1.8 Weigh the anchor, set the sail

Some days had passed since Anna had last seen Benjamin. The excitement had worn off a little, and finally was replaced by guilt. When she was in his arms, she thought of Jo. When his lips passionately explored hers, she thought of Jo. When she was alone in her bed afterwards, she thought of Jo. The thrill was nice, but it didn’t keep her satisfied. It was not enough to be with this man who wanted her body, but was not willing to cope with her soul.

Gardening helped organizing her thoughts, even though some plants had already died throughout the last days. Every time she plugged a leaf off, it hurt her, physically. All of the plants were friends to her, and if she didn’t have enough time to take care of them, something had to change.

Figuring her life out still was even harder than she thought. Benjamin, Jo, plants, job, house. So many things to consider. For now it was the best to focus on the last three, until her mind was settled. She did some shopping and got a few new clothes from her salary. Then she went back home and began cleaning the house conscientiously. Every single spot was dust-free by the end of the week.

As soon as the weekend arrived, she put on one of the new dresses she had gotten second-hand, called Jo and invited him to the summer festival. It was where they had met for the first time so many weeks ago, and it was the right moment to take the next step. She decided to listen to her heart for once.

She arrived earlier than him, as usual. Punctuality was one of the few good things she had been taught back at home, and it still stuck. While she was waiting, her cell phone rang. She answered, and was greeted by Benjamin’s seducing voice. He wanted to see her, right now. In that very moment, she spotted Jo riding down the street towards her. She swallowed hard. The decision was to be made right here, in this instant. Before she had the chance to say anything, a deafening noise appeared out of nowhere. When she looked around, irritated, she saw a small plane flying by, carrying a banner that advertised trips with hot air balloons. Knowing that Benjamin was afraid of height, she made up something about getting on one of these balloons any minute and how he could join her if he wanted. Snorting, he said no and hung up. She had only seconds before Jo approached her, but these few seconds were enough.

Then he was there, standing right in front of her. Smiling his beautiful smile that warmed her heart and made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Without saying a word, she threw her arms around him and kissed him. He was a little overwhelmed by her eagerness and stepped back after a minute to catch his breath. Only this second did he realize how great she looked in that blue dress of hers. He still couldn’t believe she was his. Throughout the last days, nasty gossip had reached his ears, gossip about her dating various men. He refused to believe any of it, of course, nevertheless that had made him a little insecure. 

He decided to be brave for once, and asked her if any of the gossip was true. For a second, she froze and stared at him with a blank expression. But then a smile spread across her face and she took his hand. She assured him that, despite a very rough past, she had now found her path in life, and that he was a great part of it. This didn’t necessarily answer the question, but it was all he needed to hear. Looking into her eyes, he actually saw a future. You couldn’t change the past, but you could define the present. And when she asked him to move in with her one minute later, he didn’t hesitate. 

All he asked for was a few days to tell Chuck the great news. She accepted his condition, knowing that Chuck probably wouldn’t be too happy about this change in their relationship. In his eyes, she was worthless and cheap, and although she technically didn’t care about this any longer, she was a little worried that Chuck would try and make Jo stay with him at the farm, no matter the cost.

Both Anna and Jo were overwhelmed with joy and emotions. They were going to live together in Anna’s house, which they could then expand a bit with the help of their combined income! And although they had never heard “the talk” before, Anna could very well imagine spending the rest of her life with this wonderful man who had taught her to be happy again. This was a memorable day, and they decided to spend it surrounded by the other villagers at the festival.

While Jo tried to skate without landing flat on his face after a few seconds, Anna participated in a contest that involved a huge plate of hotdogs. While she stuffed hotdog after hotdog into her mouth, all she could think about was the amazing change in her life that was going to happen very soon. In a week, a man would be living with her. Time to come clear with everybody else, especially Benjamin. Or maybe not. Maybe the easiest way was to just ignore him, until he started looking for another woman who pleased him.

Yes, this was definitely a good idea. While she waited for the other contestants to finish – although there was no point, since she clearly won –, she couldn’t help but smile. Benjamin was no longer a part of her life, she was sure of that. She didn’t need him, she didn’t need the affection she had gotten from him during their secret meetings. Hopefully.

When she joined Jo on the skating rink, she was witness of his improved skills within seconds. She laughed, ran over to him and helped him get up. He seemed to be hurt, since he kept holding his back, wreathing in pain. When she offered to take him to the hospital, he just laughed and told her that pains like these came with age. Indeed, he was quite a lot older than her – she had never noticed the wrinkles on his face that were now clearly visible in the light of the streetlamps.

A few days later, the night before the big move, Anna climbed into the brand-new bed they had picked out together. Tomorrow, everything was going to change forever. A new life was about to begin, and she could only imagine what it would have in store for her and the man who brought back her smile. This night the bad dreams didn’t come, for the first time in ages.