“So this is where you grew up,” he eventually said, gazing out of the window.
I tried to wipe away the tears that were brimming in my eyes and threatening to fall down my cheeks, but not soon enough.
Derek placed his hand over mine, squeezing hard. “It’s going to be all right, Sofia.”
“I know.” I smiled. “It’s just that this place brings back so many memories.”
It didn’t take long before we pulled over in front of the Hudsons’ house—one that contained so many of the memories I held dear, memories of my best friend, Ben, whom I’d been in love with for most of my teenage years. Ben was the only one who’d ever posed a threat to my love for Derek. He was that important to me. And now he’s gone.
As Derek paid the driver, I swallowed hard when my eyes settled on an estate agency sign in front of the yard that said, “For Sale.”
I sat frozen for a couple of minutes before the sign registered. “They’re no longer here.” The Hudsons might not have been the kind of family I’d always dreamed of having, but they’d been good to me. “I want to see the house one last time, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course.” Derek looked at me sympathetically.
We got out of the car and walked toward the house. I was expecting it to be locked, but when I twisted the knob, the door opened. A middle-aged woman with brown hair, glasses and a beige suit skipped down the stairs toward us.
I swallowed hard at the familiar scent and homey atmosphere that came with standing in the Hudsons’ hallway before focusing my attention on the woman.
“You must be the Millers! Oh my goodness, you are such a lovely couple!” she exclaimed before shaking our hands. “I didn’t think you’d be so young! Are you ready to tour the house?”
I was momentarily speechless. The woman looked from me to Derek, awaiting our response.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m Monica Andrews. I’m the real estate agent. We talked over the phone. We had an appointment for you to check out the house? You’re actually an hour late.”
Derek and I exchanged glances. It seemed the Millers had ditched her.
“So?” Monica asked. “Shall we start?”
Derek shrugged a shoulder, his blue eyes still on me. “Sure. Why not?”
So, for the next half-hour, Monica gave us a tour around a house that I knew far better than she did. I was still doing pretty well around the living room and dining room, but when our tour reached the second floor I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to keep myself together.
The moment I stepped inside my old bedroom—now empty—vivid memories of times spent with Ben came flooding back. Every cherished memory I had with him: charming and funny, endearing and sometimes lonely. I could practically imagine their faces inside—his and his younger sister, Abby’s. We’d had so much fun in that room, but all the feelings of loss that I’d struggled with since Ben’s death returned to me at full blast.
“He used to call me Rose Red,” I whispered to Derek, memories of Ben’s kisses making my lips tingle. I was clinging to Derek’s arm so tightly, my knuckles were growing white.
Derek nodded and whispered back, “I know. Sofia, if this is too hard for you, we don’t have to go through this…”
Monica was talking about how marvelous the rooms were. She was showing us the cabinets and the wide windows and all I could think of was that I’d spent hours with Ben in that room.
Derek kept one hand on the small of my back. “Still up for this, Sofia?”
Monica spun around and froze when she saw me close to tears. “Oh. What’s the matter? Is something wrong?”
Derek forced a smile. “The room just reminded her of someone important to her. That’s all.”
Monica gave me a sympathetic glance but she obviously had no idea how to handle the situation.
“We’re just going to get a breath of fresh air,” Derek said, before gently tugging me to follow him before I could break down in tears.
We were in the front yard when the waterworks began. I buried my face into Derek’s chest, my arms wrapping around his waist. Guilt was taking hold of me. After the funeral, I’d kept telling myself to give the Hudsons a call, but there had been just too much going on. I owed Ben and his family more than I could ever give them.
Derek seemed to be reading my thoughts. “Sofia, we both know everything that happened after Ben’s funeral. I’m sure they will understand that you weren’t able to communicate with them. I’m sure Ben would’ve understood.”
“I know, I know…” I tried to get a hold of myself as I pulled away from Derek.
He began gently wiping my tears away. “What do you want to do now?” He cupped my face with his hands. “We are still on our honeymoon.”
I gave it some thought. Monica had just stepped out of the house, locking the front door behind her. She had probably realized that there was no way we were going to buy the house. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked at Derek. “I’m not sure if I’m being insensitive here, but would you maybe want to check out another house?”
Derek looked at me. I shrugged. “Why not?”
The smile on Derek’s face said that he loved the idea of exploring homes with me. He turned toward Monica and said, “Do you have any beachfront homes available?”
Monica’s shoulders perked up. “Yes, actually… however, I have to warn you that most of those homes are outside the budget range you gave me in our initial conversation…”