peach slice.
" Sure, thank you” the peach was so juicy it started to drip into the palm of my hand. When I took a bite.
" Mhmm, that’s really good. The best peach I’ve ever eaten” the little girl smiled proudly.
" I helped my mommy make it in her garden. She grows and makes everything” a woman handed a full bag to a customer, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.
" Sarah?” She looked more mature, she had natural curves and wasn’t a stick thin teenager anymore like she was at 18.
" Madison?″ Her light brown hair looks like it has highlights in it wearing a maxi skirt and string top, her hair held back from a bandana. She still looked absolutely beautiful, radiating. She looked even more stunning now. Her face was glowing.
" Madison, W-what are you doing here?” she stuttered as she balanced a little girl around 5 on her hip before sitting her down in a little wagon.
" I just got stationed here. I heard you grow and make all this’ ′ the little girl that gave me a sample of the peach stood next to her as she wrapped her arm around the short girl’s shoulder.
" That I do it’s my life’s work. You remember Emmy and this is my other daughter Kiya” I didn’t even recognize Emmy. When she was little she had blonde hair.
" That’s Emmy. She’s gotten so big” I haven’t seen her since she was two. They both looked like a mixture of their mother but both had light brown hair and green eyes like their aunt. Why did she introduced them as her daughters?
" You have to excuse me. It was good seeing you Madison” she went to help with another customer. She was the most popular booth of the farmers market.
I walked around the farmers market till around 2 as all the vendors are starting to pack up. I could have left hours ago but I wanted to talk to my sweet Sarah ” mommy, it’s that Lady again” Emmy said, making Sarah look up.
" You need help packing up?” She didn’t look thrilled but accepted my offer.
" You can pack up all the juices. Emmy how about you take his sister on a walk in the wagon” her two nieces went off a little ways. The juices were in glass containers clacked when I put them in the cardboard box.
Why does Emmy call her mommy? she used to call her mommy when we were together cause it was mainly Sarah that took care of her would give her a bath, feed her and take care of her while her mother was either too busy sleeping or playing on her phone and her parents treated Emmy like Sarah even though she was the favorite daughters child ” I tried looking for you on socials” taking off my jacket as she looked at my sleeve full of embellishing flowers that I wanted to get since I was 16 and eyed me up and down.
" I deleted them a couple of years ago and you know how I feel about social media” she never liked them, never saw the importance of them but she made them so I can tag her in stuff.
" How’s your grandma?” Her grandma was her favorite person, she was her only family member that treated her nicely and loved her well, second favorite person.
" She passed away” my heart dropped. She was the only family she had left besides her now two nieces.
" I’m so sorry, Sarah. If I would have known” would I come running to her, absolutely. She hasn’t left my mind since graduation.
" She had a pretty bad stroke so I had to drop out of culinary school to take care of her.” Her grandma was the sweetest woman who always had a plate of desserts or a meal prepared when we would go and visit her. Her grandma taught her everything she knows about food and cooking as it was both of their passions.
" I’ve been wanting to get in contact with you ever since I graduated marine training but you blocked my number” she avoided any eye contact with me.
" Marine training? I didn’t even know you wanted to be a marine and I always thought I knew you better than myself” she chuckled to herself as I took the full boxes into the back of her volvo.
" I’m sorry I left the way that I did. It wasn’t right” I felt guilt in my heart ever since.
" Then why did you? We were both planning out our future together then you broke up with me right after we graduated” I was young and stupid but that’s not a real excuse.
" It was complicated, Sarah,” she shook her head.
" People say that then it’s never as complicated as they made it out to be. They’re just scared of what the future might bring. You were scared” how was I supposed to tell her? We’ve never been apart and for that long with no contact.
I was scared, scared that she was going to find someone else while I was away. ” You’re right I was scared. You did know me better than myself, Sarah. I didn’t know how to tell you that I would be across the country with no contact from you for months” she was always right, her growing up in a toxic environment gave her the gift to read people, their body language.
" The girls are with you. Is everything good with your family then?” the look on her face changed and looked behind me to see the girls a distance away.
" A lot has changed since you left Madison. After high school I would have Emmy on the weekends. They said that she was too loud, too needy. Then two years later Kiya was born and my grandma had her stroke shortly after. I had to drop everything to take care of her then shortly after she passed. Bridget showed up to my house with the girls, she said that she had to do some errands” I never liked her sister or her parents for that matter.
" She didn’t come back,” Sarah sighed.
" I’ve had them for 3 years now. She gave me the girls after Kiya got diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Bridget left a note in Emmy’s backpack. She said that they had a screw up child and that she didn’t want her and with Emmy she always wanted to be with me anyway. I haven’t heard or seen them since I called my parents after I read the note of course they sided with her” my heart just broke for her. I know her family is shit but for her sister to abandon her two beautiful daughters that’s a different type of low.
" I’m so sorry Sarah. Why didn’t you tell me about any of this?” She used to trust me with her whole life.
" Cause you broke up with me Madison. I got to go, let’s go girls”.
