“Perfect choice. That’s my favorite, too,” she said.
She packaged up the cupcake in a little box for us, handed it over, and told me the total. I paid the total, thanked her, and then Helena and I went back into the night.
“That’s a nice little bakery,” she said.
“It’s a very nice bakery,” I agreed.
Not as nice as Helena, though.
It wasn’t nearly as nice as growing old with her had been.
The two of us walked a short distance down the road until we came to a little sitting area. It wasn’t outside of a restaurant or café. It was just designed to be a nice, quiet place where people could sit down.
So, we did.
The two of us sat across from each other, and I placed the cupcake box between us. I reached for Helena, and I took her hands. She smiled at me, and suddenly, all the stress from the wedding planning just faded away.
I knew that when I was with her, she made everything better. Helena had always been able to do that. When you were near her, you couldn’t help but be comforted by her affection and by her smile.
“I want to tell you a story. Would that be okay?”
“A story?”
Helena’s eyes twinkled. Yeah, she’d never been able to resist a good story. That was my girl.
“A story,” I repeated.
“I could go for a story,” she told me.
“Okay,” I took a deep breath. It was a little dramatic and over-the-top, but she laughed, so I felt pretty good about that.
“Come on,” she said, chuckling. “Just tell it, already. This cupcake isn’t going to eat itself, sweetie.”
She eyed the cupcake hungrily.
“I know,” I agreed. “We’ll eat it right after, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Once upon a time,” I started the story, “two people fell in love, and they got married. They weren’t perfect people, but they were perfect for each other, and oh, they loved each other very much.”
“This sounds familiar,” she said.
“Shh, let me tell the story.”
“All right.”
“These two people were very happy together,” I continued. “They lived in a cute little blue house with white shutters. They had a little boy who was always happy and laughing. They even had some pet cats.”
“Sounds like a good life,” Helena smiled, tearing up a little.
“A very good life,” I said. “But there was a problem.”
“What was the problem?”
“The couple didn’t always tell each other how they felt,” I admitted. “Sometimes, they took each other for granted.”
“So, what did they do?”