My New Neighbor Unzipped Her Dress “That’s Why No One Wants Me ” I Said, “I Do ” — Transcript

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1. 0:00At 11:40 on a Friday night, my new
2. 0:03neighbor sat down on our shared porch
3. 0:05steps in a white summer dress crying so
4. 0:08quietly I almost didn't hear it. Then
5. 0:11she stood up, turned her back to me and
6. 0:13reached behind her neck.
7. 0:15"You want to know why I left that date
8. 0:17early?" Claire Bennett said. "Fine."
9. 0:20She pulled the zipper down slowly, 6 in,
10. 0:24then 8. The dress opened and under the
11. 0:27yellow porch light I saw her back.
12. 0:30Scars. Old burn scars. Pink and silver
13. 0:34twisting across her shoulder blades like
14. 0:36a map of somewhere terrible.
15. 0:39Smooth in some places, rough and tight
16. 0:42in others.
17. 0:43She didn't turn around. Her voice shook.
18. 0:46"That's why no one wants me."
19. 0:48And before I could think, before I could
20. 0:51find anything smart or careful to say, I
21. 0:54heard myself answer,
22. 0:56"I do." She went completely still. The
23. 0:59crickets kept singing. Somewhere down
24. 1:02the street a screen door slammed and
25. 1:04Claire Bennett slowly turned around
26. 1:07holding the front of her dress against
27. 1:09her chest staring at me like I'd said
28. 1:11something in a language she'd forgotten.
29. 1:14But let me back up. My name is Ryan
30. 1:17Mitchell. I'm 34 years old and I've been
31. 1:20a firefighter in Charleston, South
32. 1:21Carolina for 12 years. Station 9. I live
33. 1:25in the left half of an old blue duplex
34. 1:28on Hazel Street with a three-legged
35. 1:30bulldog named Biscuit who I pulled out
36. 1:32of a kitchen fire four years ago. Nobody
37. 1:35claimed him so he claimed me.
38. 1:38For two years the right half of the
39. 1:40duplex was empty. Then three months ago
40. 1:43a moving truck pulled up and so did
41. 1:45Claire. The first time I met her Biscuit
42. 1:48escaped through a hole in the fence and
43. 1:50ran straight into her backyard. By the
44. 1:53time I got there she was sitting in the
45. 1:55grass in a long-sleeved cardigan letting
46. 1:58him lick her face. "He's missing a leg,"
47. 2:01she said, scratching his ears. "He lost
48. 2:03it in a fire." She looked up at me.
49. 2:06Something flickered in her eyes,
50. 2:08something I didn't understand yet. "And
51. 2:11he still runs like that?" "He still runs
52. 2:14like he owns the whole street." She
53. 2:16smiled down at him. "Good for you,
54. 2:18buddy."
55. 2:19Then she looked back up at me. Blonde
56. 2:22hair in a messy bun, freckles across her
57. 2:24nose, green eyes that made my brain
58. 2:27forget basic English.
59. 2:29"I'm Claire. I teach piano. I'm sorry in
60. 2:32advance because you're going to hear it
61. 2:34a lot through that wall."
62. 2:36"I'm Ryan. I'm a firefighter. I'm sorry
63. 2:39in advance because you're going to hear
64. 2:40my pager at 3:00 in the morning."
65. 2:43"Deal," she said. "I'll forgive your
66. 2:45pager if you forgive my students. Some
67. 2:48of them are seven. One of them plays Hot
68. 2:50Cross Buns like it owes him money." I
69. 2:53laughed, and that was it. That was the
70. 2:55moment. I just didn't know it yet.
71. 2:58Living next to Claire was like living
72. 3:00next to a song. Every afternoon, kids
73. 3:03came and went from her front door with
74. 3:05little music books under their arms, and
75. 3:08every night around 10:00, after the last
76. 3:11student left, she played for herself.
77. 3:13Through the wall, I'd hear it. Soft,
78. 3:16slow, always the same song first,
79. 3:19something old and sad and beautiful that
80. 3:22I didn't know the name of. I started
81. 3:25going to bed later just to hear it.
