Love Stitches

Hazel's POV I close the last box and seal it with a plaster and sigh. I take a look around and I feel emotional. I don't want to do this but I should do it. And there is a difference between those two sentences. "Mommy I want to take this too" my six year old daughter tells me as she shows me her mini tea party set. "Take whatever you want, Savannah. We should leave soon or we will not make it to our new home by evening" I tell her. "Okay mommy" she screams and runs to find something interesting again. I walk outside to place this box in the trunk and I pass by a photo frame hanging on the wall. A picture of Adrian and I on our wedding day. The happiest day of my life that was. I smile as I look at that. I place the box in the trunk and walk inside to grab that photo frame. I sit on the couch and wipe the little dust there was on the frame. Adrian and I look so happy in this. I smile at our faces and recall the memory. Adrian was our family friend's son. He was the typical good boy that all the moms adored. He never had a girlfriend. Rarely consumes alcohol. Doesn't even know how to curse. He was a decent man. "Mommy I want this too" Savannah screams from her room. "Take whatever you want, sweetie!" I tell her back and look at the photograph. If only I can take back everything that happened the day everything turned upside down for me. . . . Flashback "Happy one year to us, honey" Adrian whispers as we both cut the cake that he planned as a surprise. The crowd cheers for us as we feed each other the cake. Adrian literally did so much with inviting all the guests for the surprise party and with everything that I am looking at right now. Almost fifty of our closest friends are here and it feels good. Adrian then pops the champagne and the crowd goes crazy again. I smile as I look at everyone but my smile fades when I see Lorenzo. He waves at me but I just give him a half smile before looking at Adrian. Soon the music goes wild and everyone drinks, eats and sways their bodies as they enjoy the party. I smile and shake my head as I grab a glass of champagne. After a round of playing hostess, Adrian and I sit on the couch with our own glasses of champagne. "Cheers to our forever, baby" he smiles and I clink my glass with his. "Our forever" I whisper as we both take a sip of the champagne. "Sometimes I cannot believe how lucky I am because I get to be your husband" he says and leans closer to me. I happily lean forward and let him kiss me. I place my hand on his shoulder and pull him a little more closer. We pull away for air and smile at each other again. We drink our champagne as we see everyone smile and talk to each other. They are clearly enjoying the party that Adrian threw. "What is he doing here?" Adrian asks as he looks at Lorenzo. "Oh! He is with Julie. They are best friends, remember?" I say but the look on Adrian's face is still not comfortable. "I don't like him. Especially not the factor that you both were once high school sweethearts" he whispers taking a sip of his champagne again. "But I am your wife now. And I am happy. Lorenzo or Satan, doesn't matter" I say and he smiles at me again. The party soon blasts and Adrian's friends take him for a dance. His friends are one of a kind. They do all sorts of stupid stuff that I still have tough time believing that they are professional doctors. And the one person I am trying to avoid, he comes and sits beside me. I move a little far away and make sure there is a safe distance between us. "Hey" Lorenzo says. "Hello" I say because I need to play the nice hostess right now. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He asks again and I nod. We both walk to the guest room since he lead the way there. He closes the door and doesn't lock it. I don't know what to think of that. "What is it? Tell me fast so I can get back to my husband again" I say in one go. "I still love you, Hazel" he whispers and that was it. I don't want to hear another word from it. I storm towards the door but he grabs my hand and stops me from walking away. "Please listen to me, Hazel" he says and I am about to yank my hand away from his grip. But the door opens at the same time and I see Adrian looking at us. His eyes fall on Lorenzo who is still holding my hand. Adrian then looks at me and shakes his head. "Fuck! Ad!!! This is not what you think. Seriously. Oh My God! Leave me!!!!" I yank my hand away from Lorenzo's grip. Adrian is already walking outside and I run behind him. We both are now outside. The music is heard till here. The breeze is cold and I shiver at the sudden change in it. I stand before Adrian and he tries to walk but I just block his way. "Please, listen to me. Please" I whisper. "What is left to listen Hazel? Everyone were talking how you both were in love. But I thought I was still the luckiest because I married you and you are my wife. And today, I saw with my own eyes what they meant. You both seem indeed in love" he says. "Do you really mean that? Because that is not what it is. He was ... He was just" I