My Christmas Valentine

Reunion

♥ Megan ♥

Amy touched my arm lightly, her eyes flicking between me and Brendan with quick understanding.

“I will take the groceries and go,” she said softly. “Text me later, ok?”

“Are you sure?” I asked, though my voice came out thin. She nodded.

“Yes. You two should talk,” her smile was warm, steady. “I will see you later,” Amy then squeezed my hand, gave Brendan a polite nod, and walked toward her car with the bags, leaving me standing in the cool air with someone I hadn’t expected to see again. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Cars drove past, trolleys rattled, and a woman nearby complained about the price of wrapping paper. Normal life moved on, completely unaware of the shock punching through me. I had imagined seeing Brendan again one day, but not like this. Not in a car park with a bag of potatoes at my feet and his name still settling like dust inside my head.

“You look well,” he said finally. “Different. Good different,”

“Thank you,” I said, clearing my throat. “I…didn’t know you were in town,” he gave a small laugh, one that sounded nervous.

“I wasn’t meant to be. Not really. I was planning to visit in January. But something changed…” he said, and I frowned.

“Changed?” I asked curiously. Brendan shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and shifted his weight, the same way he used to when he didn’t know how to start a conversation.

“I met someone,” he said. “Online, actually. One of those dating apps I swore I would never use,” the words hit me harder than I expected. Not painful exactly, just sharp.

“Oh,” I said. “That is…good,”

“It has been a few months,” he said. His eyes softened, the way they used to when he talked about something real. “Her name is Alice,” Alice. A simple name. A friendly name.

“And she lives in…?”

“Rockland,” he said, a little smile forming. “Can you believe it? I matched with someone who lived in my hometown without knowing it. We talked for weeks before I realized. She mentioned Bean Leaf in a message, and everything clicked,” a strange warmth pressed against my ribs, jealousy and confusion twisting together. I kept my face still, steady, polite.

“So that is why you came,” I said. “To visit her?”

“Yes,” he said. “I flew in yesterday. I am staying for a while. We wanted to see how things feel in person…”

“How does it feel?” I heard myself ask, even though a part of me didn’t want the answer. He exhaled softly, and I recognized it. The sound he made when something mattered.

“It feels right,” he said. “Easy. She…she brings out something in me I didn’t know was still there,” something tightened low in my stomach, a mix of relief and the sting of something I didn’t want to name.

“I am happy for you,” I said quietly. And I was. But another part of me whispered the old question I had buried months ago:

Why could I never make him happy enough to stay?

He studied me for a moment.

“You look surprised,” he said gently. “Or maybe…thrown,”

“I am,” I admitted. “I thought you were still in the city. Working. Settled,”

“I thought so too,” he said. “For a long time. But I guess I didn’t realize how lonely it felt,” he paused, then continued. “With Alice, things feel lighter. Simple. She makes it easy to want to put roots somewhere again. To choose a place that feels like home,” the words slid under my skin in ways I hadn’t expected. It was not the idea of Brendan settling down with someone. It was the idea of him doing it here, in the town he had left behind without me. Once, a part of me would have broken hearing that. Now, it only hurt in a quiet, almost nostalgic way. Like remembering a life that belonged to a different version of myself.

“That is good,” I said. “You deserve something steady,” he nodded slowly.

“I think…I think she is different,” he said. But Brendan didn’t elaborate. He didn’t have to. The way he said it told me everything. Different from his past. Different from the mistakes. Different from me. I swallowed, the jealousy slipping in before I could stop it. Not sharp jealousy. Just a small ache. A question.

Why her? Why now? Why not me when it mattered?

But at the same time, another truth rose beside it. I didn’t want his life anymore. I wanted mine. The life I had with Shane. The one that felt full. Soft. True. Still, some small part of me, a quieter part, felt that pang of knowing someone who had once loved me had found something better somewhere else. Not better than me as a person. Just better for him.

“Does she know…about us?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “I wanted to be honest. She appreciated that,”

“Good,” I said. “Honesty matters,”

“You and I…we ended the way we needed to. But I never wanted you to feel like you failed at anything,” he said, and my breath caught. He had read me too easily. Even after everything, he still recognized the things I tried to hide.

“I don’t feel that,” I lied. He smiled softly.

“You shouldn’t. We were not right for each other in the long run. But you helped me grow. You were good to me. Even when I didn’t deserve it,” a warm sting filled my eyes, but I blinked it away quickly.

“Well,” I said. “It sounds like Alice is exactly what you needed,”

“She feels like someone I could build something with,” he said. “Someone who fits the version of myself I want to be,” there it was again, that subtle contrast. Not cruel. Not intentional. But clear. Megan had been good for who he was. Alice was good for who he wanted to become. And suddenly, the jealousy faded, replaced by something more honest: acceptance.

“You seem happy,” I said. He smiled, the most open smile I had seen from him in years.

“I am,” he admitted. We stood there in silence for a moment, the cold air brushing between us, the sound of trolleys scraping concrete filling the space. “So,” he said eventually. “Are you still with Shane?” my heart lifted immediately. I felt it in the way my shoulders eased, the way my mouth softened without effort.

“Yes,”

“Oh…how is he? How are things with him?”

“Good,” I said. “Better than good,” his smile turned gentle.

“I am glad,” he said. A sudden announcement crackled over the speakers near the entrance, reminding customers that holiday hours would begin next week. Brendan stepped back slightly. “Alice is waiting for me,” he said. “We are having dinner at her place,”

“Then go,” I said. “Don’t keep her waiting,” he hesitated.

“It was really good seeing you, Megan,”

“You too,” I said honestly. He gave a small nod, then walked toward the row of cars. As he moved farther away, a strange calm settled over me. The past had walked straight into my day and spoken to me like it had never left. But instead of shaking me, it only reminded me how much I had grown. I lifted the grocery bags into my arms and headed toward my car, the cold air sharp on my cheeks. Brendan had moved on. He had found someone who suited the version of himself he wanted to be. And I had found Shane, the man who suited the version of myself I had always been afraid to hope for. Still, the echo of seeing Brendan lingered like a faint trail behind me. He was back in Rockland. Dating someone serious. Staying for a while. And that meant his presence would not disappear as quickly as it had appeared. Which meant one thing:

I would have to see him again.

♥ ♥ ♥