82. 3:27One night, I knocked on the wall, three
83. 3:30soft knocks. The music stopped. Then
84. 3:33from the other side, three soft knocks
85. 3:36back. The next morning, I found a sticky
86. 3:39note on my front door. "Was that a
87. 3:41complaint or a request?" C. I wrote back
88. 3:45on another sticky note and stuck it to
89. 3:47her door. "Request. What's the song you
90. 3:49always play first?" R.
91. 3:52The next evening, there was a new note.
92. 3:54"That's classified. Also, you sing in
93. 3:57the shower, badly, through the wall,
94. 4:00every morning." C. My face went red
95. 4:03alone on my own porch. I wrote back,
96. 4:06"That's not singing, that's a
97. 4:08performance for Biscuit. He's a fan." R.
98. 4:11The next note said, "Biscuit has
99. 4:14terrible taste, but I like the part
100. 4:16where you forget the words and just hum
101. 4:18loudly." See, the sticky notes became a
102. 4:22whole thing. Every day, a new one. She
103. 4:25left me peach cobbler with a note that
104. 4:27said, "You looked tired. Don't read into
105. 4:30this." I fixed her squeaky porch swing
106. 4:32and left a note that said, "You looked
107. 4:34squeaky. Don't read into this." We
108. 4:37started sitting on the porch together in
109. 4:39the evenings. Her on the swing, me on
110. 4:41the steps, Biscuit snoring between us.
111. 4:45We talked about everything. Her hometown
112. 4:47in Ohio, my mom in Savannah who called
113. 4:50every Sunday to ask if I met a nice girl
114. 4:53yet. "Have you?" Claire asked one night,
115. 4:56not looking at me. "Have I what?" "Met a
116. 4:59nice girl yet?" I looked at her. She was
117. 5:02still looking at the street, but her
118. 5:04cheeks were pink. "Maybe." I said.
119. 5:07She didn't say anything, but she smiled
120. 5:10into her iced tea.
121. 5:11There were things about Claire I
122. 5:13noticed, but didn't ask about. It was
123. 5:16Charleston in July, 95°
124. 5:19and Claire always wore sleeves,
125. 5:21cardigans, high-necked dresses, shirts
126. 5:24that covered her shoulders. When the
127. 5:26whole street went to the beach on the
128. 5:284th of July, she said she had a headache
129. 5:31and she never ever came to the fire
130. 5:33station cookout, even when I invited her
131. 5:35three times.
132. 5:37"I'm just not a fire station kind of
133. 5:39girl." She said lightly, but her hands
134. 5:42were shaking when she said it. Then, her
135. 5:44friend Megan set her up on a blind date.
136. 5:47Claire told me about it on the porch the
137. 5:49night before. She was nervous. She kept
138. 5:51twisting her hair. "His name is Grant.
139. 5:54He's a dentist. Megan says he's very
140. 5:56nice." "Very nice." I repeated. "Wow,
141. 6:00strong review." "Ryan, I'm just saying,
142. 6:03nobody ever says he's very nice about
143. 6:06someone exciting. They say it about
144. 6:08mailmen and golden retrievers. She threw
145. 6:11a pillow from the porch swing at me. Not
146. 6:13everyone can be a hero who runs into
147. 6:15burning buildings. I mean, they could
148. 6:18try. She laughed, but then she looked at
149. 6:21me for a long moment and her voice got
150. 6:23quiet. Do you think I should go?
151. 6:26Everything in me wanted to say no. Don't
152. 6:29go. Have dinner with me instead. But, I
153. 6:32didn't have the right. So, I said, "I
154. 6:34think any man would be lucky to have
155. 6:36dinner with you, Claire." She looked
156. 6:38down at her hands. "You don't know
157. 6:39that." "I do know that." "No," she said
158. 6:42softly, "you really don't." The next
159. 6:45night, I heard her leave at 7:00 in a
160. 6:48white sundress with high back smelling
161. 6:50like vanilla.
162. 6:51I sat on my porch with Biscuit and
163. 6:53pretended I wasn't waiting. At 11:40, a
164. 6:57car pulled up. Claire got out. The car
165. 6:59drove away before she even reached the
166. 7:01steps. She didn't go inside. She just
167. 7:04sat down on the porch steps and started
168. 7:06crying. I came outside slowly. Claire?
