“Love caught off guard is the strongest love found.”
A New Chapter
It was a hot day on the beach.
Jenna walked alone, soaking up the sun and feeling the sand beneath her feet. After a week in Virginia, this was the first perfect day. It had rained for the first five days, and the other two she’d spent in bed crying.
Her boyfriend had left her. Not just for anyone—but for someone she had grown up with. Someone she had confided in. Her best friend.
Jenna would never have guessed that the two people she loved most would be the ones to betray her. Her high school sweetheart and her closest friend—gone in one brutal blow. It felt like her whole world had shattered overnight.
Now, here she was, walking the quiet shoreline of Chesapeake, Virginia long way from Fort Smith, Arkansas. She had to get away. To breathe. To think. To forget.
There were so many questions she wanted to ask them both. Why? When did it start? Was anything ever real?
But she decided to let it all go.
Jenna had gone from being a glowing light—bright and warm to everyone she met—to hiding in the deep, shadowy corners of her mind. She was tired. Tired of hoping. Tired of trusting. Tired of giving.
She had started to believe that life doesn’t come with promises. It just moves. Friendships change. Breakups and divorces happen. People leave. Some die. Money disappears. Jobs end.
And the body? It changes too. Wrinkles. Pain. Sickness. Time doesn’t ask for permission.
But despite everything, Jenna was still here.
And being here gave her an edge.
She wiped her tears away with quiet strength and told herself what she needed to hear:
“Maybe I didn’t lose them. Maybe I finally let go of what was holding me back.”
Today is a new chapter.
As she walked along the shoreline, lost in thought, she suddenly stumbled into someone.
“Hey! Please watch where you’re going!” a man’s voice snapped.
Startled, Jenna stepped back. “I’m so sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to knock you down.”
The man looked at her with irritation at first, brushing sand from his hands. But then his expression softened. He seemed caught off guard by her face, by something in her presence.
“Oh… it’s alright,” he said after a pause. “I’m alive, and not angry. Things happen. Like fate. Maybe that’s why you bumped into me.”
Jenna raised an eyebrow. “Fate?” she repeated. “That’s a little arrogant, don’t you think?”
He grinned, unfazed. “Just optimistic.”
She shook her head, managing a small, tired laugh. “Look, I’m here on vacation. I just went through a terrible breakup. Like I said, I’m sorry—but I’ve got to go.”
She turned to walk away as the man called after her. “Stop! Let’stalk a little. My name is Brad. What’s your name?”
“You don’t know anything about me, Mister,” she said, “and I don’t give my name or phone number to people I don’t know.”
Brad smiled. “Well, I gave you mine.”
She stopped. “But I didn’t ask for it, did I?”
“Why’s such a beautiful woman so angry?” he said. “You bumped into me.”
Jenna looked at Brad again. He wasn’t her type, especially cute, but not ugly either. Still, there was something about him. It wasn’t his looks. It was his confidence. And the more he spoke, the more interested she became.
Brad stood 6 foot 5 with a clean haircut and smooth shaved and he smelled so good. Whatever he was wearing sent a tingle through her stomach. But she played tough so he wouldn’t think she was easy.
“Jenna,” he said, “let us go into the shade and talk for a bit. I want to get to know you.”
“My name is Jenna,” she finally said. “I came to Virginia to get away from my chaotic past.”
“Yeah, you mentioned the breakup,” Brad replied. “But hey, let’s not talk about the past. I can see you’re still torn up, so it must be fresh.”
“Where are you from?” he asked.
“I was born and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas,” she said. “And you?”
“I play football here at Virginia Tech,” Brad said. “But I’m from Wyoming. My girlfriend recently broke up with me. She couldn’t take the distance. Said she wasn’t happy.”
He looked down at the sand. “They say if you really love someone, you’ll let them go. I’m cut from a different cloth. I want her to be happy. Even if it’s not with me.”
That day on the beach turned into the best relationship Jenna had ever known.
Four years passed. Jenna was now expecting their first child, aboy. She often thought about the day she met Brad and realized she had fallen in love with him that very day. Back then, she had been shallow—always judging by looks, always choosing the same kind of man. But Brad was different. And she had grown. She had matured. She had healed.
Brad then told her:
“A man’s secret is this: because we are simple, we want substance. I didn’t want a woman that would be easy. Then something happens, and a child is brought into a broken home because the mother and father lusted after each other, not loved. That’s not fair. That’s not cool.
Look at us. Like teenagers. Every day is an adventure with us. You are perfect to me. You are perfect for me. I love every perfect and imperfect thing about you.
We have dinner every night under candlelight. What do you ever have to worry about? Let me answer that—nothing. I like that whatever we do, we do it together. I would never try to hurt you, Jenna. You are my wife. You are my lover. And you are my best friend.
Nobody will ever interrupt the love I have for you.”
Jenna looked deep into Brad’s eyes and began to cry.
“All my life,” she whispered, “and now I finally found my perfect love.”
Brad wiped away her tears and said:
“Every day is not perfect, but my day is perfect because you are in it. I love you till I breathe my last breath. I love you, Jenna.”