by E K Woodcock
"Aww, don't go getting all mushy on me now," she teases. She hesitates a moment before admitting, “So... I’ve got some news.”
“All right, let’s hear it.” She is almost never nervous to share anything with me, so her shyness has me on edge.
“This is going to come across as a surprise.” She hesitates again.
Looking at her with worry and impatience, I motion for her to continue. “Go on, then. Surprise me.”
She smiles and takes a deep breath. “I think I’m ready to retire from the Army and find a steady job in a hospital,” she blurts out.
I motion to the set of Adirondack chairs on the front porch. We both push back from the railing we’ve been leaning against and head over to sit down for this conversation.
“Wow, okay. I was not expecting that at all. But you know nothing would make us happier than to have you near us.” I’m thoroughly shocked by her declaration, but I can’t say I’m upset about it. She gives me her brightest smile and I can see the tension leave her shoulders with each breath she takes.
“So, what brought this decision on?” I ask curiously, and she goes stiff as a board. Her discomfort only piques my interest more. I nudge her with my elbow and tease her, “Moving back for Jake?”
This earns me a genuine laugh from my sister, her eyes crinkling on the sides and tears running through her eyes.
“It wasn’t that funny, Bridge. Want to tell me what is actually going on with you?”
“Not just yet, not just yet,” she says, wiping her eyes.
I can’t stop myself from teasing her more. "Well, if this decision isn’t because of Jake, he’s going to be some heartbroken." My best friend has always had a thing for Bridge and she’s always known it.
Bridget chuckles. "Jake… how is he, by the way?"
"You’re a master subject changer. Jake is Jake. He’s now chasing after a Starbucks barista who won’t give him the time of day.”
"Oh, boy, we need to find him a nice girl like your Skylar.” She winks at me, and I exactly know what the next question is going to be. "All right, mister, how about you? Tell me about Skylar. How did you guys meet and all the dirty little details?"
I smile at my sister and her ability to defer from subjects she's not ready to talk about. Unfortunately for her, I also inherited the same trait from our father, and Skylar is a no-no topic for now. I give her a noncommittal answer.
"This was our first date, and it was an eventful night, to say the least.” I shrug “I'll tell you more if she comes back for seconds."
She laughs at me and pats my back. "What I saw from that kiss, she'll be back."
"We shall see."
The patio door clicks open one more time and my mother pokes her head out. "Hey, you two, are you coming inside and including me in whatever has you all so consumed out here?" she chimes in.
Bridget and I look at each other. We smile, shrug, and go inside to join our mother and finish our glasses of wine.
I sigh as I walk through the door of my apartment. This night was just one for the books. Who would have thought on a first date I would meet Carter's mother and then his sister who just came back from her third tour. Who would have thought I would assault the man I haven't been able to stop thinking about with a plastic baseball bat. The ridiculousness. I chuckle to myself just thinking about it.
It's barely past nine o'clock at night, and I'm not ready to call it a night yet. I go to my kitchen and grab a wine glass from the hanging wine rack. Head to the fridge, grab my half-empty bottle of Merlot, and pour myself a glass. From there, I head to my room and get changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweater. We’re well into October now, and everyone is getting in the mood for Halloween, so what's better than a glass of wine, comfy clothes, and Haunting of the Hill House to finish this day off?
I get settled in front of my TV with the remote in hand when my phone rings. It’s Jen. She won't let up until I answer the phone, so there's no point in ignoring it. I don't let her get in a single word as I know her exact words are going to be, "Spill, woman."
"Hey, I was just going to settle in with a glass of wine and watch Haunting of the Hill House. Want to join?"
"I love it. Count me in!”
I chuckle at her response. "All right, see you soon. Oh, hey, I only have half a bottle so if you want more than one glass of wine, come prepared."
"Aye, aye, caption! See you soon."