169. 7:10She wiped her face fast. "I'm fine."
170. 7:13"You're crying on a porch at midnight.
171. 7:15That's not fine. That's a country song."
172. 7:18She laughed a little, wet and broken. I
173. 7:21sat down next to her, not too close.
174. 7:23"What happened?" "Nothing. The dinner
175. 7:25was nice. He was nice." She took a shaky
176. 7:27breath. "Then we went dancing and he put
177. 7:30his hand on my back and he felt the
178. 7:32scars through the fabric and he pulled
179. 7:34his hand away like I'd burned him." He
180. 7:36asked, "What's wrong with your back?" He
181. 7:39drove me home in total silence.
182. 7:41I felt anger rise in my chest, hot and
183. 7:44sharp. Claire, he's an idiot. "She's
184. 7:47not. He's normal. That's what normal
185. 7:49people do." "That's not what normal
186. 7:51people do. That's what small people do."
187. 7:54She shook her head. "You keep saying
188. 7:56things like that. Any man would be
189. 7:58lucky, but you don't know, Ryan. You
190. 8:00don't know what's under here."
191. 8:02And that's when she stood up, turned her
192. 8:04back to me, and pulled down the zipper.
193. 8:07That's why no one wants me.
194. 8:09I do.
195. 8:10Biscuit sat in the doorway, looking back
196. 8:13and forth between us like he was
197. 8:14watching tennis.
198. 8:15"You don't mean that," Claire whispered.
199. 8:17"You're just being kind. You're a
200. 8:19firefighter. Being kind is literally
201. 8:21your job." "My job is putting out fires.
202. 8:24Being kind is my mom's job. I'm usually
203. 8:27just sarcastic." Her lips trembled,
204. 8:29almost a smile. "Claire," I said gently,
205. 8:33"can I ask what happened?" She sat back
206. 8:35down on the swing, still holding the
207. 8:37dress closed. For a long time, she
208. 8:39didn't say anything. Then she started
209. 8:41talking.
210. 8:42"I was 16. We lived in a little house
211. 8:44outside Columbus. It was 2:00 in the
212. 8:46morning. An electrical fire in the wall
213. 8:49of the living room. I woke up, and the
214. 8:51hallway was full of smoke. My parents
215. 8:53got out. I got out. Then I realized my
216. 8:56little brother Danny wasn't with us. He
217. 8:58was 7. He was still in his room. My
218. 9:01chest went tight. So I went back in,"
219. 9:03she whispered. I didn't say anything. I
220. 9:05just listened. "I found him under his
221. 9:08bed. He was so scared. I wrapped him in
222. 9:10his blanket and carried him down the
223. 9:12hallway, and part of the ceiling came
224. 9:14down, right on my back." She closed her
225. 9:17eyes. "A firefighter pulled us both out
226. 9:19the front door. Danny didn't have a
227. 9:21single burn on him. Not one. And you?
228. 9:2411 surgeries. 2 years of skin grafts."
229. 9:28She laughed softly, with no humor in it.
230. 9:31"And a lifetime of cardigans." I sat
231. 9:33down on the swing next to her. Close
232. 9:35this time. Close enough that our
233. 9:37shoulders almost touched. "Claire, look
234. 9:39at me." She did. Her eyes were red and
235. 9:42wet and terrified. "I've been a
236. 9:44firefighter for 12 years. I've seen a
237. 9:47lot of burns, and I know exactly what
238. 9:49scars like that mean." She swallowed
239. 9:52hard. "What do they mean?" "They mean
240. 9:55you went back in." Her face crumpled.
241. 9:57"Most people don't go back in. Grown
242. 10:00men, trained men, they freeze. You were
243. 10:0316 years old, and you walked back into a
244. 10:05burning house for your little brother.
245. 10:08Do you know how rare that is? Do you
246. 10:09know how brave that is? Everybody says
247. 10:12brave. The brave is the word people use
248. 10:14when they don't want to say ugly. Then
249. 10:16let me use a different word. I looked
250. 10:19right into her eyes. Beautiful. Your
251. 10:21back is beautiful because it's the
252. 10:23reason Danny is alive. And you're
253. 10:25beautiful because Claire, you've been
254. 10:27beautiful to me since the day you sat in
255. 10:29the grass and let a three-legged dog
256. 10:32lick your face. She stared at me. A tear
257. 10:35slid down her cheek. You notice that?
