Grayson moved Claire’s car aside, then backed his up to the road. He then pulled hers into the garage. After the garage door was safely closed, he used bringing her key around as an excuse to kiss her again.

He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay and devour her.

But he knew it wasn’t the way to do it. He’d professed his love and she’d remained silent. She was still coming around.

Grayson felt confident that she would. But first she had to reconcile their long-distance relationship. He knew better than to rush her.

He had no doubt that he wanted to marry her. He’d never had any doubt. He’d put the notion aside when she’d married Noah, but the minute he found out she was divorced, he’d known he had never stopped loving her and she was the only woman he ever wanted to marry.

There was just the minor problem of logistics. He had to go and she wouldn’t go. Couldn’t. She had too much invested here. A lifetime.

Grayson felt fortunate that he didn’t feel ties to L.A. Hadn’t felt ties, he corrected, until Claire walked back into his life.

He had to tamp down his sense of urgency to be with her and make up for lost time.

He stepped into his empty apartment and sighed. It wasn’t much, but he had to live here a few more weeks. The next time Claire asked to spend time at his apartment, he would have no reason to hesitate.

He had too much energy to sleep, so he went into the kitchen, took out a box of black garbage bags and began the excavation process. He was moving soon, and unlike all the times he’d moved before, he wasn’t going to take more than a few personal items other than clothes with him.

He started with the kitchen, throwing out old cans of food he was never going to eat and spices he’d had forever. From now on, he’d only be cooking with fresh food.

About midnight, he collapsed on the bed and napped a few hours before getting up early the next morning and resuming his house cleaning. He was a man on a mission.

He was ruthless in his closet as well. Everything except the necessities had to go. He must have hauled two dozen bags to the dumpster. The more he threw out, the more he wanted to throw out. It was most liberating.

Even his books. He chose six books he wanted to keep. The rest went in his car to take to campus to put on their give-away table.

He stopped when he came across an Apple iPad box in the back of his closet. The box itself had changed over the years, but the contents had not.

He sat on the edge of his bed and opened it up. There was copy of the picture when he had kissed Claire on the nose at the high school football game. He didn’t even know if Claire had been given a copy. His coach had given him this one. There was their photo from senior prom. He looked a little goofy in his burgundy tux, but she had been lovely in her pink dress.

He’d kept every note she’d written him in high school. It was from the days before text messages, so he had a stack of scraps torn from her notebooks. One simply said. “hi.”

There was one, though, that had been written on blue paper. He carefully unfolded it and read the words she had written so very long ago:

Dear Grayson,

I wish you didn’t have to leave, but I know you have to. You have to do your duty for our country. When you get back, I’ll be here. I only ask that you stay in touch with me. Let me know what you’re doing. What you’re thinking.

And I need to know that you’re safe.

I love you with all my heart. I always will.

He refolded the letter into its well-worn grooves. This letter had gotten him past countless battle wounds. Wounds that weren’t visible to anyone who looked from the outside. The only way to see these wounds was to dip deep into his psyche. Knowing that Claire was there waiting for him even though she never wrote back had been enough to keep him going.

He only had to do four years and he would be out.

He’d gotten the letter from his mother with the newspaper clipping tucked inside only two days before he had to sign his discharge papers.

By the time he went into the office to meet with his superior, he’d made up his mind. He now had no reason to get out of the Air Force. He could make a good career in the military.

After that, he couldn’t bear to look at the letter, but he couldn’t bear to get rid of it either. So, he’d tucked it away in the shoe box he carried around with him.

After the shoe box started falling apart, he stuffed it all in a sturdy Apple box.

But it had been a really long time since he’d taken the time to pull the notes and letters out and read them.

She’d asked him to stay in touch with her. Nothing more. Nothing less.

And despite his best efforts, he’d failed to do just that.

This time when he was gone for a year – not four years – he would make sure he stayed in touch. He would call her every day and he would text throughout the day. He’d tell her what he was doing. In fact, he would start that habit right now.

Hi. He texted. How is your day going?

Running errands. She wrote back.

He smiled. This was going well already. I’ve been cleaning my apartment.

Ugh. I would not want to trade.

Still ready at 4:00?

Yes. Time for me to head home. She wrote.

He sent back a smiley face emoji and went to get into the shower.

Claire put up her groceries and got into the shower. She hummed to herself as she washed her hair. Nothing in particular, just a catchy little tune she’d heard on the radio while she was out doing errands.

She’d been pleasantly surprised to hear from Grayson in the middle of the day.

Perhaps this thing with them had possibilities.

After her shower, she put on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and layered with a light sweater. She put on her favorite white canvas sneakers.

