Page 90 of Keeping Score

I couldn’t imagine losing a partner to something as permanent as death. The thought of it made me sick to even think of.

I was sure he didn’t want my condolences, or to tell the tale of heartbreak of losing her, so instead I settled on a more uplifting topic, asking about the start of their story, rather than the end.

“Did she really reject you at first?” I asked.

A soft smile touched his lips as his eyes glazed over in memory.

“She certainly did,” he said. “I chased after that girl for years; she never as much agreed to a date with me.”

“So what changed?”

“I pursued her relentlessly. She rejected me relentlessly. I went off to Vietnam. She thought I died. When I got back, she was mine.”

He shrugged, as if it was simple as that.

“She said losing me nearly killed her. Made her realize there wasn’t another man around she wanted to waste her breath on.” He chuckled, staring at a picture of the two of them on the wall, directly across from his chair.

“Well, I can’t fake my death to win Maggie back.”

“Are you an idiot, son?” He glared at me, snapping out of his reverie. “That’s not what I was suggesting at all.”

“So what—”

“She just needs to feel what it’s like to lose you. Then, if the love is real, she might come around to her senses.”

“So, to get Maggie back? I need to… stay away from her?”

“Let her come to you,” Mr. Waterman corrected. “If she really loves you, she will.”

I chewed my lip.

“Will she?”

“Maybe not.” He stood up, gesturing me toward the door.

“Hey!” I protested, sending him a frown over my shoulder as I made my way toward the exit.

“Haven’t you heard that saying… if you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If not, it was never meant to be.”

“I hate that saying.” I frowned. “And we are meant to be.”

“Then just trust her,” Mr. Waterman offered. “And in the meantime, live your life. It’s not like you can do anything else, anyway.”

Live my life, huh?

How could I do that when she was it?

“Thanks for the advice, Mr. Miyagi,” I said with a humorless laugh, walking out of his apartment.

Mr. Waterman muttered, shaking his head as he reached for the door.

“Goddamn kid shows up at my doorstep and doesn’t even know my name,” he muttered before shutting the door and locking it behind him.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Maggie

“Maggie Brynn, you open the door right now!”