After we hang up, I go back to the kitchen and pop some microwave popcorn and pour it into two bowls. I don't share my popcorn. I pull out the comfiest, coziest throw blankets I can find and wait for my best friend to arrive.
Jen lives in a duplex just a couple of houses down the street, so I know it’ll only be a minute or two before she gets here. The first sign that Jen has arrived is my nowhere-to-be seen cat appears and runs to the door. The second is the laughter I hear as Jen walks right in and collides with a very excited Mr. Mustachio. Meeeaaaooooowwwwww comes the cry from the entrance as Mr. Mustachio tries to gather himself from being trampled by Jen.
"Hey, you," I yell from the living room as she walks in holding a brooding Mr. Mustachio in her arms.
"I swear, Sky, your cat is more human than you sometimes."
I smile at my adorable cat. "Oh, you better believe it. He's a master manipulator, with all that cute furriness."
"So… I've been in the house for two minutes already and you haven't mentioned Prince Charming once yet. Spill the beans, now!"
I put up my hands in resignation. "All right, all right, I'll tell you all the dirty little details."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait. I need to get settled and I need wine for this. I'm living vicariously through you these days. You know this."
I wait for her to grab her glass, pour her wine, and sit down next to me on the couch. We each pull a throw blanket over our legs because comfort is the best thing ever.
"You may start."
"Fine… well, to tell you the truth, the whole night was a bit unexpected. First, I went to the wrong door and ended up meeting his mother."
Jen holds up a hand. "Wait! He lives with his mother? Run! Run the other direction."
I chuckle lowly. "It's not like that. I don't really know the whole details of what happened, but he lives in his mother's basement suite. They have separate entrances and definitely separate lives."
"All right, go on, and then what?"
"Secondly, there was a flour explosion in the kitchen that I had to help a three-year-old clean up. That part was quite cute actually." I smile at the memory of Everly helping me sweep.
"Hmmm. And?"
I cringe even before I get the words out. "See, this is the bad part… I clubbed him in the head with a plastic baseball bat."
Jen spits the sip she’d just taken back into her cup. "Ummm, excuse me? What the what now?"
"I totally clubbed him the head.” I dive into the story. “In the middle of dinner, we heard a scream from his mom's apartment, so he went to check it out. Five minutes after he left, we heard a loud crash. So my mind went to zombies and Pennywise. I hid Everly and went and hid behind the door with a bat. Once he came down the stairs, I was hell-bent on saving us and didn't stop to think for a second, so I swung."
Even before I can finish, Jen is howling with laughter on the floor. "Oh, Sky, only you.”
“Turns out, the crash and the scream were because his sister surprised them by returning from her third tour in Afghanistan early."
"Wow, that's sweet. Must have been awkward for you but a great family moment."
"It was so sweet, but I didn't want to intrude any longer, so I made an excuse and left." I know she wants me to dive more into the details of my date, but I want to take my time before I give out all the goods. I smile enigmatically and take a long sip from my wine glass, avoiding her searching eyes.
"Skylar, is there anything else you want to add to that story? I don't believe your night ended there, ju
dging from the deepening redness of your face." She lifts an eyebrow, as if she knows exactly what I'm hiding.
"Fine, we kissed and oh, boy, what a kiss that was." I hug my knees as I recall the sensations of his lips against mine. Until I hear gagging sounds coming from my best friend. "Oh, shush."
She laughs at me, her eyes twinkling. "So, any idea of a second date?"
"I really think Carter and I should talk. I have no idea about Ev's mom or much about him either, actually. So I was thinking of maybe asking him to meet for coffee later this week."
"That's a great idea. You should set some boundaries while you're at it too. Let him know you’re not replacing Ev's mother or anything like that."
I take a deep breath and divert the conversation into her way. "Anyways, enough about me. Tell me what's been going on with you."
"Oh, you know nothing's been going on with me. I go to work, I look at the menu, I pair the right wines, and then I come home and do the exact same thing." She shrugs. "Say, does Carter have any brothers? Any friends?"
