Read Chapter 27 “One Door Closes Another Door Opens”
School Runs: Epilogue
Rachel
The girls careless jumping over the waves puts a smile on Rachel’s face. The beach is overflowing with tourists. However, for the first time in her life, she doesn’t mind the crowds or the fact that the black sand will permanently stay in her bikini. African sellers try hard to push their merchandise. Now and then one of them asks Rachel if she would like to buy a blanket or a pair of fake designer sunglasses. But even those pushy sales can’t make her cranky. She is in a state of happiness and prepared to do whatever it takes to prolong that moment.
Luckily the middle of the summer heat isn’t as scorching hot as during the London recent summers. The breeze that comes from the Ocean turns the simple experience of sitting in the sun into a profoundly pleasurable one.
All of a sudden, Rachel’s phone beeps, bringing her back to reality. She finds the phone at the bottom of the basket. An email that just came in confirms another writing assignment she managed to book in the past week.
“Sometimes letting go of control is the only logical choice.” – she thinks to herself. Once her phone is back in the basket, Rachel walks to the edge of the Ocean and joins the girls jumping over the waves. As for Rachel, nothing else but that moment could exist for eternity.
Jim
Jim is unpacking. The size of his new apartment is tiny and trying to fit all of his belongings in will be a challenge. With each unpacked item, he sinks deeper into his sadness. He never thought that Rachel had enough strength and will power to become independent so fast. Her newfound confidence and determination impressed him enormously. They reminded him why he fell in love with her all those years ago – something he quickly forgot when the reality of everyday life took over.
He doesn’t want to start all over again but knows that going back to his old life is an impossible dream. All that is left from his good life are those boxes that wouldn’t be able to contain all his shame and immense regret of his stupidity.
He unpacks one of the girl’s pictures and touches it with great tenderness when all of a sudden, his phone rings. He picks it up somewhat automatically, but after seeing Christina’s number, he turns it off.
THE END