No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

Susie's eyes were a whirlpool of panic, and then she shook her head again, as if that had become her default response.

I was puzzled. "If he didn't touch you, didn't kiss you, where do you get the idea that he loves you?"

Susie blushed and looked down, saying, "Well, he... he almost kissed me once."

"Almost?" I pondered about Mack, "Was he drinking?"

Alcohol has a way of messing with men's heads, making them see past loves in the faces before them.

This time, Susie didn't shake her head but nodded slightly before confessing, "Last week, he was down in the dumps, drowning his sorrows. I asked him what was wrong, and he told me his favorite teacher had passed away, been gone for a hundred days. He said he missed her so much, and then... he looked at me, and he tried to kiss me..."

That's when it hit me that Judie had been gone from this world for a hundred days.

Mack's beloved teacher was Judie, and in that moment, he must have seen her in Susie.

Considering Judie, a girl who looked a bit like me, made my heart heavy. Looking at Susie, who bore no resemblance to Judie, I wondered how Mack could mistake her for Judie.

It must have been the alcohol.

Did you push him away, or did he...

blush on Susie's face, "He

couldn't help feeling

at the library thinks we're dating. They even tease us, and he never corrects

Whenever he arrives late and sees another guy sitting across from me or talking to me, he gets

knew she was telling the truth. Anyone in her

like Mack did have some explaining to do, but

Didn't you ever wonder why he's so hung up

suggesting he was in love with

about to agree when

her head, "That can't

teacher have to be for that to be true?

be in love

Content

a sweet, naive girl, still stuck in the notion that all teachers are old and

young and beautiful professors at the university," I paused, weighing whether to lay out the truth for her now or let her find out on he

you saying Mack's professor was a young, beautiful woman?" Susie