Soul Mates

As luck would have it, Joanna, Damon's ex-fiancé, arrived next. Seeing each other, they merely stared at one another for a minute. Joanna took the first steps toward Damon and he finally did the same. They stopped a few feet from each other.

Damon had not been certain how he would feel when he saw Joanna, but aside from a bit of awkwardness, he was surprised that he felt nothing. He thought he might have experienced some residual emotions, but he didn't. He now thought he knew why.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry again?" Joanna humbly asked. "I really—"

"I forgive you," Damon said calmly."

"—mean it." It took her a beat to catch up. "What?"

"I said I forgive you."

It was almost as though Joanna didn't know what to make of it.

At that moment, Damon's brother, Albert, appeared. His apprehension was apparent. "I wasn't absolutely certain you were going to come."

"I almost didn't make it." Damon explained briefly about the weather.

Albert said, "Look, I don't want this to be—"

"I forgive you," Damon said.

"Okay, well, that's good," Albert said automatically, but then as it sank in, he asked, "Do we have your blessing?"

"You have my blessing."

"Thanks," Albert said. "Should I ask why after all of this time?"

Paige proudly stepped up beside Damon, having been listening to the exchange out of sight. Damon put his arm around her for strength.

"Who is this?" Joanna asked.

"I forgive you and give you my blessing after all of this time because I have now found my soul mate."

THE END