struggle to find words because I cannot even explain him what we were talking about. "He was what?" Adrian asks again. "I was telling her that I still love her. But nothing else happened after that" Lorenzo says. Adrian exhales loud before he turns around and punches Lorenzo. I scream and try stopping both the men but Adrian is just taking all his anger out. After a few powerful punches, Adrian pulls away and Lorenzo's face is bloodied. "Don't you fucking dare to give me another explanation. He was confessing his love for you by holding your hand and you were just standing there?" Adrian shouts at me. "You are drunk and obviously over reacting. Let us just sleep and talk about this tomorrow, okay.? I swear I will explain" I plead Adrian. "Just fuck off. I will send you the divorce papers. Sign them and get the fuck our of my life" Adrian says as he walks away from me. I sit in the drive way and cry my eyes out still waiting for Adrian to come back. He rarely drinks but when he does, it gets the best out of him. "I was just-" "Get out, Lorenzo" I tell him. "Hazel-" "Get the fuck out and never ever show me your face. You ruined this. It is my wedding anniversary for God Sake!" I shout at him and storm inside. . . That night, I cried myself to sleep. I don't know who cleared the party for me. But someone did. The next morning, I took a shower and sat on the couch the whole day waiting for my husband to come back home. It was indeed the alcohol that talked yesterday. Not Adrian. I know him. He wouldn't give me divorce for something like this. Someone knocks the door and I sprint to open. Only to see a bouquet of roses with a note attached to it. I am sorry. Lorenzo. I throw the flowers in the trash can. My husband did not come home that day. Again, I cried myself to sleep because he just wasn't answering my calls. He wasn't replying to the voice mails too. The second day, I took it on myself to clean the party mess. And again, there was another bouquet and another sorry from Lorenzo. Again, another bouquet in the trash can. When the door bell rings again, I hurry to open again. And I saw a new face this time. "Hello, Mrs. Hazel Torres. I am Jonathan Clifford, legal advisor to Mr. Adrian Adonis. And I am here to let you know that he want you to sign on these papers" he told me and my smile dropped. With those divorce papers in my hands, I cry again. I wait for Adrian's call but that never came. I wait for Adrian's arrival but it never came too. All of the wedding vows, our first anniversary. Everything is still fresh and I cannot believe that he actually took it seriously this time. He did not even hear my story out. Lorenzo told him something and he believed him. Not his wife. Who even does that? Will he be happy if I sign the papers? Probably yes. Moreover, I don't want to be the one who is the only one working on us. I want him to work equally. With a heavy heart. I sign on the papers. And the next minute, I recieved a call from Adrian. "Did you sign the papers?" Was what he asked after not talking to me for two days. "Yes. Just now. That is what you wanted, right?" I asked him back. "Fuck no! I told him to do that when I was drunk that night. I don't want you to sign the papers. Obviously! You are my wife!" He said that made me smile. "We can withdraw this or find whatever way there is. Okay?" He whispered and my heart warmed at his words. "Okay" I told him and I cannot stop smiling at that point. "I love you, Hazel. I am not going to let you go" He said and my heart did a flip flop. "I love you. Please come soon" I told him. "On my way, love. Be ready because I am going to fuck you till we both forget our fight" he laughed making me laugh as well. I waited for him till midnight but again, there was no trace of him. Did he regret his decision already? Or now that I signed the divorce papers, is he thinking of continuing with that? My head swims with thoughts and slowly, my heart rate picks up. Is this it? My phone rings and I see Adrian's name flash on it. Oh! Thank God. "Where are you? You were supposed to be here hours ago!" I said as soon as I answered the call. "Umm... Is this Mr. Adrian's wife we are talking to?" I heard a strong voice and I heard so much of rush behind him. "Yes. I am Adrian's wife. Hazel Torres" I told him with my shaky and might cry at anytime voice. "Well, I am sorry to break this to you. We found this man in a car crash. It was an accident since the truck driver was driving under influence. Through his IDs and his recent call logs, we figured your contact. Can you please share the details so I can proceed with handing the deceased body over to you?" He asked me. And I don't hear anything for few seconds. "Yes" I whispered. "I can understand what you are going through right now. But I would appreciate it if you share me your current details" he asked me again. I shared him my details and everything else he needed. I fell on the floor and stayed that way like a rock. I don't know. I don't want to believe this. I called my parents and Adrian's parents and