Chapter 8
~Some Love Is Just A Lie Of The Soul~
Stephanie breathes in the fresh morning air. The rain has stopped in the middle of the night. The streets are quiet at this early hour. She takes a step toward her car, stops, and turns around to look back at the now empty 2-story house. For a last time. The house is already sold to a nice couple from Korea, and they are all happy with the price. She will start her journey now. Her first stop is Philadelphia. She's looking forward to meeting Lula and her happy little family.
She gets in and starts her brand new silver Audi. It's a present for herself(thankfully Joe knew the importance of saving money. She has also donated some money to a local No-Kill animal shelter. She misses Bob and Rex terribly and is not yet ready for a new pet). She has already said goodbye to her family and friends. Somehow she's not as sad as she thought and instead feels happy and greatly relieved. The memories are too heavy to carry, so she has chosen to leave them behind.
She's now Stephanie Plum again. She sold her diamond wedding ring last week and has also lost some weight. However, nobody knows where Joe's wedding ring is. He took it off his finger sometime long before his death. Maybe he sold it. Maybe he lost it. She didn't care then. She doesn't care now. And she didn't even bother to ask when she first noticed its absence. They both knew their marriage was doomed. Stephanie turns on the radio and sings along with Billy Joel's Say Goodbye to Hollywood—She always loves his songs and voice—and stops singing and falls silent when Bryan Adams's Heaven starts to play.
It's such a beautiful day. Just perfect for her brand new start. She doesn't want anything to ruin it. She doesn't want to feel any regret. She stops at a small café to have some breakfast. The coffee is good. The food reminds her of her mother. She smiles at the little kid at the next table and gives him a small finger wave. She sits for a long time at the window-side table and leaves the tired-looking 50-something waitress a handsome tip. She starts the car and doesn't turn on the radio. But the song keeps singing in her head. All the way to the City of Brotherly Love.
She gets in and starts her brand new silver Audi. It's a present for herself(thankfully Joe knew the importance of saving money. She has also donated some money to a local No-Kill animal shelter. She misses Bob and Rex terribly and is not yet ready for a new pet). She has already said goodbye to her family and friends. Somehow she's not as sad as she thought and instead feels happy and greatly relieved. The memories are too heavy to carry, so she has chosen to leave them behind.
She's now Stephanie Plum again. She sold her diamond wedding ring last week and has also lost some weight. However, nobody knows where Joe's wedding ring is. He took it off his finger sometime long before his death. Maybe he sold it. Maybe he lost it. She didn't care then. She doesn't care now. And she didn't even bother to ask when she first noticed its absence. They both knew their marriage was doomed. Stephanie turns on the radio and sings along with Billy Joel's Say Goodbye to Hollywood—She always loves his songs and voice—and stops singing and falls silent when Bryan Adams's Heaven starts to play.
It's such a beautiful day. Just perfect for her brand new start. She doesn't want anything to ruin it. She doesn't want to feel any regret. She stops at a small café to have some breakfast. The coffee is good. The food reminds her of her mother. She smiles at the little kid at the next table and gives him a small finger wave. She sits for a long time at the window-side table and leaves the tired-looking 50-something waitress a handsome tip. She starts the car and doesn't turn on the radio. But the song keeps singing in her head. All the way to the City of Brotherly Love.
Once in your life you find someone
Who will turn your world around
Bring you up when you're feelin' down
She keeps her eyes on the road, refusing to let her tears fall. But somehow she just can't stop thinking of what she has lost. She's Stephanie Plum, a 41-year-old widow. And she has lost the man she truly loves a long long time ago.
~The End~
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