Chapter 435

The next morning, Erik greeted Pearl at the breakfast table. After they arrived home the evening before and received the lecture from security, they both went to their respectful rooms and fell asleep. Well, not right away for Pearl. She tossed and turned most of the night, many thoughts invading her weary and reminiscent mind. Thoughts about Erik. The past. The hurt she had endured at his hand. Also, the love and the life they had shared. And Dylan. Her life now.

"Good morning." Pearl said the next morning, taking a bite of toast. "I just realized we didn't eat dinner last nigh." Erik smiled, "Yes. My growling stomach helped me to realize that at about 6 am." He looked over at her and laughed.

"I want to tell you that I truly appreciate this second chance at a friendship, Pearl. I've missed you, your personality. You wit. Thank you. And thank Dylan for me as well." He adjusted his glasses and finished his scone. She nodded.

Friendship, she thought. Good.

Well, all the worry she had placed in her mind the night before just answered itself. There was no need to worry. He was focused on the friendship between them and that was a good thing.

"Are we going to the church today?" Pearl asked.

"I wasn't sure that you'd want to return there. So I found a few places closer to here just in case." He said. She was a bit disappointed. She wanted to return there, she couldn't explain why but she did.

"I think we should go. We may find it perfect for them or not at all." She said, sipping her coffee.

"Very well." Erik said.

"Since when do you wear glasses?" She asked.

"Since I got old." He said with a snicker.

The car headed to the small farm she remembered from so long ago. She wondered if the family still lived there. After walking for what felt like 10 miles, there the old church finally was. Just as she'd remembered it. The stone wall surrounding the yard it sat in. The large wooden door. She stopped for a moment and caught her breath as they reached the door.

"Shall I not open it?" He asked.

"No. No. Please do. I am sorry. I'm just…." She stammered.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "I know."

He opened the door and they walked inside. The light from the small window at the back shone on the aisle. Pearl's memory flashed moments of her true wedding night. The candles. The hand fasting. The Celtic vows. Erik, standing at the end, watching her with tears in his eyes.

"I can't. I'm sorry." She said, turning and walking out.

He followed her as she sat on the grass beside the stone wall.

They shared a moment of silence as Pearl attempted to compose herself.

"It was the same for me. When I first came back here." He said, picking up a wildflower from the ground. He looked over at her and placed it behind her ear.

"You came back here, after it all happened?" She asked.

"Yes. Twice. This is the third time." He said.

"But why?" She asked.

He looked over at her with his graying beard and his piercing eyes.

"To be near you again." He said. "To see us again."

She felt she might break down then and there. She needed to pull herself together.

"I don't think I want them to marry here." She said, looking off into the distance.

"Yes. I know." He said. "It is ours and ours alone. We can't share it."

"You know? Then why did you bring me here?" She asked, confused and slightly agitated.

He smiled and looked at her.

"To remember." He said, crouching down to meet her eyes. She looked away and nodded. Yes. Of course. Remembering what took place there would help her understand how important it was to support her son. He did it for the right reasons, even if they gutted her. She stood up and walked out of the yard and back to the car. He didn't follow her right away. She stood next to the car for quite sometime before he finally appeared.

He didn't say a word and she didn't know what he stayed behind so long for or why, but she was thankful to leave. Being there was the closest she had come to feeling her heart break for a very, very long time.