258. 10:37I've noticed everything. I noticed you
259. 10:40hum when you water your plants. I
260. 10:42noticed you wear your hair up when
261. 10:43you're stressed and down when you're
262. 10:45happy. I noticed you play the same sad
263. 10:48song every night at 10:00. And I noticed
264. 10:51that every single time you laugh, I
265. 10:53forget what I was going to say. Claire
266. 10:55let out a shaky breath. Ryan,
267. 10:58can I zip your dress back up? I asked
268. 11:00softly. She looked at me for a long
269. 11:02moment. Then she nodded and slowly
270. 11:05turned around on the swing.
271. 11:06I took the zipper in my fingers. And
272. 11:08before I pulled it up, very gently, I
273. 11:11touched the scar on her left shoulder
274. 11:13blade with my fingertips. Just once,
275. 11:15slowly. She gasped. Her whole body
276. 11:18trembled. Is that okay? I whispered.
277. 11:21Nobody's touched it. Not on purpose. Not
278. 11:24in 15 years. Then I'm glad I'm the
279. 11:26first. I zipped the dress up, slowly,
280. 11:29carefully. When I finished, she didn't
281. 11:31move away. She leaned back, just a
282. 11:34little. Just until her back was resting
283. 11:36against my chest. We sat there like that
284. 11:38for a long time. Ryan, she said finally.
285. 11:42Yeah?
286. 11:43The song I play every night is called
287. 11:45Claire de Lune. My mom named me after
288. 11:47it. She paused. I used to play it to
289. 11:50calm myself down after the nightmares.
290. 11:52Now I play it because I know you're
291. 11:54listening on the other side of the wall.
292. 11:56I smiled into her hair. So it's not
293. 11:59classified anymore? It's classified. You
294. 12:02just have clearance now. The next
295. 12:04morning, at 7:00 a.m., there was a knock
296. 12:06on my door. I opened it. Claire was
297. 12:09standing there in a sundress, a pale
298. 12:11blue one with thin straps. Her shoulders
299. 12:13were bare. The top of her scars showed
300. 12:16pink and silver in the morning sun. She
301. 12:18was holding two cups of coffee and her
302. 12:20hands were shaking a little. "I've never
303. 12:23worn this outside. I bought it 3 years
304. 12:25ago. It's been in my closet with the
305. 12:27tags on." I just stared at her. "Say
306. 12:30something." she said. "You're making me
307. 12:32nervous." "I'm trying to find a word
308. 12:34bigger than beautiful and I'm a
309. 12:36firefighter, not a poet." She blushed
310. 12:39all the way down her neck. "That was
311. 12:41pretty good for a firefighter."
312. 12:43"I've been practicing on Biscuit." She
313. 12:46handed me a coffee. "So, Ryan Mitchell,
314. 12:49are you going to ask me to dinner or do
315. 12:51I have to leave a sticky note?" "Claire
316. 12:54Bennett, will you have dinner with me
317. 12:55tonight?" "Yes." She smiled. "Somewhere
318. 12:59fun. Not a dentist kind of dinner." So,
319. 13:01that night I took her to a little
320. 13:03seafood shack on Shem Creek with paper
321. 13:06towels on the tables and buckets of
322. 13:08shrimp and live music on the dock. She
323. 13:11wore the blue sundress. She didn't bring
324. 13:14a cardigan.
325. 13:15Halfway through dinner, the band started
326. 13:17playing an old slow song and a few
327. 13:19couples got up to dance on the dock. I
328. 13:22held out my hand. "Dance with me?" She
329. 13:25hesitated. I knew what she was thinking.
330. 13:28A hand on her back in public in a dress
331. 13:32with no cardigan.
332. 13:34"Claire." I said. "I'll put my hand on
333. 13:37your back and I'm not going to pull away
334. 13:40ever." Her eyes filled. Then she put her
335. 13:43hand in mine. We danced on that dock
336. 13:46with the sun going down over the marsh,
337. 13:48the water turning pink and gold. I put
338. 13:51my hand right in the middle of her back,
339. 13:54right on her scars and kept it there.
