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Monday, January 10, 2005 You Can Go Home Again, Part III
Callie looked around and suddenly realized that she was the only one in this entire section of the restaurant. She reached over and pulled the small envelope from the bouquet of roses and saw her name written across the front. She smiled and turned it over, opened the flap and, as she slowly removed the card, she looked up to see Ryan walking toward her . . . [This is part three of the story that began with the column "You Can Go Home Again, Part I," which was published July 15, 2003, followed by the column "You Can Go Home Again, Part II," which was published July 25, 2003. If you haven't read parts one and two, please click here for part one, and click here for part two, to read those columns before continuing.] Ryan flashed a smile at Callie and asked, "Did I remember correctly? It is the pale apricot color that's your favorite, right?" Callie couldn't speak; she just smiled and nodded. He moved closer and she couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked. In all the time she had known him though, she could never remember seeing him dressed in anything but jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. But, here he stood in perfectly pressed khakis, a blue and khaki golf shirt, and a pair of brown Italian loafers. Ryan leaned down and lightly kissed Callie's lips before taking his seat across from her at the table. "Well? Go ahead. Read the card." She had forgotten all about the tiny card that she was still holding in her hand. "Oh," Callie stammered, flushing with embarrassment, "I had completely forgotten the card." She finally took her eyes off Ryan and looked down at the card. On this tiny card, the five words spoke volumes . . . in Ryan's own handwriting were the words, "I will always love you!" Callie stared at the card without moving; she could feel the tears starting to stream down her cheeks. "Oh, Callie," Ryan consoled, "I never meant to make you cry." Callie looked up and smiled. "Ryan, the card, the flowers, this setting, it is all so beautiful. Thank you! It's just that I don't . . ." she trailed off. He pushed her to continue, "You just don't what, Callie?" She hadn't planned on beginning the reunion with a discussion of Matt, but Ryan had asked. "It's just that . . . I haven't gotten flowers in such a long time. Matt always says, 'they'll just die,' so he never buys them for me. But, enough of that for now, okay? Tell me what you've been doing since we last saw one another." Callie needed some time to regain her composure, and hoped that Ryan would pick up the slack with some conversation while she tried to pull herself together. She was overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness, his caring, and the fact that time, distance and circumstance had not lessened his love for her. Before Ryan could say anything, a waiter came to the table with freshly baked bread, menus, and a pitcher to fill the water glasses. Behind him stood the wine steward with a corkscrew. He deftly uncorked the wine that had been chilling beside the table, and poured a small amount in Ryan's wine glass for his approval. Ryan swirled the wine slightly, took a brief sniff, and tasted. A faint smile crossed his lips and he nodded to the wine steward who filled both glasses, returned the bottle to the stand, and was gone without a word. Ryan lifted his glass and looked at Callie. Callie picked up her glass and moved it toward Ryan's. He said, "I would like to propose a toast. Here's to what once was, and to all that could be." And, with that, he smiled, lightly clinked his glass against hers, and they both took a slow sip of the wine. Callie drank in more than just the wine; she drank in the feelings of genuine love, caring and respect that Ryan was evoking. She hadn't experienced those feelings in such a long time. It seemed that the feelings she experienced most days were more negative -- neglected, unimportant, overlooked and ignored. Ryan reached his hand across the table and touched Callie's hand and asked, "You seem a million miles away; are you okay?" She smiled again and said, "I'm sorry. I guess I was lost in the moment. Thank you. Thank you so much for everything. This is such a wonderful surprise." Just then, the waiter came to the table and asked, "Are you ready to order now?" Ryan glanced at Callie, who nodded and gave her order. Ryan followed up with his order and the waiter was gone again. She took another sip of wine and reached for a slice of bread, suddenly feeling nervous and unsure of herself. With the bread as a diversion, she said softly, without meeting Ryan's gaze, "I wasn't sure what to expect when I telephoned you this morning. I mean, it has been a long time, and I should have made more of an effort to keep in touch." Ryan answered, "Callie, I'm just as guilty of not making the effort. We both knew that when you moved away, that it would be harder to keep in touch. But, I should have made the time to check in with you, and to make sure that you were doing okay." She looked up and was immediately lost in those wonderful brown eyes that, when they looked at her, made her feel as if she was the most important person in the world. "It has been hard at times," Callie confessed, "I don't want to sound like a tired old cliché, but Matt just doesn't seem to care anymore. Of course, when I told him I was making this trip back home, he suddenly found all sorts of reasons why I shouldn't come." Ryan noticed that Callie looked so sad as she talked about Matt, so he quickly changed the subject. "Oh, Callie, enough about Matt. While you're in town, how about I spend my time showing you that someone really does care about you? After lunch, how about we go and do something fun?" Callie brightened a bit and asked, "What did you have in mind?" Instead of answering, he looked at her for a moment, smiled a devilish smile, and said, "You'll just have to wait and see." Before she could ask any other questions, the waiter brought their lunch, refilled their wine glasses, and asked if they needed anything else. Ryan looked to Callie, who shook her head and said, "Everything looks divine." The waiter turned and left them again, and Ryan said, "Let's eat. Then we'll spend the rest of the afternoon . . . ," his voiced trailed off, and he looked down at his plate for a moment before continuing. "I know the perfect place to go, and I know you'll love it there." [to be continued . . . ] Originally published Wednesday August 06, 2003 (bw) 2003 © Copyrighted Materials - All Rights Reserved. Susan Reno-Gilliland A Southern Belle's Life # posted by Kitty : 8:00 AM
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"a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma" --- Miss Kitty, an Irish lass, a true Southern Belle; writer, photographer, artist, interior designer, animal-lover, dreamer, stargazer, cop-groupie, 70's junkie, cbc, slightly obsessive iNFp with stories to tell! ... (fascinated by forensics, human behavior, pushing all the right buttons of men she finds interesting, and seeking utterly-sweet revenge without any repercussions. ) --- "Darlin', don't ever take a Southern woman for granted!" [tm] Feeling the uncontrollable urge to shower me with gifts?!? Check out my Amazon 
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