"I have no idea about brothers. Hell, I didn't even know he had a younger sister until she showed up, but he's definitely got friends." I wink at her. "As a matter of fact, you should come meet me for coffee at the corner Starbucks tomorrow. They usually go there for their coffee and maybe we can arrange a little cute meet."
"Who exactly am I being set up with?" she asks with an apprehensive look in her eyes.
"You will see." I’m having way too much fun with this conversation to reveal anything more than I already have to her.
It's a crisp November morning. It's beautiful. The sun is shining, and there are fresh flurries. This is the perfect morning for a coffee date at the park. I pull out my phone and nervously text Skylar. We’ve only texted a bit after our unusual date last week.
Hey Sky, how are you doing?
A couple of minutes later, my phone vibrates with her response.
–I'm good, getting busy setting up for my opening in a few weeks. How are you?—
I write the message several times before I finally press send.
I'm good, just getting ready for work. Do you have a few minutes this morning? It's such a beautiful morning I wanted to see if you'd like to grab some coffees and go for a walk down to the park?
—What a great idea. Yes I’d love to do that. Want to meet at Starbucks in ten minutes?—
The breath I’ve been holding rushes out of me.
Perfect, see you then.
Skylar and I meet as decided in front of "our" Starbucks. She orders a grande mocha. "It's the perfect morning for a coffee and hot chocolate," she adds with a smile.
This woman drives me insane. I want to forego the coffee and just devour her, but my mother taught me to be a perfect gentleman and anything less is worth a good ass whooping, so with an internal groan, I order my coffee. "A venti Americano, please."
She's wearing her usual ensemble of skinny jeans, tall boots, and a snug green winter jacket. This morning, she's also added a green hat with a pom-pom at the top, matching gloves, and a burgundy scarf.
We grab our respective coffee orders and head out toward the shale path that leads to the river view park. We walk in comfortable silence, watching the fresh snow falling, just enjoying each other’s company. After a few minutes of walking, we come across a secluded area surrounded by pine trees and a view of the half-frozen river and decide to sit on a park bench.
She half turns toward me, her eyes shining bright against the sunny sky. "This is a beautiful spot, isn't it?"
I want to respond with something like, "Not as beautiful as your eyes," but the cheesiness of the line makes me want to gag and I'm really not in the mood to get laughed at this morning.
"It sure is peaceful," I respond with instead then jump right into the subject that’s been keeping me awake since I met Skylar. "Skylar, I wanted to talk to you about Everly's mother.”
She gets a look on her face that says, Oh, here we go.
"Oh, good because I also wanted to talk about her. I don’t want to pry or anything, but are you divorced?"
I give her a sad smile. It's the perfect day to talk about my Willow to the woman I can't seem to stop thinking about.
Ignoring her question, I blurt out, "She loved the first snowfall of the year, always found it peaceful. She would always call me from work as soon as she was able to catch a snowflake with her tongue and knew it would stick, and say, 'Let's go for a walk, Carter. It's hot chocolate and a walk kind of day.'"
"She sounds lovely. My mother is also a snow queen, her words not mine, but she's always believed the magic of the first snowfall. What happened, Carter? You talk about her with so much love and longing." She looks sad when she adds that last part.
I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the hurt that always comes. "Her name was Willow, and she was the best thing that ever happened to me. I mean, she gave me Everly. What more could I ask for? We were college sweethearts. Ten years of marriage and a baby later, she went to sleep one day and never woke up again. Doctors said it was a heart attack that came in her sleep and that she went peacefully, but I couldn't bring myself to sleep in the same bed anymore or live in the same place where there were so many memories. My mother opened her doors for me and Everly just when the sleeplessness started getting the worst of me."
Skylar sucks in a breath, her eyes full of sympathy. "Oh, Carter, I'm so sorry to hear that."