340. 13:57She laid her head on my chest. I felt
341. 14:00her slowly relax against me one breath
342. 14:03at a time.
343. 14:04"Is this okay?" I whispered. "It's
344. 14:07perfect." she whispered back.
345. 14:09When the song ended, she looked up at
346. 14:11me. The last light was in her eyes. She
347. 14:15glanced at my mouth.
348. 14:17"Ryan," she said softly, "I think you
349. 14:20should kiss me now." "Yeah?"
350. 14:23"I've been waiting since the porch
351. 14:24swing. You're very slow for a guy who
352. 14:27drives a fire truck." I laughed. Then I
353. 14:30cupped her face in my hands and kissed
354. 14:32her. Soft at first, careful. Then she
355. 14:36grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled
356. 14:37me closer and the kiss went warm and
357. 14:40deep and sweet, tasting like salt air
358. 14:43and lemonade. Somebody on the dock
359. 14:45whistled. Claire laughed against my lips
360. 14:48and didn't pull away.
361. 14:50When we finally broke apart, she rested
362. 14:52her forehead against my chin.
363. 14:54"So, that's what it's like," she
364. 14:56whispered. "What?" "Being wanted." I
365. 15:00kissed her forehead. "Get used to it."
366. 15:03The next few weeks were the happiest of
367. 15:05my life. The sticky notes kept coming.
368. 15:08Only now they said things like, "Come
369. 15:10over. I made lasagna. Bring biscuit and
370. 15:13your face. Claire. And your shower
371. 15:17singing has gotten worse since we
372. 15:18started dating. It's very romantic.
373. 15:21Claire."
374. 15:22One night she sat me down at her piano
375. 15:24and tried to teach me heart and soul.
376. 15:27"You're playing it like you're angry at
377. 15:29it," she said. "I'm a firefighter. We
378. 15:31play everything like we're angry at it."
379. 15:34She laughed and put her hands over mine
380. 15:36on the keys, guiding my fingers. I
381. 15:39didn't learn a single note. I was too
382. 15:41busy looking at her. "You're not paying
383. 15:43attention." "I'm paying attention, just
384. 15:45not to the piano." She turned her head
385. 15:48and kissed me, right there at the piano
386. 15:50bench. The keys crashed under my elbow
387. 15:53and she laughed into my mouth. Then one
388. 15:55Saturday night, everything changed. We
389. 15:58were on her couch watching a movie, her
390. 16:00legs across my lap, when my pager went
391. 16:02off. I looked at the screen. My stomach
392. 16:05dropped. Warehouse fire off King Street,
393. 16:08three alarms.
394. 16:10Claire sat up. All the color drained
395. 16:13from her face.
396. 16:14"I have to go," I said. "I know," she
397. 16:17whispered. I kissed her quickly and ran.
398. 16:21It was the worst fire I'd fought in
399. 16:23years. Eight hours, a roof collapse, I
400. 16:26got a burn on my forearm. When I finally
401. 16:29came home at dawn, covered in soot,
402. 16:31smelling like a chimney, Claire was
403. 16:33sitting on the porch swing. She hadn't
404. 16:35slept. Her eyes were swollen. You've
405. 16:38been out here all night? I asked. The
406. 16:41news showed the roof coming down live on
407. 16:44TV. I didn't know if you were inside.
408. 16:47Claire, I'm okay. Your arm is bandaged.
409. 16:51It's a small burn. It's nothing. She
410. 16:54stood up. Her hands were shaking. It's
411. 16:56not nothing, Ryan, not to me. I know
412. 17:00exactly what it's not.
413. 17:02Claire, please. I can't do this. Her
414. 17:06voice cracked. I'm so sorry. I just
415. 17:09can't. She went inside. I heard her lock
416. 17:12the door.
417. 17:13For 2 weeks, the wall between us went
418. 17:16silent. No piano, no sticky notes, no
419. 17:19Claire de Lune at 10:00. She closed her
420. 17:22curtains. I didn't push. I understood.
