First Class to Portland Read Free Page B

love of flowers came from.
    “Hi, Mom,” she called, as she walked into the yard.
    “Hi, honey. I’m so glad you stopped by. I need to hear all
about your trip!” Patty stood and wiped her hands on her pants. “I’ll grab some
coffee and we can sit out here. It’s supposed to rain this afternoon, but I’d
like to enjoy the sun while we can see it,” she chuckled.
    Patty stepped inside for a couple of minutes and came out
through the sliding glass door with a tray holding cups of steaming coffee and
some mini chocolate donuts, her weakness. Janie smiled when she saw them and
took the cup from her mom.
    “So, tell me all about it!”
    Janie smiled and looked out at the garden. “I think one of
my favorite things was Central Park,” she said. “I spent hours wandering, not
heading anywhere specific. It really was amazing.”
    “We have parks here, you know,” Patty grinned. “What else
did you do? You texted me about the baseball game and I talked to you after the
bus tour. Did you get to see the Statue of Liberty? I know it was on your
list.”
    Janie closed her eyes and didn’t want to talk about it. ‘The
Lady’ brought back a flood of memories of Matt and being in his apartment and
the amazing time she’d had there. It wasn’t just the sex, although that had
been insanely good, but more of the feelings and emotions while she had been
with him. He had opened up to her about his friend Wes that had died on 9/11
and he had trusted her with talking about the painful loss of his unborn baby.
It was definitely more than just sex. There was a connection she felt to him
after that and it was so hard to let go of that.
    “Yes, I saw it. I actually had a harbor tour. If you had
Facebook you could look at all the pictures,” Janie teased her mom.
    “Oh I am too old to be messing around with the computer. I
can barely check my email!” Patty laughed.
    Janie finished her coffee and confirmed with her mom that it
was still fine for the boys to stay with her while they were home for the
summer. They had offered to stay with their Grandma so Janie’s house would stay
clean and tidy while it was for sale. She had appreciated them being so
accommodating and amazed that they had finally recognized they were slobs.
    Janie kissed her mom goodbye and figured the tour of her
house should be over so she headed home.
    *****
    At five minutes to two, Matt stood outside City Hall. He
didn’t want to be late to his brother, Andrew’s wedding, so he headed up the
steps and made his way to the wedding party. All his brothers were there,
except Paul, of course, who was still on some secret mission as a Navy Seal. He
sat down next to his dad, who was holding his mom’s hand, as she had already
begun crying and the ceremony hadn’t even started. Andrew and Rory were at the
front of the room talking to the City Clerk. Matt was the last one to arrive so
they got started.  
    They had decided to write their own vows and keep the
ceremony short and simple. Matt was trying to focus on what was being said but
his mind wouldn’t let him. All he could think about was Janie and how much he
missed her. He knew that she had been the one woman who had let him be who he
really was. He didn’t need to put on a show for her or pretend to be something
he wasn’t. She listened to him because she was interested in what he had to say
and their bodies melded together perfectly. He could see himself never getting
bored of waking up next to her, of sitting eating Thai food in comfortable
silence, or cuddling on the couch listening to music. He knew he’d become sappy
but he didn’t care. He really did want all those things, but he only wanted them with Janie.
    He was pulled from his own thoughts as Andrew spoke.
    “I was happy and content before I met you, Rory. I had a
promising career and a loving family. And my life was good. And then I met you
and I realized that life didn’t have to be just good. Life could be joyful and
sweet and I