His Love Is Not Visible Chapter 42
Another year passed, and Independence Day came around again.
My grandfather finally agreed to come stay in Salt Lake City for a while.
The balcony at home was full of tomatoes, peppers, and herbs he had planted.
My mother complained that the pots were ugly, yet she was the one who watered them most carefully.
My father and Ethan made the holiday dinner together.
Megan came, too.
She didn’t want to spend the evening being interrogated by relatives about her dating life, so she insisted on eating at my place instead.
The TV was broadcasting the national celebrations live.
Outside the window, people had started counting down to the fireworks.
With a glass of wine in hand, I stepped onto the balcony.
There was no holiday message from Garrett on my phone.
After I deleted his contact information, we never spoke again.
I had heard he still lived alone.
I had also heard he had changed his Instagram username from V11 to his full name, Garrett Bancroft.
None of it left much of a mark on me.
Ethan stepped up beside me.
He didn’t ask who I was thinking about. He only handed me a light jacket.
“It gets windy at night.”
I slipped it on.
The first burst of fireworks rose into the sky.
It was just as beautiful as the fireworks that year in Iowa.
I had once thought divorce meant failure.
Later, I understood that admitting a relationship wasn’t worth saving took even more courage.
Garrett understood too late.
Vanessa’s apology couldn’t change that snowy night.
But I no longer lived there.
I had my own work and my own house.
My parents’ and friends’ laughter sounded from inside.
As for love—
If someone was willing to respect my pace, I was willing to move forward with him, slowly.
And if one day there was no one left but me, I could still turn on the lights and make a good life for myself.
From the living room, Megan shouted for me to come cut the cake.
I turned around.
Everyone who loved me was standing in the light.
Smiling, I walked toward them.
Fireworks burst outside the window.
This time, my life belonged only to me.
The End