Gabi was almost ready to leave Sunset Beach behind for good. Her bags were packed; everything was ready for her departure…except her. She couldn’t believe that she was doing this…but she had to. For the man she loved…the men she loved. Antonio and Ricardo needed to be able to love each other like brother’s again, and with her here, their love for her would interfere with that. She couldn’t be the cause of their hatred for each other, not any more. But that didn’t stop the overwhelming sense of regret that washed over her as she looked around the loft. Ricardo wasn’t home; they had agreed it would be best if he go elsewhere while she packed her things. As she nostalgically looked at the room, trying to memorize everything that she knew she would never see again, a picture caught her eye. It was an unframed photograph of the three of them…Gabi walked over and picked it up, tears spilling from her eyes. She glanced back at the door as if afraid Ricardo would walk in on her, then took the picture over to her last unclosed suitcase and laid it on top. She knew Ricardo wouldn’t mind…she just had to have something material to remember these two amazing men by. In completely different ways, both of them had made her who she was now - the person that she had wanted to be. Just like she had told Antonio in the cave in…she had always wanted to be that person, and with their love she had, without knowing, become a…good person.
She zipped up the suitcase and grabbed it and her purse. More tears fell as she stood in the doorway of the loft and gazed around once again…her last look at the place that had been her sanctuary and her own personal hell. But she knew that when she remember Ricardo Torres, she wouldn’t think of what he had been towards the end…she would conjure up images of the spectacular man who had been able to forgive her rape, the one who had stood by her side and been her friend, her supporter when even she thought she didn’t deserve support. Ricardo Torres was a man she had loved and been proud to call her husband. Not a man who had tried to frame her for murder, not a man who had tried to hurt her and his brother, not a man who had lied and deceived so many times. He was a loyal brother. He was a loving boyfriend. He was the best friend anyone could ask for. Gabi had taken his love and grown with it, and now it was time to let someone else, someone that wouldn’t give him pain in return for his devotion, to love him like he needed.
She closed the loft door and moved on without looking back to her car.
But ten minutes later, Gabi had the urge to stop again…there was one more place she wanted to commit to memory, somewhere that she had always found breathtakingly stunning…as most everyone in Sunset Beach did. She parked her car along the side of the road near an almost deserted stretch of sand and got out. She smiled a little as she slipped off her sandals and left them by the car then walked out over the warm sand. More tears fell from her eyes…God, how was she going to live without this? There were so many good memories of her time in Sunset Beach…but so many bad, too. She had tried not to focus on those today, but thoughts kept sliding into her head unfiltered. Her state of mind when she had first come to Sunset Beach, her hatred for Paula, the need for revenge, the look in Ricardo’s eyes when he showed her the tape, the desperation on Carmen’s face when she had forced Gabi to leave town, Mark…and how he was viciously taken away when she needed him the most, Francesca blackmailing her, and then being killed…seeing the body, thinking she was dead, the disbelief in Antonio’s eyes when she told him Ricardo knew, being in jail with Antonio…because of Ricardo.
“No…” She whispered to herself. She wouldn’t think these things. She couldn’t. She was leaving this behind all she needed all of her strength to do it.
Gabi had almost reached the shoreline by now. The waves were lightly crashing against the sand, frothy water flaming up then again disappearing into the depths of the ocean.
“Gabi…” She heard a voice say from behind and jumped slightly. She knew immediately who it was.
“Antonio.” She said, surprised. They had said their good-byes the day before; what was he doing here now? She carefully wiped her tears away before turning to him. She was startled to see that he was not wearing his priestly attire. “What…why are you here?”
“I was walking…by the pier and I saw you…I had to come over, Gabi…” Antonio had actually been very shocked to see her…she had looked like an angel. His angel, with her soft dark hair tousled by the light breeze, wearing a short white dress, barefoot and beautiful. He had thanked God for this chance to see her, he thought she had already left…but she hadn’t and now he had a chance to talk with her again. “We need to talk…”
Gabi looked at him for a moment, her heart in her throat as she wondered if this was a safe thing to do. She was leaving, they were both feeling emotional, and Gabi knew from experience that things could get out of control quickly between them if they didn’t try and stop it. But…she didn’t feel like listening to her logic. She was going away and never coming back and she would never see Antonio Torres again. Holding out her hand and smiling softly, Gabi said, “Walk with me?”
Antonio smiled back and took her hand. They began in the direction of the faraway cliffs and hills that overlooked Sunset Beach. For a while, they walked in a comfortable silence.
“There’s so much I need to say to you Antonio…” Gabi began, wanting to spill her heart but knowing that the more intimate things got between them now, the harder it would be to leave soon.
“So say them, Gabi.” Antonio stopped walking and turned to her. She was surprised by the raw emotion in his eyes. As he spoke to her, tears began to shine in those dark pools of love. “I couldn’t tell you this in front of Ricardo, earlier, I couldn’t say anything in front on him. But I need you to know that I love you, Gabi…always, remember?” She smiled a shaky smile and nodded, unable to say anything. He reached out with the hand that wasn’t entwined with hers and stroked the side of her face. “You’re so beautiful…I love you so much…Gabi, I need you to know…”
“What is it, Antonio? What do you need me to know?” She asked in a warm voice, knowing it was hard for him to say these things after keeping them bottled up for so long.
“I’m leaving tonight for a retreat. A sabbatical, like I told you yesterday. But…not for the reasons you think I am.” Antonio swallowed, then continued. “I thought I belonged to God…and in a lot of ways I do. I will always keep my faith, no matter how I decide the best way is to honor the Lord. I met with the new Archbishop two days ago. I told him that I wanted to resign from the priesthood,” Gabi gasped lightly, but Antonio continued. “At first he wouldn’t let me, though. He said the church needed young priests, it couldn’t afford to just let them leave. So I explained to him why…I told him everything, about you and Ricardo and the cave in…everything. He was a little more understanding about my reasons to leave then…but he still didn’t want to let me go. He suggested this trip so I could deliberate on my decision. And…I’m going to honor his request, even though I know my answer will still be the same in two weeks.”
“What…why, Antonio?” Gabi managed to say. He squeezed her hand softly, then picked it up.
“I think you know.” Gabi almost forgot to breathe as he lifted her hand up to his lips and kissed the knuckles softly. “I love you, Gabi…I always will. I can’t devote myself to the Church completely and still worship you, too…I had to choose.”
“But you already chose Antonio…after the cave in…I asked, and you chose…you chose the church over me…” Gabi said in a teary voice.
“That was a long time ago. A lifetime of things have happened since then…one of them being I fell even more in love with you. Every day I love you a little more, every day I find something completely new out about you and that just throws me a little more head over heals. I need you...but...first I need to know if you…if you love me…like that.”
“I do, Antonio.” Gabi answered without a breath of hesitation. She knew, and always had known in her heart, that even though she loved both men Antonio was the one who had captured her soul with his selfless love. He had always accepted who she was without a question of doubt, and he would never stop loving her. She smiled again and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you with all my heart, Antonio…always.”
Antonio laughed, deliriously happy and lifted
Gabi off the ground, spinning her around. Gabi giggled just as happily,
her face glowing when Antonio brought her spiraling back down. Before he
could say a word, she leaned up and kissed him. They both fell into the
magical embrace and lost themselves in the passion that would last a lifetime,
feeling their worlds catch fire and burn gloriously as this love was unleashed
from the cage in their hearts it had been locked tightly away in.