Forever : Chapter 19

Valerie and Timothy were trying to make things between them as they were before, but it wasn't so simple. Some things have changed. Above all, they were changed. The things that happened to them in the past five years had an effect on them, and they were not the same people, but they were trying. After the long battle with cancer, Valerie couldn't stay the same, and now she was seeing everything from a different perspective. She understood how precious life was, and she was utterly grateful for every new day that was given to her for a living. And Timothy, he wasn't the same either. He was full of regrets. In a hard way, he learned that love should never be taken for granted. If he was fighting harder for his love, everything would be different now.

What remained unchanged for Valerie and Timothy was their love. Despite the time that passed, their love was still strong, pure, and innocent, as it was at the beginning of their relationship. Or perhaps their love has grown stronger now that they are aware of what they have and how rare a love like theirs is.

Valerie and Timothy stayed in London for two weeks. She couldn't go back home without saying goodbye to her friends and relatives. This time, she could tell everyone the truth about why she was leaving London. Valerie canceled her apartment in Bethnal Green, and she quit her part-time job at the magazine. But the magazine was so satisfied with her work that they didn't want to let her go just like that. They offered her to continue to work for them in the future and sent them photographs from America. She couldn't refuse their generous offer.

Their next stop was New York, where they stayed for only three days. Timothy called his agent to introduce him to his muse and to inform him that he'd be spending the entire summer at home, in Santa Monica, writing his new book. Since his muse reappeared in his life, he has been flooded with new ideas and stories.

Before going home, Timothy had a feeling that he had one more obligation to finish, and Valerie agreed with him. He wasn't one of these guys, who are breaking up with their girlfriends over the phone, or a text, but even he never considered Megan as his girlfriend, he was feeling obliged to tell her in person that between them is over. Politely, he invited her to a drink, and gently, he told her that they should not see each other. Megan wasn't much surprised. As she was expecting this, while Timothy was in London, he never returned any of her calls, and from the beginning, it was obvious that they couldn't have a future together.

At the airport in Los Angeles, Timothy's parents came to pick them up. At the same time, Valerie was feeling happy and nervous. She was happy to see them again. She always considered Ellen and Mathew as her second parents, but after all these years, as they were starting everything all over again. Now, she didn't know how to address them. By their names, like used to, or should she call them Mr. and Mrs. Chambers?

"Welcome home, Valerie!" Mathew said.

"Thank you!"

"Oh, Valerie! All these years, I was trying to hate you for all the pain you caused to Tim, but now I hate myself because I was stupid to believe that you could ever stop loving him. Valerie, how could you do such a thing? I mean, why didn't you tell us the truth, that you're sick?" Ellen said, and she embraced Valerie.

"Mum, please leave her alone," Timothy said.

"Yes, you're right, Tim! I'm sorry, Val."

"Mum, dad, I've told you not to come get us at the airport. We could take a taxi. I've told you, while we are looking for a home for us, we'll stay in a hotel. I've already reserved a room..." Timothy said, but his father didn't let him finish his sentence.

"Nonsense! You'll stay with us, son! Your mother has already prepared your rooms," Mathew said.

"Great, just great!" Timothy said with irony.

While Valerie was driving in the car with Timothy and his parents, she was quiet. For the great number of questions that Ellen was asking, Timothy was answering for her. Through the open window, Valerie could feel the hot Californian sun on her skin, and that reminded her of her happy, careless childhood. On the streets of Santa Monica, she was seeing familiar faces, and she was seeing images that were deeply curved in her memory. Finally, she was at home, and the feeling was inexplicable.

"Separated rooms? Unbelievable! It's like we were not separated for too long! I wish we stayed in a hotel," Timothy said when he was alone with Valerie in his parents' home.

"If you say so," Valerie said, while her thoughts were in some other place.

"We should start looking for a new place immediately! You know my parents, we won't have privacy here. Will you help me, Val?"

"Okay."

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I don't know how I'll meet my friends, and I don't know what to tell them. I'm not even sure, if I should still call them my friends. I'm no longer a part of their lives, and they must have forgotten me..." Valerie said with deep sadness.

"Haven't you learned your lesson by now? Always tell the truth. And don't worry, Val! They haven't forgotten you, they are still your friends, and they will be happy to see you."

"It's not easy to call them out of the blue."

"I know."

"I left without saying goodbye, and I have never called them in five years."

"When you tell them the truth, they will understand. Hey, I have an idea! I'll call them! I won't tell them that you are here; I'll just say that I'm in the town, and I would like to see them. And later, when they see you with me, they will be thrilled! What do you say?"

"Your idea is brilliant!"

A few minutes later, Timothy called all Valerie's friends, who were also his friends, and invited them to meet him on the beach. Surprisingly, nobody had other plans for tonight; nobody turned him down, except Loretta, who couldn't find a babysitter for her little girl at the last minute, and her husband was working the night shift.

