Love

This is not an erotic short story. Just be warned. If you're looking for my usual fare, please click My Stories

I had fun writing stories for the Literotica 750 Word Challenge, but my OCD wanted to do a nice round 1,000 words, so here we are. A three-part series each containing exactly 1,000 words.

This is Part 3.

I hope you enjoy reading them!

Love, Frey

After putting the gun safe away, Finn walked to the local park where, a lifetime ago, he and Ana had spent so many wonderful afternoons and evenings. Their usual bench was unoccupied, so he sat down and just listened to the gurgling of the nearby stream for a while. Eventually, he picked up the book from his lap and looked at it. The last time he had opened it, his wife had been alive.

It took some concerted effort, but he was able to finish two chapters before he closed the book again. It hurt his heart to see couples walking along the stone pathway chatting and smiling, so he decided to head home.

As he reached the street, he noticed a woman walking a dog and thought about how Ana would insist on going over to say hello to every single dog she saw at the park. Much to Finn's chagrin -- he was not really a 'dog person.'

But since he was beginning his new life, and in honor of his wife, he walked over to meet the dog.

"Beautiful dog you have," he said as he approached.

"Thank you."

"May I pat him?"

"Of course," she replied. "He loves meeting new people."

Finn crouched down and started scratching the dog behind its ears. After a few moments, he noticed the woman looking at him kind of oddly.

"Finn?"

He stood up. "Yes?"

"Vera." She touched her chest and smiled at him. "From the bridge."

"Oh! Wow!"

"How have you been?" She asked.

"It's been tough, but I'm getting through it."

"Your wife...?"

"Yes." Something about the genuine concern on her face made him tell her about the letter from Ana, though not the circumstances of him finding it.

"I'm so glad that you're able to move on, Finn!" She took his hand just as she did that morning so long ago. "Ana sounds like an amazing woman."

Unable to speak, Finn nodded, then self-consciously let go of her hand. He cleared his throat, and asked, "So, have you saved any other lives since that morning on the bridge?"

"Just Gary's."

"Who's Gary?"

She crouched down to give the dog a hug and said, "This is Gary."

"His name is Gary?"

"Yes. I brought him home from the shelter and he had no name. He was just a stray. After a few days, it became apparent that he had the personality of a Gary."

Finn chuckled. "And what is the personality of a Gary?"

"Him," she answered, pointing to the dog.

"Are you always this interesting?"

"No." She smiled. "I'm much more interesting."

"I'll bet."

Finn and Vera chatted a little more, while Gary sniffed at nothing in particular until they noticed a group of people coming into the park.

"Tomorrow, they're doing a Theater in the Park show and this must be a dress rehearsal," Vera explained. "They are performing A Midsummer Night's Dream." Then she added, "Hey, we should go. Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

Finn shrugged, "No."

"Great! Meet me back here at 4:00 tomorrow. And, Finn?"

"Yes."

"It was great seeing you again."

"It was great seeing you again, Vera."

During intermission, the next evening, Finn bought them both ice creams.

"Thank you," Vera said. "And, Finn... I want to be clear that this isn't a date."

"No! Of course not!"

"It's just nice to have someone to be with." Vera then told Finn that she had recently suffered her second miscarriage and because of that, her husband had left her. "In fact, the walk I took on the day I first met you was just after my first miscarriage."

"I had no idea," Finn said.

"It didn't seem important right then. I thought that maybe you needed more help than I did." She smiled. "And you don't know it, but ironically, helping you helped me get through that challenging time in my life."

She looked at him. "And here you are to help me, again."

"Hey, you climbed up the bridge to me."

"And you walked up to me yesterday, so we're even."

"I guess we are."

After the play, they took a slow stroll through the park.

"Ana and I loved this park."

"Gary and I do, too. We've been coming here for years."

"I wonder if we ever saw you here," Finn mused. "I wonder if Ana ever met you and Gary. She loved meeting all of the dogs."

"We may have met before, Finn. Wouldn't that be a trip?"

"It sure would."

"You know, since my husband left, I've been getting tired of cooking for one. You should come over for dinner."

"I've been tired of microwaving my meals. But why don't we go out to eat?"

"Not a date."

Finn smiled. "Definitely not a date."

After several weeks of once-a-week dinners -- sometimes out, sometimes in -- they graduated to two nights a week with the occasional three nights thrown in. In addition to shared meals, Finn and Vera went to see movies and plays and sometimes just took walks together with Gary.

"You know," Vera commented one evening over dinner at an expensive restaurant -- Finn had gotten a promotion at work and wanted to celebrate -- "to an outsider, it may look like we're dating."

"I was thinking the same thing."

"So, it's official," she stated. "We're dating."

"I guess we are."

"Finn, would it be okay if I told you how I felt about you or is our first official date too soon?"

He thought about it for a minute, then shook his head. "I don't know."

After a long pause, she said, "Well, I think maybe you need to hear it. I know that I need to say it."

She took a deep breath. "I love you, Finn."

He blinked back tears as he looked at Vera and thought of his dearly departed Anastasia. He wondered if there was any room left in his heart. Finally, he decided that there was.

"I love you, too."

I hope that you've enjoyed this story. If you did, please follow me for all of my newest uploads!

I would REALLY appreciate it if you could favorite this story, rate it as 5 stars (hint, hint), and I absolutely adore reading your comments!!

Thank you so much!

Love, Frey

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