Rewrite the Stars by Christina Consolino (classic fiction TXT) 📗

break out when Brooke challenged him to a race. Basking in the moment, I reveled in the sound of my children’s laughter and then suggested to Andrew we head in a different direction, to the newly installed Midwest Maze: a simplified form of the classic configuration of hedges one might find at an English estate. It resembled the kids’ bush maze that dated further back than I remembered. However, the adult version was far more challenging. If you made it through the maze, you’d, of course, get to the other side. But finding your way took time.

Andrew and I walked for several minutes without speaking. I tilted my face toward the sun, looking for strength, hoping the rays’ weakened warmth would give me courage, but right then, a cloud passed over, darkening the landscape. Was the shadow an omen?

A few steps farther, and the maze came into view. Crinkles formed at the corner of Andrew’s eyes as he bet he’d get through to the center first.

“See you soon, maybe.” Andrew took off without looking back.

Something about this meeting made me want to speak my honest mind to Andrew, but I wasn’t quite sure what I wished to say to my Grocery Store Man. Hanging back, I let my mind wander as the arboretum’s surroundings enveloped me. The desiccated sycamore leaves tossed by the November wind distracted me, and I bent and grabbed one, allowing the air currents to twirl the leaf between my fingers. If I gave Andrew enough time, he’d make it to the center of the maze well before I would. Because I wanted to speak with him before the children returned, I took the shortcut a park ranger had shown me on our last visit.

Creeping out the front of the center hedge, I traveled along the east side, found the thin space between two large arbor vitae, and glided in toward the center where a circle of wooden benches stood. There, Andrew stretched out on one of the smaller benches, hands behind his head, waiting for me to exit the maze. He opened his eyes wide when he saw where I came from and threw his head back in laughter.

“I should have known you might not have the patience for that maze. You’re a practical woman with no time for trifles.” He wiped a single tear from beneath his eye as he patted the spot next to him on the bench. Such small bits of life made this man laugh to the point of crying. Being able to let yourself go, no matter the time, the place, the situation, was a characteristic I admired.

“You’re right. I figured the shortcut was the way to go. Another time I’ll follow the rules.” My voice sounded tired and preoccupied, even to me. Did he notice? I folded myself onto the cool bench, as leaves still attached to the nearest maple tree fluttered in the wind. A few dry ones fell off, floated to the ground, and landed at our feet, where they’d be stepped on by numerous strange shoes and boots. Those leaves had lost their tether to life, and this time, a tear formed in my eye when I thought of Theo and us. Did he ever consider himself like these leaves? They described me sometimes, except...except when I was with Andrew.

I looked his way then, to the shadows of the tree limbs dancing across his smiling face. He was close—close enough for me to smell the scent of his shampoo in the wisps of wind sailing by. His proximity unnerved yet calmed me, all at the same time. Again, the word free formed in my mind, and I knew I had to release that word from my vocabulary.

“I could sit here for hours, pretending my life back home didn’t exist. Do you know that?” I still didn’t tell him exactly what that life consisted of; I had no plans to reveal any more of those details.

“Yes, I do.” His gaze held mine. “It’s completely normal for you to want to sit and have peace. To not have to think about anything for a while—”

I didn’t let Andrew finish his thought. “Kate says the best thing to do is to be honest, to do what’s right for me. And she has a point.” The words slipped out easily, no stutter or stammer in sight; a confidence had grown within me that hadn’t been there before.

A line creased his brow, and he squinted with confusion. “Be honest about what?”

A slight hesitation occurred then, only for a moment, because so much about life can turn on a dime. And what I was about to do, to say, could change things in unfathomable ways. The impact my words would have and the impact I wanted them to have encompassed the unknown. I teetered on another precipice of which I was aware, but what lay beneath? I had no idea. And yet, I recklessly swallowed my fear and plunged ahead.

“That I look forward to your texts. That our random meetings make my day. That I asked you here because I want to learn more about you and...that I have feelings for you.” The words hadn’t gotten stuck in my throat like I thought they would. They poured forth freely. Shit, that word, again. I turned my head away from Andrew, this time before he glimpsed what lay inside me. There was no way I wanted to look into his eyes, as the bold confidence I had previously possessed fled. The swallows chirped, and the breeze danced as one moment went by and then another. How long could two people sit in awkward silence? And then Andrew moved a few inches, positioning himself so his entire being faced me. With a steady hand, he placed his fingers against my cheek and turned my chin toward his. So much emotion shimmered in his eyes I almost started to weep, for me, for him, for whatever might be but never would be.

“That admission had to be