A/N – Funny story…..ok, not so much funny as it is tiresome. But this is the THIRD time I've reposted (sorry!) but there were some logistical problems that simply could not be resolved. Much of the first few chapters is the same; I had to rework the concept of time as my backdrop and edit accordingly. If you are still interested in reading this, I promise that now (finally!) I can get this story finished. I loved the idea of "time", but it simply wasn't feasible for this story. Maybe I will use it in a future work, but for now this story will be a nice, simple sequel to "Accidental Odyssey". Please read, review and don't hate me!
"A lot can change in a year"
Those words, spoken form halfway across the country, were what struck a chord somewhere within him. He hadn't really thought about everything that had happened until then. Well, that's not quite true, he told himself. He had thought about things lots of times but his still wounded mind pushed those thoughts as far back as possible. So the thoughts were certainly present but he refused to let himself to dwell on them. Still, defiance in the face of one's problems does not cause them to cease to exist.
"A lot can change in a year"Well sure, lots of things could change in a year. Old ones would die and new would be born. There would be periods of great joy followed by periods of immeasurable sorrow. There would be new hopes and dreams as old ones were crushed or abandoned. There would be echoes of laughter that would be followed by the silent rain of tears. There would be moments of fiery rage followed by intervals of peace and surrender. Nothing ever really stayed the same. That was what his initial response had been to the statement.
He knew that wasn't what she meant.
She meant that people could change in a year. Old attitudes could be replaced by new ones. Personal grudges and vendettas could fall by the wayside to make way for understanding and forgiveness. People could be able to see the error of their ways and could think about how they would handle situations differently if they could only have a second chance. People could make amends for past hurts and transgressions so that life could return to the way it had once been. Old wounds could heal, even if the scars remained. People could forgive, and people could forget.
"A lot can change in a year"
Just because things can change, doesn't mean they have, he argued. The way things had been when he left had led him to believe that things would never change. After all, his thoughts and feelings regarding the whole situation hadn't changed a whole lot in the past year. Sure, he often wondered if he had overreacted, and it occurred to him that maybe running away from the problem hadn't been the best way to solve it, but he was so sure that he was right. He pushed the nagging doubts away because he refused to entertain the possibility that he may not be the only one who had been wronged. He was sure that everyone else involved felt the same way that he did. After all, the wounds ran deep. He still harbored resentment towards his friends and their (perceived) betrayal. He was still angry with himself for not handling the whole mess better. He still felt guilty that he had let the accident happen in the first place. And he didn't believe that there was anything left for him back in Vegas.
"A lot can change in a year"
Maybe it wasn't such a statement of fact as it was a desperate persuasion on her behalf. If she could just convince him that things had changed, or at least had the possibility of changing, then maybe he would come home. She still believed, even if he didn't, that he still had a home in Vegas. She knew he had his demons to wrestle with, but didn't they all? She knew she certainly did. And as much as it pained her to admit it, she was losing her battle.
"A lot can change in a year"
The words weren't only for his benefit she realized. She was as much trying to convince herself as she was trying to convince him. She didn't want to tell him that, in actuality, not a whole lot had changed in a year. Sure, things could have changed in a year, but for both of them, things had stayed the same. And judging by the pleading desperation in her voice, things had gotten a great deal worse for her. But she wouldn't beg him to come back. It wasn't her style. She had too much pride for that. So she did the one thing she knew she was good at: she tried to make a reasoned argument for why it would be in everyone's best interests if he would just come home.
"A lot can change in a year"
He wasn't going to buy into her idealistic promises. He was determined to fight her on this. He was about to deliver a counter-argument that would make Perry Mason proud. He would remind her of why he had left in the first place. He would argue that no matter how much things had changed (if indeed they had), they could never truly be okay. He would provide solid examples of everything that had led up to him leaving, and how it would keep him away. He would break down her argument until even she would agree that he was right, and nothing had really changed after all. He was about to launch into his argument when he heard something in her breath that stopped him. Across the phone lines, despite all of her attempts to conceal it, he heard it – the faintest hint of a sob. It caused him to falter and to lose his focus. Suddenly, it wasn't about him anymore. In that instant, it was all about her.
"A lot can change in a year"
He hadn't thought about it until then. He hadn't even considered it to be a possibility. Even if nothing else had changed, he was so sure that it would have. But listening to her on the phone, he realized that she hadn't changed in the one way that she so desperately needed to. He wouldn't have thought it possible. He would have expected them to see to it that she changed. But it seemed increasingly evident that she had been fooling everyone, including herself, into believing that she had changed and that she had emerged unscathed.
She had anticipated the question; she had heard it enough in the last year to know when it was coming. The lie that she had readily told so many times was on her lips, but when it came time to respond, she found that she could only tell him the truth. Maybe it was because he didn't sugarcoat the question, or phrase it as a slightly evasive allusion to the issue. He was the only one to ask her, straight up, if she was still drinking. And he was the only one she told, straight up, that yes, she was. She felt oddly relieved the minute that the words left her mouth. Finally, after a year, it wasn't only her secret anymore.
"A lot can change in a year"
He had told her that he would always be with her. And in the year that had passed, he had failed to keep that promise. He hadn't been with her in a year when she had so desperately needed someone to be there for her. He should have been that person. As soon as she told him her truth, he knew that he had to go back, whether things had changed or not. He would always go to her. It was better late than never. He wasn't looking forward to seeing the remnants of his old life, but he was looking forward to seeing her.
He stood in front of her, and it was as if both a second and a lifetime had passed between them. Everything was the same and everything was different.
But her smile was just as he remembered.
"Welcome home Greg. It's been a long time"
"It has been a long time Sara. It's been a year". He paused.
"And a lot can change in a year"