“You remembered.”
“Of course I remembered.”
Forty-one years vanished in a single conversation.
Then Jeffrey’s voice broke.
“Ruthie, there’s something I need you to know before I die.”
I closed my eyes.
“What?”
“I was in love with you when we made that promise.”
I stopped breathing.
“Jeffrey…”
“And I had already bought the ring.”
My eyes opened.
“What ring?”
“The ring I planned to give you before I left for college.”
The room seemed to shift around me.
“Then why didn’t you?”
He started crying.
“That’s what I’ve spent forty years wishing I could explain.”
His voice dropped.
“I need you to come here.”
“Jeffrey…”
“Please come to the hospital.”
His breathing sounded strained.
“There’s something you need to see. Once you see it, maybe you’ll finally understand why I walked away.”
I grabbed my coat.
“Where are you?”
—
Forty minutes later, I entered Jeffrey’s hospital room.