421. 17:26I'd walked into her worst nightmare and
422. 17:28asked her to love it. But every night at
423. 17:3110:00, I sat on my side of the wall and
424. 17:34I waited. On the 15th night, at exactly
425. 17:3710:00, I heard it. Piano, soft, slow,
426. 17:43Claire de Lune. But she stopped halfway,
427. 17:46started again, stopped again.
428. 17:49Then I heard her crying.
429. 17:51I put my hand flat against the wall.
430. 17:54Then I knocked, three soft knocks.
431. 17:58Silence.
432. 17:59Then three soft knocks back.
433. 18:02I walked out to the porch. A minute
434. 18:04later, her door opened. She stood there
435. 18:07in a T-shirt and pajama pants, her hair
436. 18:09down, her eyes red.
437. 18:12Danny called me tonight, she said
438. 18:14quietly.
439. 18:15Your brother?
440. 18:16He's 22 now. He's in Ohio. I told him
441. 18:19about you, about the warehouse, about
442. 18:22how I couldn't do it. She wiped her
443. 18:24face.
444. 18:25And do you know what he said?
445. 18:27What did he say?
446. 18:29He said, "Claire, you went back in for
447. 18:32me, even though it was scary, even
448. 18:34though you knew you could get hurt.
449. 18:36That's what love is. You don't stop
450. 18:39going in just because it's scary."
451. 18:42She came out onto the porch and stood in
452. 18:44front of me.
453. 18:45I've spent 15 years believing nobody
454. 18:48would want me because of my scars. And
455. 18:50then a man finally did. And what did I
456. 18:53do? I didn't want him because of his
457. 18:56scars, the ones he might get someday.
458. 18:59She laughed through her tears.
459. 19:01I did the exact thing I was always
460. 19:03afraid someone would do to me.
461. 19:06Claire,
462. 19:07"I'm still scared," she whispered. "I'm
463. 19:10going to be scared every time your pager
464. 19:12goes off."
465. 19:13I know.
466. 19:15But I'd rather be scared with you than
467. 19:17safe without you.
468. 19:19I pulled her into my arms. She grabbed
469. 19:22my shirt with both hands and held on
470. 19:24like I was the only solid thing in the
471. 19:26world.
472. 19:28"I can't promise nothing will ever
473. 19:30happen," I said into her hair. "But I
474. 19:33promise I'll always fight like crazy to
475. 19:35come home to you. And I'll call you
476. 19:38every chance I get. And on the late
477. 19:40nights, Biscuit will sit with you on the
478. 19:42porch. He's very good at waiting. He
479. 19:45waited 2 years for you to move in."
480. 19:48She laughed into my chest. Then she
481. 19:51looked up at me.
482. 19:52"Ryan," she whispered. "I went back in."
483. 19:56I kissed her right there on the porch
484. 19:59under the yellow light, slow and deep
485. 20:02and certain, like we had all the time in
486. 20:04the world. And for the first time, I
487. 20:07believed we did.
488. 20:10After that, things were different,
489. 20:12better.
490. 20:13Claire came to the station cookout. All
491. 20:16the guys loved her. Captain Ortiz told
492. 20:19her if she ever got tired of me, his
493. 20:21nephew was single. She said she'd keep
494. 20:24it in mind.
495. 20:25When I worked overnight shifts, she sent
496. 20:27me sticky notes in my lunch bag. Come
497. 20:30home, that's an order, C.
498. 20:33And every morning after a hard shift,
499. 20:35she was on the porch swing with two cups
500. 20:37of coffee and Biscuit waiting.
501. 20:40Then in the spring, I started sneaking
502. 20:43out on Tuesday afternoons. Claire
503. 20:46thought I was at the gym. I wasn't. I
504. 20:49was taking piano lessons from her best
505. 20:51student, a 10-year-old named Lily, who
506. 20:54charged me $5 a lesson and told me I had
507. 20:57fat firefighter fingers.
508. 21:00It took me 4 months of lessons, but I
509. 21:02learned it.
510. 21:04One night in June, a year after the
511. 21:06night on the porch, I asked Claire to
512. 21:08come over at 10:00. She walked into my
513. 21:11half of the duplex and stopped. There
514. 21:13were candles everywhere. Biscuit was
515. 21:16wearing a little bow tie, and in the
516. 21:18corner of my living room, there was a
517. 21:20second-hand piano I'd bought from a
518. 21:22church sale.
