I was walking into work, and the hottest guy I’d ever seen was climbing off a motorcycle. He was big and eyed me up like I was his favorite flavor. But behind those flirtatious eyes, he seemed sad. I know all about sad, and I felt an instant connection to him. He must have felt that way, too, because we stared at each other all night. I had the overwhelming urge to show him that life could be better than whatever was making him sad. His name is Axel. That might not be his real name, but I like it. It’s strong like him, and different. Kind of mysterious and kind of poetic.

She wrote about him flirting with her every time she passed by his table and how he’d stuck around until closing time and had driven her home. Diesel read about how they’d sat by a fire in front of the cabin, and his mother had been enamored by stories of his travels, which he likened to the Hobbit after meeting Gandalf, only instead of joining a group of dwarves to reclaim a kingdom, he’d gone on a personal journey to reclaim his life.

It was no wonder she’d felt a kinship to him. She’d done the same damn thing.

I told him about my awful parents and how far I’ve traveled, and he told me about how he’d lost the love of his life.

As Diesel read his mother’s entries, it became clear that Tiny was right. Axel had been honest with her about not looking for anything more than a good time. His mother had also told Axel her truth, that she’d hoped to one day find her soul mate, who wanted to build a magical, happy life. Diesel took comfort in their honesty. He continued reading about how Axel had been on his way out of town, and his mother had had the next three nights off. They’d embarked on what sounded like a whirlwind few days of exploring towns, having sex, and sharing secrets, or as his mother wrote, a journey of two souls coming together that filled me with enough happiness for a lifetime.

Diesel sank down to the floor, leaning his back against the bed. At least if Axel was his father, it wasn’t from a shitty hookup. He’d made her happy. That was something.

He continued reading and took that last comment back when his mother described her tearful goodbye, and in later entries, wishing Axel would call and heartbroken when he didn’t. His mother wrote about how she’d considered asking Tiny for Axel’s number, but she kept circling back to Axel’s confession about not wanting to be tied down.