On purpose, Valerie and Timothy arrived last on the beach. When their friends saw them coming together, they couldn't believe what they were seeing. At that moment, everyone thought that Timothy was a complete idiot. How could he forgive her after she left him for another man? Has he forgotten all the suffering he went through? Is that why he was in London, to bring her back so that she could break his heart again?

"Hey, guys! I believe you all know this young lady, and there is no need for an introduction," Timothy said.

"Hello!" Valerie said.

Nobody said "Hello" to Valerie, and everyone looked at her with despise. Her friends were strongly determined that they would not be fools like Timothy, and they would never forgive her. In the past five years, she never contacted them, and she didn't invite them to her wedding with her Englishman. Not that they were planning to go because of Timothy, but it would be nice if she did. For them, Valerie was a heartless bitch who didn't deserve forgiveness. But when Valerie told them the whole truth, they changed their minds, and they forgave her at the same moment. In fact, they realized there was nothing to forgive.

"Valerie, what you did is unforgivable," Zac said.

"In a way, it is romantic, but stupid. Mostly, stupid," Amber said.

"Zac is right! How could you not tell us, that you had cancer?" Kate said.

"We should have known better that something bad was happening. Your parents and Tessa were refusing to talk about you; they were traveling all the time to England, and we could see the fear in their eyes. In the beginning, when you left, every day we begged Tessa to give us your new number, but she didn't want to," Zac said.

"We didn't know what to believe in, Val. Soon after you left, the people began to talk that you had gotten married to some rich Englishman, and you were pregnant with his child. In England, you found new rich friends, and you cut us out of your life because we were not noble enough for you. In fact, you were feeling ashamed of us," Emma said.

"I appreciate you thinking of me as that kind of person, and for calling me "ice-cold bitch" and other derogatory names on social media," Valerie said.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! We were angry at you, but you should be angry at us, because we don't deserve you to forgive us ever!" Emma said.

"It's okay. You forgave me, and I should forgive you," Valerie said.

"No, we don't deserve your forgiveness. We should be ashamed because we betrayed you. We were not with you when you were battling cancer, and we believed in other people's stories. We don't deserve to be your friends," Kate said.

"How could you betray me when you didn't know what was going on? Nobody else but my family knew the truth. And it had to be that way. You'd tell Timothy if I told you I had cancer," Valerie said.

"I can't imagine how you felt when you were alone. You needed us, you needed your friends, to be with you," Zac said.

"I wasn't alone. You were on my mind all the time, plus I had my family and some new friends with me," Valerie said.

"We are happy for you because you found new friends, but that's not the same. We have been your friends since elementary school, and your new friends could never replace us," Amber said.

"Okay, forget about us, but how could you leave Tim without telling him the truth? Do you have any idea how much he suffered for you?" Kate asked.

"I know exactly how much he suffered because I didn't suffer any less," Valerie said.

Like in the old good times, Valerie and Timothy stayed with their friends on the beach by the bonfire until sunrise. They forgot about their obligations and that the next day was a working day. Everyone was happy because they were all together again. When they called Loretta to tell her that Valerie was back and the truth about her absence, she immediately came running onto the beach, carrying her little girl in her arms.

The next day, Valerie went to visit another good friend, Mrs. Wilson. When she arrived at the clothes shop where she used to work, she stopped for a few seconds in front of the shop window, and she looked around. The place looked the same as she remembered it.

"Valerie, is that you, girl?" Mrs. Wilson said when she saw Valerie coming into her shop.

"You can bet I am, Mrs. Wilson!"

"Excuse me! Donna, please take care of the customer."

"Yes, Mrs. Wilson!" the girl said.

"Let me look at you! It's really you, Valerie! You look exactly the same, only your hair is shorter."

"Yes, but don't worry, my hair will grow long again. So, how are you, Mrs. Wilson?"

"I would be better if this bloody pain in my back and my high blood pressure could disappear."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"We haven't seen each other for years. You forgot about me. You left without saying a word, and I couldn't find a replacement for you. In the past five years, a lot of girls have worked for me, but none of them was you."

"I'm sorry."

"I've heard a lot of different stories about you in the past years, and I've heard that you are married now. Well, congratulations."

"No, no, I'm not married. I was never married."

"Then where have you been, and what have you been doing?"

"I was in London. I was ill."

"You were ill for five years? Oh, my God! It sounds like it was something serious?"

"Yes, I had cancer."

"Oh, my little Valerie! Oh dear, God!" Mrs. Wilson said, petrified.

"Don't worry Mrs. Wilson, I'm healthy now."

"If I only knew that you were sick, I would have come to London to visit you."

"It's all right. I should have told you."

"Yes, you should. I will never forgive you for that."

"I have a little present for you."

"Oh, what is it? A wallet? From London? Thank you, Valerie! You shouldn't have."

"This is proof that I haven't forgotten you and that I was thinking about you all the time while I was in London."