519. 21:24Ryan, she said slowly,
520. 21:27what is going on?
521. 21:28Sit down and don't laugh.
522. 21:31I sat at the piano. My hands were
523. 21:33shaking worse than they ever shook in
524. 21:35any fire, and I played Claire de Lune.
525. 21:39Badly. I missed at least 11 notes. I had
526. 21:42to start the third part over twice, but
527. 21:45I played the whole thing.
528. 21:47When I finished, I turned around. Claire
529. 21:50was standing there with both hands over
530. 21:52her mouth, tears pouring down her face.
531. 21:56You learned it. How did you learn it?
532. 21:59Lily, $5 a lesson. She says I have fat
533. 22:03firefighter fingers.
534. 22:05Claire laughed and cried at the same
535. 22:06time.
536. 22:08Then I got off the piano bench and got
537. 22:10down on one knee.
538. 22:12Claire Bennett, a year ago you sat on
539. 22:15that porch and told me nobody wanted
540. 22:17you. You were wrong. I wanted you then.
541. 22:21I want you now, and I'm going to want
542. 22:23you every single day for the rest of my
543. 22:26life. Every scar, every song, every
544. 22:30sticky note.
545. 22:31Will you marry me?
546. 22:33She dropped to her knees in front of me
547. 22:35and threw her arms around my neck.
548. 22:38"Yes." She sobbed into my shoulder.
549. 22:40"Yes, yes, yes, you terrible piano
550. 22:43player. Yes."
551. 22:46I slid the ring on her finger. Biscuit
552. 22:48barked twice and knocked over a candle
553. 22:50and I put it out with my palm because
554. 22:52I'm a professional.
555. 22:54We got married the next spring in a
556. 22:56little garden in downtown Charleston
557. 22:59under an old oak tree covered in Spanish
558. 23:01moss.
559. 23:02Danny flew down from Ohio to walk her
560. 23:05down the aisle.
561. 23:06Claire didn't wear long sleeves. She
562. 23:09didn't wear a high back. She wore a
563. 23:11white lace dress with a low open back
564. 23:15and every one of her scars was showing
565. 23:17in the soft afternoon light.
566. 23:19When she walked down the aisle on her
567. 23:21little brother's arm, I heard a few
568. 23:23people whisper not what happened to her
569. 23:26back, but she's so beautiful because she
570. 23:29was.
571. 23:31Danny put her hand in mine and leaned
572. 23:33close.
573. 23:34"She went back in for me." He whispered.
574. 23:37"Take care of her."
575. 23:39"Every day." I promised.
576. 23:42When the minister asked, "Do you, Ryan,
577. 23:44take Claire to be your wife?" I looked
578. 23:47at her.
579. 23:48At her freckles, her green eyes, the
580. 23:50woman who once stood on a porch at
581. 23:52midnight and said nobody wanted her.
582. 23:55"I do." I said.
583. 23:58Her eyes filled with tears and she
584. 24:00smiled because she knew. She knew I'd
585. 24:03been saying it since that first night.
586. 24:06At the reception, the band played Clair
587. 24:09de Lune for our first dance. I put my
588. 24:12hand right in the middle of her bare
589. 24:14back, right on her scars, and I didn't
590. 24:17pull away.
591. 24:18Now, every night at 10:00, Claire still
592. 24:22plays piano, but it's not through the
593. 24:24wall anymore. We knocked it down last
594. 24:27fall and turned the duplex into one
595. 24:29house. And sometimes when I come home
596. 24:32after a long shift, she unzips her dress
597. 24:35herself, turns her back to me, and says
598. 24:38with a teasing smile,
599. 24:40"That's why no one wants me."
600. 24:42And I kiss her scars one by one and give
601. 24:45her the same answer I gave her that
602. 24:47first night.
603. 24:49"I do."
604. 24:51So, tell me, have you ever hidden
605. 24:53something because you were afraid it
606. 24:55made you unlovable? Or has someone ever
607. 24:58loved you exactly as you are? Share your
608. 25:01story in the comments. And if this story
609. 25:03touched your heart, hit like, subscribe,
610. 25:06and I'll see you in the next one.