"I don't need to get over her," Daniel said.
He broke contact with me and crossed to the area near his bed. He gave his sister a smile and nod, assuming all business had been settled. "You go down first," he said to Laney.
"Mom thinks we're talking about Christmas presents," Laney returned. "What am I supposed to tell her?"
Daniel shook his head. "It doesn't matter. She won't notice. She's got all kinds of stuff going on downstairs."
"Okay, well I guess I'll see y'all down there," Laney said, turning to walk out.
"Is Michael coming?" Daniel asked.
"Yep," Laney called. "He'll be here for lunch."
Michael Elliot was her boyfriend. They'd been together for a couple of years. Michael knew Albert. Michael's dad owned the restaurant where Albert worked. Galveston was small enough that lives intersected like that.
Hearing Michael's name made me think of Albert, and the thought of him made me realize how very in love with Daniel I was. My life would probably look very different if I had still been on that Albert path.
I took in my surroundings in Daniel's old bedroom—the twin bed and sports memorabilia. He hadn't been in there much in the last five years, and he had changed a lot since then. He had traveled all over the world. I was looking around his room feeling nostalgic, thinking about Daniel and his adventures.
He peered in his luggage, and I absentmindedly propped myself onto the foot of the bed, holding onto the wooden bedpost, looking around.
"What's this?" I said when he held a box in the air between us.
"It's a gift," he said.
"For me?"
He smiled, but didn't answer. He nudged the box toward me, and I took it from him.
"What's in here?" I asked.
It seemed like a jewelry box. It was the wrong size for a ring, but it looked like a jewelry box for sure.
"Where did you get this?" I asked before I even opened it.
A wide grin spread across Daniel's face. The sight of it made my heart speed up.
"I got it in France," he said.
"You talked about going to France in one of your letters."
"That's when I got it," he said, nodding. "I only went there once. This thing has been everywhere with me."
I wanted to thank him for saving it for me, but the words got stuck in my throat. I swallowed, looking down at the box as I opened it. There was a delicate gold chain, and at the end of it was a gorgeous, shimmering green stone, beautifully cut into a rectangle shape with perfect clarity and sharp facets. It was set on a dainty gold pendant. I took it out of the box, holding the jewel in my fingertips and tilting it this way and that and smiling at the way the light shone through it.
"Is it for me?" I asked.
There had been talk about his mother's Christmas present, so I felt like I should ask.
Daniel let out a little laugh. "Yes, it's for you. Do you like it?"
"I love it so much."
My eyes stung with tears, and I blinked them away as I stared at the necklace. It was classy and elegant. I had never been given something so beautiful, so valuable. I had never been given a real piece of jewelry. I had two jewelry boxes and I liked to accessorize, but everything I owned was inexpensive costume jewelry.
"Is this real?" I asked when that thought crossed my mind.
Daniel reached out and took it from me. He was planning on fastening it for me, and I turned for him and tucked my chin so that he could access the back of my neck.
"Yes, it's real," he said. "I bought it from a store in Paris. It's the one the jeweler recommended specifically for you."
"It's best to listen to the experts," I said. I turned and smiled at him after he got it fastened. I touched the place on my chest where it rested. I stepped toward the mirror to take a look at it.
"Did you really tell him who you were buying it for?"
"Yes, I did."
"And you told him it was me?" I asked smiling shyly at him as I looked at myself in the mirror. The small green stone hung at the very edge of my sweater. I turned around so Daniel could see it.
"Yeah, he was right, that looks good on you," Daniel said.
"How would he know how to pick it, unless you described me? Did you describe me to him?"
He grinned. "I showed him your picture."
***
"He showed the guy her picture," Laney said, repeating the story later that same day when a few of her friends came over to hang out and play backyard football that afternoon. We were all sitting on the back porch together—eight or ten of us. "He got it in Paris all those years ago, and carried it around, waiting to give it to her." she added, finishing the story.