Just as she finished her make-up and put on her earrings, the doorbell rang. Grayson was right on time.

As he drove to her mother’s house, he told her about how he’d gone through his apartment and purged everything he didn’t need.

“I did that before I moved into my current house. I can’t stand to live in clutter.”

“It’s a good thing I got it done before you came over,” he said, a horrified look on his face.

She laughed. “I don’t judge. Have you seen Danielle’s room?”

“Actually, yes,” he laughed.

They didn’t talk about the fact that he would be leaving soon or that his real motivation was probably getting ready to pack up his apartment.

Claire thought maybe if they didn’t talk about it, it wouldn’t be what their relationship centered around.

They pulled into her mother’s circle drive. “This is a huge house for one person,” he commented.

“I know. I wonder if she keeps it for Danielle. Danielle loves the swimming pool.”

“I bet she does,” he said.

Grayson tried to ignore the trepidation he felt at driving up to Mrs. Beauchamp’s house. It was the same house Claire had grown up in.

And he was still a little afraid of Claire’s mother.

When they went inside, Claire went upstairs to help Danielle with something.

Grayson was left to follow Betty to the kitchen.

“How are you, Grayson?” Betty asked.

“I’m good.” He was a soldier. He sucked up his fear and surged forward.

“Danielle tells me you’re going to be moving across the country soon.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Sounds a little familiar,” she said.

Grayson winced. This was why he was afraid of Betty.

“I’m only going to be gone for a year,” he said.

Would you like something to drink?” she asked.

“Water would be great, thank you,” he said.

She handed him a bottle of water. “Grayson,” she said. “I apologize for what I did. I overstepped my boundaries when I hid your letters and calls from Claire.”

“It was a long time ago,” he said as they sat at the kitchen table.

“Nonetheless, I wouldn’t blame you if you never forgave me.”

“I forgive you, Mrs. Beauchamp. It changed the direction of our lives, but Claire and I are who we are now because of it. And Claire has Danielle. Even I wouldn’t change that.”

“You’re a kind man,” she said. “I’ll always regret the way I wronged you and Claire, Danielle notwithstanding.”

“It means a lot for you to say that,” he said.

“If it matters, I’m fully supportive of you now. I know how much Claire cares for you and I’ll do everything I can to make up the wrong I did to you both.”

“Mrs. Beauchamp.”

“Please call me Betty,” she said, putting a hand over his.

“Betty,” he said. “Claire and I are working this out between us and I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that I forgive you.”

“You’re a good man, Grayson Moore. I truly hope that you and Claire can make a go of it this time.”

Claire stopped at the kitchen door when she heard their voices. Their conversation brought tears to her eyes.

She blinked back the tears and took a deep steadying breath. With a smile on her face, she walked into the kitchen. “What are you two up to?”

“Just catching up,” her mother said.

“You look so serious. And here we are getting ready to go to my very first baseball game.”

“You’re kidding?” Grayson asked.

“Nope,” she said. “I’ve never been.”

“I’m glad you told me,” he said. “I’ll make sure you have the whole experience.”

“I’ll get Danielle so we can get going,” she said. And give them time to finish up their conversation.

They ate peanuts and Claire even sipped a beer. Danielle and Grayson ate hot dogs. This was after they had eaten Mexican food at the restaurant on their way to the stadium.

There was so much energy at the game. Claire hadn’t expected that. On television, the game always seemed to move so slowly. She’d never actually been to a live baseball game. That had been Danielle and Noah’s thing.

Grayson had gotten them really good seats. They were close enough – in the lower level directly behind the dugout - to actually see what was going on.

Danielle obviously enjoyed it. She’d even put her phone in her jacket pocket. Danielle and Grayson talked lingo while Claire listened, watched the game, and watched the crowd.

And reflected. She was glad that Grayson and her mother had talked. She felt like things were smoothed over with them now. Her mother seemed to accept that Grayson was back in her life and she didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

On the contrary, she seemed rather contrite about what she had done and she appeared to welcome Grayson back.

It was one less thing preventing Claire from completely forgiving him and moving forward with their relationship.

“Mom look!” Danielle said, pointing to the screen.

As Claire looked, the image zoomed in and she was looking at herself and Grayson. Grayson was watching the screen, too. In the next instant, there was a heart drawn around them the word kiss over their heads.

Grayson turned and putting one hand behind her head pulled her to him and kissed her nose. Then he pressed his lips against hers and pulled her close into a kiss that could in no way be G-rated. The crowd cheered.

He pulled back and smiled into her eyes. Over the pounding in her ears, she heard him say those words again. “I love you.”

And this time, she said them back.