Someday The Waves ✔ *Wattys15 Winner*

Chapter Twenty Six

Late December

I used to love Saturdays.

I used to love the hope of that one-day in particular, when I would steadily wake with warmth in my heart knowing that Saturdays were marked for adventure.

When Noah was still here, I would hold those precious Saturdays tightly and relish every second spent doing whatever the hell we wanted. From exploring the jagged coves in Hillside to the our own in Pesmo, with hands wound together and smiles spread so wide that everything else was eclipsed.

I used to love them.

Now... Well I don't love them so much, not since he left. The fondness of endless days spent laughing and kissing feels removed, memories that are slowly fading with the turn of each winter tide.

Wash, rinse and reflect.

Because surprisingly, I actually still quite enjoy them and even though I still have too many thoughts for company, they are no longer my worst enemy and the freedom I found, both with and without him is something to now be grateful for.

Since Noah left, early on that Friday morning to catch a flight to his new home, I'd noticed a change that I hadn't quite expected. For all my late night tears when we had said goodbye out on the lawn, when I woke in the morning my fear of feeling empty was unfounded.

I didn't want to pull the covers back up and sleep for an eternity. The sunshine that spilled through the blinds didn't make me want to run or hide, or curse the town for the guilt I'd first felt for not feeling as happy as I should.

Even when thoughts of Noah waving goodbye to The Allen's and Pesmo that day appeared, I held it together.

And that was just the beginning.

When the hours, turned into days and those into weeks, I found that I got stronger and more positive by the day. Because even if he was hundreds of miles away, walking on different shores and into different waves I knew that the time would come again when I would see his smiling face, someday.

I threw myself into work, taking on extra hours and expanding my clientele list with the help of Poppy, of course who had been my constant anchor. When Noah had left that night, and the tears seemed to last forever she had sat with me out on the porch and told me everything was going to be okay.

For the first time, I believed her. Letting the sadness flow free until it did feel, well okay and bearable.

"Keep busy." she had told me.

And I had, each and every day.

Just as I had done so with Noah, I continued to spend Thursday evenings in the company of The Allen's and their home cooking. On the weekends when the sun would shine and give us heat, I would take Lily to the beach and make turkey and pickles sandwiches and cartwheel across the sand.

She still asked a lot of questions, which made me understand a little better why Poppy had always been off with me - being like an old sister was hard work but rewarding too.

"Do you miss him?" Lily would ask, whilst we dined on milkshakes and fries.

"Are you going to get married?"

"Are you going to have babies?" she would giggle, whilst we darted about on the sand, our legs flying up and over.

I'd been honest, especially about missing him, because I did. There weren't many moments that went by where I wouldn't think of him.