Present Day

Yuri bent over at the waist, trying to catch her breath.  She hadn’t been on her regular evening run in so long, she felt winded.  She also felt good.  As good as she’d felt in the last month.  The run had taken her focus off Jessica, had allowed her thoughts to subside, her mind to rest.  After a month of indecision, a month of soul searching, a month of hoping Jessica would contact her – she had finally concluded that if anything were to happen, if they were to see each other again, she would have to be the one to make the first move.  Jessica would not.

She headed slowly back up the beach to the state park where her Jeep was parked, enjoying the evening breeze off the water.  The sun had just set, leaving the sky streaked with pinks and reds.  She stopped, looking out over waves, a rush of memories coming back to her.  She and Jessica had been so attuned to each other, the few weeks they’d spent here at the coast were some of the best times of her life.  It was the only time they’d been able to be together day and night.  They shared secrets, shared their dreams, learned what falling in love felt like.  They made promises and talked of the future.  And the future was full of so many possibilities.  Their future.  A future Yuri totally screwed up.

She knew she had to get past the what-ifs and what could have been.  While they would never get the years back, it would do no good to dwell on them, no good to