He heard the sliding screen door open, and he turned to see a happy, smiling Anya walking toward him. She bent down and gave him a light kiss on the lips as she sat as close to him as possible.
She put her hand on his leg. “Remember the first night we sat out here?”
“Absolutely, it was a magical night.”
“It was magical. It was dreamlike. In just that one night, I realized I had more in common with you than with Dean. I knew you were someone special.”
How was he to respond to that? Looking at her, he put his hand on hers and squeezed.
She suddenly lifted her other hand and swung it around so it was now in front of him. There resting in her open hand was a small, gift-wrapped box. “I got you a little something while I was in Los Angeles,” she said. “Go ahead, open it.”
Peter grabbed the small box with his free hand, a shot of guilt rushing through him. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
Anya grinned. “I saw this in a store window and immediately thought of us. I had to get it.”
Peter let go of her hand and slowly began to tear off the wrapping paper. Whatever it was, her gift probably wasn’t going to make breaking up any easier. As he pulled the paper off a small jewelry box, he gave her a perplexed look. Bouncing in place on the bench, she motioned for him to open it. He slowly lifted the box cover and there in the center was a gold pendant of some sort; he couldn’t quite make it out because of the patio light glaring off the shiny metal. He pulled the pendant out of the box. It looked to be only half of a round gold pendant, as if it had been broken apart from its other half. Engraved on the pendant he held was “Mate.” Peter looked at Anya, wondering what it was exactly. She put her hand inside her shirt and pulled up a necklace around her neck. Dangling on the chain was the other half of the pendant. She held it up so Peter could see. The inscription read “Soul.” She then grabbed his pendant and held it next to hers; it was a perfect match and together they read, “Soul Mate.”
“They were perfect for us,” said Anya. She grasped the box from Peter’s hand, and pulled out a thicker gold chain that was under the velvet liner. She slid his pendant on the chain and leaned over to put it around his neck. She was just inches from his face while doing this. Looking in his eyes, she said, “I know you wear the locket from your dad, and I don’t expect this to replace that. I just wanted to give you something to let you know how much you mean to me.” She paused for a moment then said, “Peter, I think I’m falling in love with you.”
He loved her too, but he still hadn’t decided what to do. If he was going to break up, he knew he shouldn’t admit the same. Keeping his composure, he gave her a simple kiss. “These last few weeks have been wonderful. I have been trying to train for the mission of a lifetime. Yet all I have been doing is thinking of you. While you were in the kitchen with Mom I was looking up at the moon thinking of what lies ahead of me.” He looked away from Anya and upward to the moon; Anya did the same. To his surprise, the moon was no longer there. Clouds now covered it, as if someone had taken it away. Was this a sign? His heart sank. He had to assume it was, and as much as he hated doing it, this was the best time to break off the relationship.
Turning and looking into Anya’s eyes, he grabbed her hand. The dark smudge of her mouth changed shape as she tucked her lower lip between her teeth. An awkward silence stretched between them. Tension tightened his shoulders and his breath grew shallow. Finally, Peter broke the silence. “Anya, with all that lies ahead of me, I think this is not the right time to have a relationship. I think we should cool it for awhile.”
Anya pulled away with a sharp inhale. She turned away, looking over the garden.
Peter put his arm around her. “I’m so sorry, Anya, but I think this is best.”
She shrugged from under his arm and stood. Grabbing her necklace she ripped it off her neck. She swung her arm back and chucked the necklace across his mom’s garden. Her voice thick with tears she said, “I can’t believe I read this all wrong! I was sure everything was going perfect. Well, I sure made an ass out of myself, damn it!” A single sob escaped as she swiped an arm across her face. “I want to get out of here. Take me to the airport. Now!” She stormed back into the house.
As Peter watched her walk away, he put his head down in despair, praying he had done the right thing.
THE EARLY MORNING TEXAS SUN beamed down on Peter as he combed through his mother’s garden searching for Anya’s pendant and necklace. He was groggy from barely sleeping, lying awake wondering if he had done the right thing. All he could think about was how upset Anya had been. He hated hurting her. It broke his heart when she took her bags out of the car at the airport and left crying, not saying a word. He could say nothing as he watched her angrily walk away, whispering to himself, “I’m so sorry, Anya, I love you. Someday, you will understand.”
He had to find her pendant, especially knowing how much the trinket meant to her. He wasn’t sure what he would do with it, but wanted the jewelry all the same. He needed to find it before breakfast since he was leaving right after to catch a plane for Florida. Peter knew his mom sensed something was wrong last night after the two bolted out the door so abruptly. When he returned, she was already asleep. He assumed she would be quizzing him at breakfast, especially since she liked Anya. First he had to find the pendant.
Walking toward the end of the garden by the fence, he saw a glimmering piece of metal. As he got close, the sun glinted off the necklace with the pendant still attached. He picked up the chain and stared at the dangling pendent. Reading the engraving of “Soul,” he imagined how Anya must have felt when she first saw the two pendants. Though he and Anya used the term loosely, they both hoped they were each other’s “soul mate.” Deep down, he truly felt she was. He put the necklace in his pocket and somberly went back inside where his mom was making breakfast.
“What were you doing outside, son?”
“I dropped something last night and went to find it. I found it.”
She pursed her lips; her “mom’s” intuition would tell her the something had to do with Anya. “Well, have a seat. Breakfast is ready.”
On the table was enough food for an army—eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, and a bowl of strawberries. His mom brought over a container of orange juice in one hand and a pot of coffee in the other.
“Mom, is someone else joining us? Because this sure is a lot of food.”
“Nope, just us. You’re still a growing boy.” She smiled. “I wanted to make sure you got a good meal before you left.”
Unfortunately, Peter didn’t have much of an appetite. He was too upset. Plus, he dreaded having to say goodbye to his mom, knowing this was the last time he would see her. However, he didn’t want to disappoint her after she’d gone to all this trouble, so he filled up his plate.
She perched on the chair adjacent to him. “Anya seemed upset last night. May I ask what happened?”
Peter knew his mom would be disappointed if he told her they broke up, but he needed to be as up front as possible. “I just don’t think I’m ready for a serious relationship right now. Besides, she has a life and career overseas. So I broke it off.”
Moving right in front of him, staring in his eyes, Anne exclaimed, “Son, you’re forty-six years old! It’s time for you to find a woman and settle down. Anya is a wonderful girl, perfect for you. If a relationship is right, you can always work around logistics. She showed me the pendants she found for you two, which I thought was adorable. Did she show them to you?”