"And that's what he gave you for Christmas?" Carrie asked.
I nodded and smiled, touching my necklace for the hundredth time that day. Daniel was sitting next to me on the glider, and he reached out and put his hand on my leg in a possessive gesture.
Just as he did that, Michael came outside to join us, and he let out an excited whistle. "We got ourselves a show down, son! A race!"
"Who?" Nick said, getting to the edge of his seat.
"Jimmy Vinson got a new car for Christmas. A Charger. He's gonna take it out on North Taylor Road. Vance and those guys are gonna be out there, racing 'em, man!"
"When?" Nick asked excitedly.
"Sunset."
"That's basically now," Laney said, looking at our surroundings.
"I know," Michael said. He clapped. "Let's go!"
And just like that, our quiet Christmas evening got a little rowdier.
There were three cars of young people who left from Daniel's house to go watch some car races.
I had a few friends who drove muscle cars and had talked about going out to North Taylor Road to race, but no one ever really followed through with it. A few years back, there had been a fatal accident, and since then, only hoods or extreme thrill seekers went out there.
There were four of us in Daniel's truck on the way over. Daniel, me, Laney, and then Michael—in that order, squeezed in across the bench seat.
"I’m not sure if I like this," I said, speaking loudly over the sound of the engine and the radio.
Daniel reached out and turned down the music. "Jimmy Vinson's not going to do anything to wreck that Charger," he assured me.
"He's been saving up for that thing since he was a little kid."
Michael laughed. "You're so right. He'd let Vince go on ahead and win if it came down to wrecking that car."
There was a reason North Taylor Road was used for racing. It was wide and flat, and it was so open and deserted that spectators could park on the side of the road and watch the race from start to finish. We all parked next to each other and got out of our cars to watch the action.
Michael and Nick ran over to the starting line to see who all was going to be racing and find out when they planned on getting started. We weren't the only people who had come to watch. There were two other groups of cars parked along the side of the road, all of us sitting on the tailgates of trucks like we were expecting a parade. It was still light out, but the sun was low in the sky. The temperature was cool enough that I adjusted my scarf and crossed my arms in front of my chest to keep warm.
"Come here," Daniel said. He had already found a spot sitting on the edge of his tailgate by the time I made it to the back of the truck. I walked over to him, and he pulled me close, me standing in front of his tailgate and him sitting down on it. My back was to his front, and he was holding onto me so tightly that I was locked into place. It was wonderful.
I didn't care about Jimmy Vinson's new car or about seeing him race it. I wouldn't have listed drag racing on North Taylor Road as a thing I would imagine myself doing on Christmas night, but there I was. And honestly, it was one of those moments in time that would be locked into my heart forever. Everything about it was amazing—the cool, crisp air, the sunset, the sounds of engines revving and people talking. The ones closer to us were talking, and som
e in the distance were yelling and getting rowdy. There was excitement in the air, and it wasn't just coming from me.
I leaned into Daniel's embrace, turning and looking up at him. I stretched up and kissed the underside of his jaw, and Carrie saw me. "Aww," she said. "You guys are so romantic. I want to fall in love so bad."
"What are you going to do tomorrow when he has to go back?" Laney asked.
"Don't remind them!" Carrie said, dramatically. "Let them enjoy their beautiful Christmas moment."
"I know, but I'm just wondering what they have planned," Laney said. "Abby's a teacher in Louisiana, and my brother lives in Georgia."
"We haven't talked about it," I said, honestly.
"You haven't talked about it?" Carrie said, shocked, dramatic. "Are you separating tomorrow?"
"I have to head back," Daniel said, nodding. He was speaking loudly since we were outside and there was noise, and I loved the deep sound of his voice with my ears so close. I leaned into him. "I assume Abby will need to finish the school year. And I'm under contract through the summer, anyway. We'll have to get by with short trips and plan a way to be together this fall. Either she'll come to Georgia with me, or both of us can go somewhere else," he added.
