"Life Happens Without You"
"So when did they say you could leave?" Todd asked a groggy Kris as she just opened her eyes from her late nap.
She was surprised to see Todd standing in her hospital room. He was away at boarding school since he was so smart and hadn't been home in such a long time. She looked around her room to see if anyone else was visiting and when she saw only Todd, she slowly said, "Uh…another two days maybe."
"Cool. It hasn't been the same at home without you hanging around," Todd explained happily.
Kris stared at Todd with a confused expression. Finally she blurted out, "Why aren't you at school right now?"
He let out a soft chuckle and informed her by saying, "Oh, school ended about a month ago."
When she heard that, her eyes widened. She knew she was asleep for a long time, but she didn't realize how long she was gone for until now. So much had happened this year. She left Raintree, Wildfire got hurt and was retired, Junior got engaged and then called off his wedding, she and Junior then got engaged, and on top of all that, she slipped into a coma. What else could happen? Suddenly, she got scared at what it would be like when she left the hospital. "How much has changed at Raintree?"
"Not much really. Mom is still afraid to get back into racing completely, but the dude ranch is slowly getting pushed out. And Matt is working like crazy with the horses. It was hard for him to train them without you. But I helped him as much as I could when I got back home. You have some pretty big shoes to fill, you know?" Todd said to his friend.
Kris smiled as she fumbled with her ring. After a moment of complete silence, she asked, "How was Junior while I was out?"
"In a word, a mess," Todd explained. "He was here practically every hour of every day, he hardly ate or slept and he could barely talk to anyone but Matt. He missed you like crazy and was really worried."
Kris lowered her head. She had a feeling that was what Junior had done but she didn't want to believe it. Junior was always so concerned about her and never wanted to see anything bad happen to her. Seeing Kris in a coma nearly killed him and she felt bad that she put him through all that pain. She shut her eyes as she let her finger fell the large diamond on her left hand.
"If you don't mind me asking," Todd began as Kris opened her eyes and looked up at Todd, who now looked and seemed much more mature. "What are you and Junior going to do now? I mean, about the wedding that is."
To her surprise, she didn't know the answer to that question. She and Junior never talked about where they went from there. She knew she still wanted to marry Junior and nothing would ever change her mind, but what about Junior? "I actually don't know. I mean, we never talked about it."
"Oh, well, am I invited this time?" Todd asked sarcastically.
Kris took what Todd said seriously and she was washed over by a feeling of guilt instantly. "Oh Todd. I'm sorry you weren't invited before, but you were at school and we figured-" Kris started to apologize until Todd cut her off.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I was only joking. And besides, fancy wedding type things aren't my favorite place to be."
Kris laughed as she looked at Todd. He really was much more mature then she could recall. He looked exactly like a younger Matt and she wondered if Todd would grow up to have the same carefree and loving spirit that his older brother had. Todd had definitely grow taller since the last time Kris saw him and it looked like his face wanted to grow a mustache but couldn't quite get it yet. His voice had grown deeper as well. But the one thing that stayed the same about Todd was his sweet heart and good intentions. He definitely was growing up just like Matt, which Kris loved. She loved Matt, but it was only like a dear friend. Her heart belonged to Junior.
"You're coming to this one. And that's an order, mister," Kris demanded while pointing a weak finger at Todd.
For the next forty minutes, the two laughed and reminisced about how things used to be. She really enjoyed talking about when she first got to Raintree and how happy she was. When she first came to Raintree, she just got out of Camp LaGrange. All she wanted to do was turn her life around and somehow, she managed to do exactly that. She loved talking about the best time of her life, the time when she met the people who turned her life around and made her worth something. But it also upset her. She greatly wished for things to be like they used to be. She wanted to be a famous jockey riding her best friend Wildfire again. She wanted to be living with the Ritter's as if she were part of their family. But things weren't the same and she had to except that.
Because life goes on.