"It's been two years now. I’ve never been able to bring myself to be with anyone else until you came along with your emerald eyes and mischievous smiles that drive me completely insane.” I take a sip of my coffee and continue. “I'm telling you all this because I want to know where you stand with what's going on between us. Do you want to continue what we are doing, now that you know my past? Because if you’re on the fence about things, I don’t have the luxury of bringing someone into my life and then taking them out just as easily. I have to think about Everly's feelings too."
And I won’t let her get attached to Skylar, only to have her disappear, too. That wouldn’t be fair to Everly.
Skylar looks at me with so much emotion in her eyes. "I really like you, Carter, and I enjoyed spending time with Everly. She's a lovely little girl. And yes, I understand everything you've said, and yes, I do want to be with you. You’re an amazing man who's been dealt a bad card in life. You don't deserve the hardships you had to face, but you're stronger because of them."
I smile at her. "Thank you, Skylar. This makes me so happy."
She leans in and gives me the gentlest and softest of kisses, where she communicates all her emotions with me. "Tell me more about Willow," she says when she pulls away.
"Well, she was very creative. When she had an idea, she would work on it for hours on end. She loved when an idea started becoming a reality. Her one passion was writing. She loved creating stories for children.” I turn to look at Skylar, breaking my hypnosis of the falling snow. “I have a few of her books at home that she wrote for Everly and never got the chance to read to her. I've read them all to Everly now, of course. Her favorite one is The Willow Tree and Its Fairies. She just loves that story."
"That sounds lovely. Can I read it one day?" she asks hesitantly.
I smile, grateful that she wants to be involved. "Of course, you can. She wanted to publish her work one day, but never got the chance to. I want to get them published for her but I'm not sure if that would be appropriate."
She gets an incredulous look on her face. "Oh, goodness, of course it would be. You'd be honoring her wishes. If you think that would be inappropriate, you can always make copies and donate them to the library with a note saying, ‘in loving memory of Willow.’”
I consider that. I hadn’t ever thought of it that way. "That's not a bad idea. I’ll talk to the library and see what we can do. Speaking of which… your store is opening soon. Which night is it again?” I ask taking a sip of my nearly empty coffee.
She beams at me with excitement. "It's the night of the light up, and the best part is, the town and the organizing committee went around looking at my space, and they said because of the fireplace and the comfortable leather couches, my store would be the perfect spot for Santa pictures.” She takes a sip from her mocha. “So, the day before the event, they’re going to come and decorate the entire store and rearrange a bit of the furniture but that's okay. Can you imagine the amount of traffic I'll receive on opening night? I'm so excited."
I smile just as big as she's smiling at me. "That’s amazing news. We’ll be the first ones in the line and I'll even stay for a draft at The Best Draft." I wink.
"I can't wait! I’ll be having a little party in there for friends and family the day before the light up. The place will be decorated and why not just take advantage?" Then as if she'd just remembered something, she says, "Hey, is your friend Jake dating anyone?"
Now that's a new line of questioning that piques my interest. I lift an eyebrow. "He's trying to date the barista, but no go there." We both chuckle at his expense.
"Perfect! Bring him to the opening day party with you. I have the perfect friend to tame him."
I laugh at the thought. "Good luck to you and your friend."
Two weeks pass in a blur, and today is the day. The opening party. I haven't slept all night, I've been so excited. I quickly get changed and head to my store to meet with the decorators. I stop by Starbucks and grab my regular drip coffee, get a box of treats for me and the decorators, and leave.
The shop is about a ten-minute walk away from my apartment, and I seem to be about ten minutes late. Even though everyone is bundled up for the weather, I can see some of the ladies shivering outside of my store.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I'm late. I stopped in for some coffee and treats for us all," I say as I unlock the door to my brand-new store. I open the door and flip the lights on. After almost three months of research, phone calls with lawyers and distributors, and heavy shopping trips to furniture stores, here she is… pure beauty.