One Day in December

by Josie Silver

“I lost you for a while afterward.” His breath warms my ear. “I hated it.” “Me too.”

“Do you think we were always destined to know each other?”

I’ll always be glad you’re in my life.”

“Even though being with you is hard on my heart sometimes.”

“We’ve both got too much to lose.”

silently tell him that I’ll always carry him in my heart,

he silently tells me that in another place, another time, we’d have been pretty damn close to perfect.

you’re just about my favorite person in the world, and it was the single most spectacular kiss of my whole life.”

“Don’t,” he says. “We’re all where we should be.”

“Don’t cry,” he says. “I love you, Laurie James.”

truth is that I’ve walked around the edge of being in love with Jack for too many years.

made me realize something inevitable, something that’s been a long time coming: he and I would be better off without each other.

He’s too much a part of who I am, and me ...

Being married isn’t just a legally binding contract, it’s a choice. It’s saying I choose you.

It feels like a huge leap into the unknown.

Who knew it would be so stressful?

I don’t want to leave my job or London or my life.

It’s not fair that his success should mean I lose so much I hold dear.

I can’t quite believe we’re falling apart like this. He’s been my safe harbor for a long time.

you’ve given me so much more than I can ever give you back.” “I never expected you to.”

it serves only to make me even more certain that we’ve come to the end of the line.

recognize it now for what it was: a grieving process—for him, and for me, and for us.

I’m done with waiting for you to decide if you’ll ever love me enough.”

I’m leaving you because you don’t deserve me.

you can’t love someone if you’re already in love with someone else.”

throw all my cards up in the air and see where they land. I’m treading water, but what I want is to swim.

I know life hasn’t just dropped good things in her lap; she made all of this happen for herself.

She was brave enough to take chances—she always has been.

starting to understand that we didn’t have what it takes to stay together for a lifetime.

We were just too different.

Perhaps we just didn’t love each other enough?

It’s strange, but you never stop caring about someone, even if

you don’t want to be with them anymore.

I’ll always love him ...

It’s just me and, for now, I’m good with that.

Trust me, I know, because it happened to me.

You’ll always regret it if you don’t.”

I know what it’s like to miss your chance and to spend the rest of your life waiting to feel that way again.”

I looked right at him, and he looked right at me, and I’ve never in my life felt anything like it.

Not before and not afterward,”

“I bet it was as tough for him as it was for you.”

He had his chances and he missed them all.”

“Sometimes you just meet the right person at the wrong time,”

then you spend every day afterward wishing that time cou...

What have you got to lose?”

“Why did we wait this long?” “I’d wait a lifetime for you,” I say. “I love you, Jack O’Mara.”

“And I love you, Laurie James,” he breathes. “Stay with me?” “Always.”

“Do you ever wonder what might have happened if you’d just got on the bus?”

I hold him, and he holds me, and for the first time in years, there’s nothing missing at all.

Have you ever felt a similar connection with someone?