It's Always You

Chapter 8 - The One That Got Away

Jane spent the rest of the day with her father, catching up and enjoying his father's signature lasagna. Yet, she couldn't shake off a slight sadness as she noticed her father getting older with each visit.

"So, any exciting news? School, boyfriend, anything?" Jason started the conversation.

"Nothing much," Jane replied.

"Liar. I know you're going to Lake Tahoe with a boy," Jason teased his daughter.

"It's not just a boy. It's a group of friends, dad," Jane reassured.

"So, who is he?"

"Dad, we're just friends," Jane insisted.

"I'm happy you're spending more time with your friends. That's what you should do at your age," Jason reassured.

Jane chuckled and continued talking to her dad, "Dad, what have you been up to lately?"

"You know, the usual. I jog in the morning, go fishing, and oh, I've taken a liking to Bingo at the community center!" Jason happily shared his new hobby.

"Bingo? Really?" Jane laughed.

"Ms. Watson first urged me to come with her. I gave it a try, found it fun, and now I've been going there every week since."

"Is there something between you and Ms. Watson?" Jane teased him.

"No, of course not," Jason quickly denied.

"Dad, you know it's okay, right? I'm happy if you're happy," Jane reassured her dad.

"I never thought about meeting someone new. I spent 25 years married to your mom. No one can replace that," pain resonated in his voice.

"No one needs to replace that. But if you want to start anew, it's totally fine. Everyone can have more than one love story in their life. What you had with mom was great. But you are allowed to be happy, and if that means meeting someone new, I'm happy for you," Jane explained.

"Wow, I can't believe my daughter is so grown up."

Jane laughed when suddenly a notification popped up on her phone, informing her of a new message. She opened her phone and found out it was from Andrew. She couldn't help but smile reading his message.

'Hi Jane, this is Andrew. Do you have any plans tomorrow?'

"Who is that?" Jason asked curiously.

"Hmm, it's Andrew," Jane simply answered.

"Right, what does he do?" Jason asked.

"He's studying medicine at Harvard. He's coming home to attend his cousin's wedding."

"Seems like a good young fella," Jason smiled, teasing his daughter.

"We're just friends. We haven't met in a very long time," Jane explained.

Jane turned her attention back to her phone and quickly replied to Andrew's text.

'Hi Andrew. I have no plans yet for tomorrow. Do you have something in mind?'

'My brother and I are going for a hike tomorrow. Would you like to come with us?'

Jane hesitated for a while. It had been a long time since she went on a hike. In the end, she decided to come along, thinking spending some time with her high school friend could be a good idea.

'Sure, sounds fun!' Jane replied.

'Great! I'll pick you up at 6 tomorrow.'

'I'll see you tomorrow.'