they came over the next minute. We all waited for the cops to come and they told us about the whole accident. Both the truck driver and Adrian lost lives. My husband's lifeless body was placed right before me and somehow, I seemed to be in denial still. This cannot be my husband. My husband promised me that he would come back home. He told me that he loved me and want to make things right. He... He.... I started crying out of blue and I cried out real loud. I let my heart lose all its weight and with that, I realised that this was all real. I indeed lost my husband. "Adrian! Adrian please wake up" I whispered to his lifeless body. "Adrian!! You cannot leave me alone. We were to go to Savannah next week for our anniversary trip. We just celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We have a long life together. Please wake up" I call him out repeatedly. But it was real. Adrian never woke up. I waited for a miracle to happen till the moment his coffin was buried. And when his coffin was buried and done, I sat there till night. I did not cry. I did not scream. I just sat there. Maybe still in denial. I remember my mother dragging me back home from the burial grounds. And I remember what is written on his memorial rock. Loving husband and an amazing human. The next morning, I began to throw up and I believed it was because of my irregular diet since last four days. But fate has other plans. I was pregnant. I was pregnant and I don't have my husband with me. He never really knew he got me pregnant. This was a moment for us to share with each other but. Well, I guess I am someone with no such thing called good luck. . . . End of Flashback . . . I wipe my tears away and kiss Adrian through the picture. I still love him. I don't think I will ever move on from it. Adrian was the one for me. My parents and Adrian's parents asked me so many times. You know, about all the remarriage thing. Because Savannah is growing up and she would need a father at one point of her life. I don't believe in it. I can just take care of my daughter on my own. I have done it for six years now and I can do it forever. I look around and I see I have so many memories with Adrian here. Which is exactly why I want to move away. I cannot keep living in his memories when I want to make sure my father doesn't need a fatherly figure. I got a job as a fashion adviser in a well known clothing line. It pays well. And I can make the ends meet fine with my daughter. She can enroll in new school and make some new friends. This is my second shot at life and I don't want to mess this up. "Mommy" I hear Savannah call me and I walk to her room. "Yes sweetie" I smile at her and I see she packed almost all of her toys. She is still six and is obsessed with Frozen. She says her life ambition is to become Elsa from Frozen. Her bag is Elsa themed. Lunch box is Elsa themed too. She is just.. a pure Elsa addicted soul. "Mommy I don't have any place in this box for this" she looks like she is about to cry. I take the sky blue pencil from her hand and make small room in her box for her. Her disorganised box has literally so much space that she can fit in her school bag too. "Woah! Mommy you know everything" Savannah smiles wide and hugs me. "You are my super woman. Like Elsa is to Anna" she says again. "Oh really? I thought you are Elsa" I tell her as I pull away from the hug. "Yes. I am Elsa. And you are Queen Elsa's mother Iduna" Savannah squeals in excitement. This girl and her Elsa obsession! "Grandma!!!" Savannah screams and I know my mother is here. She must have come to give me a nice warm send off. I seal Savannah's box. If we forget anything, I will just buy her that there at the new place. "I brought you donuts! They are on the table" I hear my mother say and excited Savannah runs to grab one. Silence fills the room as I seal another box that has Savannah's stuff. "Hazel?" My mother calls me. "Yes, mom" I answer her. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asks. "Mom! I am more than ready!!" "But this is where you built your dreams. Savannah has memories here. You have your memories here. Your-" She doesn't finish the sentence. I hold the ring I have around my neck as a locket to the chain. My wedding ring is the most memorable asset of my life. There is no way I will take that off because I lost my husband. I attached a chain to it and have been wearing that as locket ever since then. "Please think about it one more time, Hazel" My mom says. "I made my mind up, Mom. I am sorry but I have to do this for me. For my daughter. Please let me go" I tell her as I look at the house I am about to leave. I take one last look at the house I spent all my married life and sigh. From happily wedded girl to a single mother, everything turned upside down real quick. It's a tragedy that will forever make my heart jump. "Mommy. Will I find daddy when we go to this new place?" My six year old daughter asks me and I just smile at her. I exhale deep and rev up the engine of my car. Cheers to new beginnings as a single mother!