Laney leaned forward, peering at us. "You can't expect me to keep quiet when you're talking about all this in front of me. Of course, I'm going to vote that you to stay here. Come back home."
"I can see us ending up here eventually," Daniel said.
I nodded. "Me too," I agreed, unable to believe we were having this direct conversation in front of everyone.
Jimmy Vinson lost horribly.
He was being so careful with his new car that Vance had an easy victory. None of us really paid attention to the cars. They did a lot of revving and peeling out at the starting line.
Michael, who badly wanted a muscle car, stayed down there with them. The rest of us just sat out there and talked, enjoying the cool temperatures and the beautiful sunset.
We went back to the Kings' house and got into the leftovers after that.
Chapter 15
A month later
Somewhere near the Alabama/Georgia state line
Leaving Daniel after Christmas was extremely difficult. I came to figure out that belonging to Daniel and having him belong to me was the most natural thing in the world. It was insanely difficult to part ways with him after Christmas. We did it, but it was hard.
Both of us went back to work. We called daily, although we couldn’t talk as long as we wanted to because of the long-distance charges. We wrote letters, too. Daniel wrote me twice a week like always. I wrote him multiple short notes every day. I included artwork from myself and my students, and stories to go along with them. Most of the notes were nothing fancy—just things I would think of and want to share with him so I would scribble words down on a piece of paper. I saved all my collection and mailed them in a large envelope once a week.
I would see Daniel a month after we parted ways at Christmas, and between that time, I mailed him hundreds of little notes, thoughts, drawings, etc. Daniel loved getting the envelope every week, and he would call me and we'd laugh about the different things I sent.
Finally, after what seemed like a million years, the last weekend in January arrived. I would soon see Daniel again.
Billy would compete Saturday night in a world championship boxing match. His match was the main event and he would be defending his title. It would be held in Atlanta, Georgia and filmed and broadcast on national television.
Billy had gotten accustomed to this level of competition, but Tess always got really nervous, which made me nervous. I tried to go to as many of his matches as I could, but this one was a no-brainer since it was so close to Daniel.
I took Thursday and Friday off of work, and ten of us left Texas, headed for Atlanta. Billy and his coaches flew in an airplane, but Tess and the baby traveled with us in the caravan of cars. We left first thing in the morning to make the long journey from Texas to Georgia. It was a fourteen-hour drive by the time we stopped for gas.
I called Daniel from a gas station in Alabama. He knew what time we were planning on leaving that morning, so he was waiting for my call that afternoon. He picked up on the first ring. We made plans to meet in two hours on Interstate 85 in a town called West Point, Georgia. Daniel told us a specific interstate exit and filling station where he would be waiting.
I saw his truck when we pulled off the road and into the parking lot of the filling station. There were four cars in our caravan, and we all went toward the area on the far side of the station where Daniel's truck was parked.
My mom reminded my dad to buy a city map of Atlanta since the last place didn't have one. I only half-heard her because I was staring at Daniel the whole time we pulled up. He was in his truck at first, but he got out when he saw us.
I had to work to contain my excitement. I almost let out a squeal when he stepped out of the truck and closed the door behind him. He was big, and the sight of his tall, muscular body made me feel giddy in about fifteen different ways.
"Oh, Abigail, there's Daniel!" Mom said casually, as if I didn't already know.
We parked and all got out to stretch our legs. I had been in the backseat of my mother's station wagon, and I was the first one out of the vehicle when we stopped. Daniel and I came toward each other, smiling, both of us with open arms, eager to embrace. My heart was pounding and I was breathless, and I didn't realize either of those things until I was holding onto him. He was solid and he held me tightly.
"Yes ma'am," he said, calling out, answering my mother, I assumed. I hadn't even heard her ask a question. "I'd be happy to make arrangements for you to stay with me, but Fort Benning is just as far from here as Atlanta."
