I opened the door to the old house and walked right in. I sighed, shaking my head. Ada lived as though it were a different time.

I walked right through the house and into the kitchen where she stood at the counter, cutting up vegetables. Some jazz music played through the set of wireless speakers I bought for her. It took me a solid hour to teach her how to connect the speakers to her phone, but she was a pro at it now.

I cleared my throat, and Ada let out a yell.

“Maddox? Maddox!”

“What are you doing?” I asked. “You have the front door unlocked. Anyone could just come walking in here. That’s dangerous.”

Ada lifted the knife and pointed the tip right at me. She squinted her eyes. “I’d like to see someone try and take this old lady down.”

I put my hands up. “Fair enough, you win.”

I walked to the island and reached across, grabbing a chunk of raw potato. I reached for another, and Ada swatted my hand.

“You always used to tell me to eat,” I said.

“You’re a grown man now,” Ada said. “Feed yourself.”

“Harsh.”

Ada grabbed a potato, unpeeled it, and set it in front of me. Then she grabbed a knife.

“Here. Make yourself useful.”

I laughed and started to peel the potato. “Who are you cooking all this food for, anyway?”

Ada shrugged her shoulders. “I cook. I eat. I donate what I don’t eat. It keeps me busy. Gives me something to do, Maddox. I can’t sit around and wait to die.”

“Point taken.”

“Why are you here?”

“Passing through.”

“Horse shit,” Ada said.

Nothing like a woman in her eighties throwing curse words around like that.

“Is this about Hazel? I hope you haven’t messed that up.”

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Maddox, you’ve never been an easy person to deal with. It takes guts to put up with you.”

“And you’ll get your gold medal soon,” I said. “I promise.”

Ada snickered. “So, what is it?”

I took the envelope out of my pocket. “This.”

“Which is?”

“The letter Ava wrote and gave to me before she…you know.”

Ada put the knife down. “Oh, dear.”

“Yeah. I was so pissed at the time I kept it. Her parents were just…”

“I know. They didn’t like you.”

“They didn’t like her either,” I said. “But I can’t change what happened. I was going to drop this off at their house. Am I crazy for that?”

“No,” Ada said. “You were young. You were confused. I remember when that happened, Maddox. I cried for you. I knew she mattered. And then we got harassed so much over that. Constant questioning. The pictures. The rumors. It wasn’t fair to you.”

“Or you,” I said. “You spent a lot of money, Ada.”

“I promised I’d take care of you.”

“That's why I brought this other envelope,” I said.

“For what?”

“For you,” I said. “I know you’re set up here nice. But I also know you still have taxes and other shit to pay.” I put the envelope down. “This should cover a year’s worth of expenses for you. And every year, I’ll do the same again.”

“No,” Ada said right away. “No.”

I laughed. “Of course you’d say that. Am I old enough yet to call you stubborn to your face?”

“Boy, I will smack your ass with a spatula so hard you won’t be able to sit down for a week.”

“I take that as a no,” I said. “But you’re not saying no to me on this.”

Ada looked at the envelope. She then tears started to well up in her eyes.

Oh shit.

I hurried around the island and hugged her. I felt like I was ten feet taller than her.

“Maddox, you’re a damn fool,” she whispered.

“Thanks.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey. You took care of me. You did more for me than anyone else. This is the least I can do. I want you to enjoy your life. You’ve still got twenty years, easily.”

“I’m lucky if I get twenty minutes,” Ada said.

“Well, enjoy whatever you have left.”

Ada slapped my face. “You turned out not too bad. I still don’t get all the coloring on your arms. You look like a damn coloring book filled in. You had nice skin, Maddox.”

I laughed. “Nice skin. Right.”

Ada insisted she make me a ham and cheese sandwich.

So, I sat at the table like I was a teenager again, eating a ham and cheese sandwich with an apple juice box. I took a picture of myself and sent it to Hazel. She texted back and said she was leaving St. Skin to go to her place to change her clothes. Feeling bold, I texted back to her…

Why don’t you just pack everything up and bring it to my place? Or better yet - find a new place - for the both of us.

I had never lived with a woman in my life.

But Hazel?

Hazel with the green eyes was the exception to every rule I ever made for myself.

I finished my sandwich and had to leave.

Ada refused to let me clean up my plate and empty juice box, something she would once yell at me for not doing.

She walked me to the door, begging me to take some soup.

“You be good,” she said to me. She always said that to me.

“You be good,” I shot back. “Buy yourself something with some of that money. Shop online. They deliver things right to your door.”

“Maybe I will,” Ada said. “I can use that lap computer you got me.”

“It’s called a laptop.”

“Yeah, that thing.”

I hugged her. She smelled like home. I knew the days were numbered. All of our days were numbered.

I got into my truck and drove to Ava’s parents’ house. They still lived there. The same fake house in the fake development. I shoved the envelope into their mailbox. It felt good to give all that shit up once and for all.

Then I went to the ridge.

I parked my truck at the beginning of the trail and walked the rest of the way.

I got to the embankment to climb to get to the ridge and just stood there. Going up meant going back. And I wanted to go forward. So, I stood there. I wasn't going to climb the ridge. I wasn’t going to stand there. I wasn’t going to cry.

The memories were real and would forever remain real. That was for sure. I could never forget Ava and what she meant and what happened. The way her life and my life collided into Hazel’s. How small the world could be when it wanted to be. Sometimes it was hard to grasp.

I crouched down and touched the dirt.

I shut my eyes.

I could still hear the dirt bikes. Cruising through those woods like we could never die. Figuring out who we were and what we were trying to do. Yet at some fucked-up level, it was all a lie. Because of what Night was really doing and who he really was. There was so much I should have known then but didn’t.

When I stood back up, I cleared my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut and made sure there would be no tears. I walked slowly back to my truck and climbed inside and sat there. I looked forward knowing it wouldn’t be the last time I would see the trail or this town, but I knew it would be the last time I obsessed over the ridge and what happened there so long ago. A decision was made there that forever changed many lives. A place in my heart would be there forever for Ava. My comfort came in the hope that she had truly found her peace. If not, that perhaps it helped her to watch down and see me save Hazel. And I would always save Hazel. No matter what.

I started the truck and decided to go back to Hundred Falls Valley and surprise Hazel. Just show up like I did that first time and sweep her off her feet again. Sweep her off her feet every single day we were together.

What I didn’t know was…

Surprising her early would be the biggest decision of my life…because I had to save Hazel one more time.