"Exactly," my mom said. "I was just saying that. Your trip home from here is as long as ours to the hotel."
"Yes ma'am." Daniel let go of me just long enough to hug the women who were coming up to him. My mother and his mother were both there, along with Laney and Tess and little Tara.
"Oh, yeah, don't worry about putting us up. We have nice rooms reserved right there next to the Civic Center," Dad added. He groaned and stretched his shoulders as he walked up to us.
The Galveston crew didn't factor Daniel and me into their hotel plans since I was going to stay with him in Fort Benning. It was currently Thursday evening and Billy's match wasn't until Saturday. That meant I would be spending two nights in Fort Benning before Daniel and I went to Atlanta to watch the match. We could have gone to the hotel with the family, and made it a short vacation, but I wanted to see and explore the place Daniel had described to me in phone calls and letters.
We planned this trip weeks ago, and the closer it came to time, the more urgent and impatient both of us became.
Our love was like a campfire, and both of us added wood, and stirred and stoked it. We communicated about important things and we took time to share ideas and make plans. We cared for our relationship, and it thrived.
I felt just how alive it was when Daniel came back to my side after hugging a few of our crew. Seeing him was enough to set my body blazing. But having his body right beside me, having him reach out and put an arm around me, it was just heaven. I was out of my mind with happiness and anticipation. I knew what we were about to do, and I was insanely shaken-up over it.
"Where's Darren?" I asked, staring up at Daniel as I held onto him.
"He's already over there."
"What about Billy?"
"Billy?" Tess turned around and stared at me when I said that name.
I smiled at her.
"What about Billy?" she asked, wearing a curious expression.
"He's down the street," Daniel said with a little nod.
"Down this street?" she asked, looking around.
"If I can get everyone's attention for a second," Daniel said, turning and speaking louder since everyone was spread out and murmuring in small groups.
"We would've given you all mor
e notice about this, but Abby and I didn't come up with it until last week, and by that time, we decided to hold out and surprise you." Daniel gestured behind us. "If you don't mind, I'll ask you to take a short detour with me. Just down this street, there's a little church. My buddy Darren is an Army chaplain, and he was nice enough to set us up in there and come here with me so that we could—"
"I know you two are not getting married right now, Abigail." My mom interrupted Daniel, and we all looked at her. She was comically grasping at her hair to indicate she wasn't in any shape to attend a wedding. We all laughed at her because she was obviously joking.
"We actually are getting married right now," Daniel said, reaching out and patting my mom on the shoulder.
"I knew it all day, and I didn't tell a soul," Dad said, grinning proudly and coming to stand by Mom.
"Did you?" Mom asked with wide eyes.
"Did he?" I asked, looking at Daniel as surprised as my mom.
Daniel smiled as he spoke again. "Mr. Cohen did know," he said. "I told him last night. I had to ask him first. Man to man—just to make sure he wasn't blindsided before we did all this." Daniel looked around at everyone. "And, yes, I was okay with blindsiding the rest of you."
They laughed.
"What did my dad say when you called him?" I asked.
"I said 'where do I sign'?" Dad said. "I said 'welcome to the family'."
Quentin from the gym let out a whistle, which prompted Michael, Laney's boyfriend, to do the same.
"Wait a minute," Tess said. "Did you say my husband's here? I'm still stuck on that."
"Yes, yes, he is," Daniel said, getting back on track. "Billy's here. He's in the church already with Marvin and a few others—some of my friends, from the base, too. They're all over there waiting for y'all. It's less than a mile from here. I'll take you over if you want to follow me. And listen, I know it's been a long day," Daniel added. "But we're going to take a minute and do this. Abby loves me and I love her. She's coming to stay the weekend with me, and well, the short of it is that the best thing we could possibly do was to get married sooner than later. And sooner meaning now."
The Trouble with Crushes: A Romance (Bank Street Stories Book 2) Page 10