by Holly Smith
“Why does Garden make a difference?”
“When one visits Garden, she or he knows they are loved, supported, and secure, rather than needy. If one spends time in Garden, they make better decisions than those who do not. Either way, sooner or later, each of us come to know we are loved and never alone. Perhaps being in Garden enhanced his feeling of love so that, although at first he wanted to stay there, he ultimately chose to come back and express love to those around him. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, it does. So taking Stanley to Garden was a good thing.”
“Always.”
“Oh,” Nelise replied with a yawn. “I don’t know why I get sleepy when we talk about such things, Esleen. I don’t want to offend you but I can’t keep my eyes open. Thank you Es . . . ,” she was saying as she fell off to sleep.
Chapter 42
Nelise woke up the next morning feeling well rested. I’m glad I had a good talk with Esleen last night. She put water in the microwave for tea and toast into the toaster. Wait a minute. What, exactly, did I talk to her about? I know I talked about Stanley but did I ever ask her about Vince? That’s weird, I usually remember. It mustn’t have been that important she decided and fixed her tea.
She had a good week at work and she and Petal went to lunch together every day. She talked with Vince every night at which time he would try to get her to come over. Her answer was usually the same: work night and need sleep, which decision he would resist at first and then finally accept.
Halloween came and went. Stanley was back on his feet and planning to return to work after Thanksgiving, and Gertie decided to make Thanksgiving dinner for Nelise, Petal, and the guys as well as some of Stanley’s family members.
“What else do we need to get?” Vince asked, following Nelise around the grocery store with the shopping cart.
“Cranberry sauce, rolls, pie, and whipped cream. I think that’s all of it,” Nelise said while checking her list. “Do you need anything at your house while we’re shopping?”
“Yeah, sugar and creamer,” he said, pushing the cart in that direction. “Oh, and eggnog.”
“Eggnog?”
“Yes, don’t you like eggnog? I put whiskey in it on the holidays,” Vince explained with a wink.
“I’d rather have a good ol’ beer,” Nelise said. She didn’t want to tell him that she loved eggnog but between the cream, sugar, and added whiskey, she didn’t want to pay the price of high caloric intake in order to enjoy it.
“Then, beer it is; cheaper that way,” he readily admitted.
“So, are you saying I’m a cheap date?”
“Not at all, Bumblebee! Forgive me if it sounded like that,” Vince said, putting his arm around her dramatically and kissing her cheek.
After they unpacked the groceries into Vince’s refrigerator, he invited her for a ride.
“You want to take a ride the day before Thanksgiving? You do realize how busy the roads are, right?”
“Yes, Bumblebee; I want to check on the property. It’s beautiful there at sundown and I want you to see it with me. We can stay in the truck,” he said, handing her purse and coat to her.
“Well, I suppose it would be relaxing after all the rushing around.”
When they arrived, Vince pulled a small cooler and a bag of chips from behind the seat.
“This will ease the wait,” he joked and handed her a beer.
“That was good thinking except that you’re limited to one since you’re driving,” Nelise ordered good-naturedly.
“Don’t worry, Bumblebee; it will be dark before we finish one.”
Vince put a CD of holiday music into the player and they talked until the sun was setting. Then he put his arm around her and they watched in silence.
“Wouldn’t you love it here, Nelise? We would see the sun rise on one side of the house, and watch it set on the other.”
Nelise could feel the butterflies abruptly fly up from their peaceful repose.
“Vince, I’m sure it would be beautiful but we talked about this.”
“I know; don’t bring it up until I have the money to start building. Well, I like dreaming about it. Can you at least imagine it?” he asked.
“Yes, I truly can; but we’ve got things to do for tomorrow and it’s dark now,” she said and kissed him lightly.
He kissed her back and held her tight as if she had accepted a proposal of marriage.
“Vince, c’mon, let’s go, OK?”
“Yes, dear,” he said with a smile.
He dropped her off at her apartment and she kissed him good night.
“You’re going to pick me up at nine o’clock, right? I want to get there early so I can help Auntie cook and get things ready.”
“Yes, Nelise, I’ll be on time. It would have been simpler if I just stayed overnight.”
“Maybe, but I’m afraid we’d forget something or . . . .”
“Or something good might happen,” he said, finishing her sentence with a seductive smile.
“Go on now,” she told him with a push.
Nelise wanted to go to Garden but felt too wound up to try. She got herself a beer and made sure she had everything ready to go in the morning. She set out a new dress, showered and set her hair in rollers while pondering the relationship the whole time.
He’s not going to wait much longer for me to make up my mind and I don’t blame him. I don’t know what my problem is that I can’t commit. I know he loves me and I really do care about him. Can I imagine spending the rest of my life with him? The thought awakened the butterflies again and they began flying about haphazardly.
On the one hand, I can easily imagine making love with him. On the other, I get nauseated thinking of the permanence of marriage. Ha! Permanence! What if I wake up one day and have to file for divorce again? Never happen. He treats me well; he’s responsible, good with money, and gets along well with people. Goodness knows he already owns property and is good looking enough to have any woman he wants, yet he’s with me. How can knowing all of that make me feel so apprehensive?
Maybe because when I kiss him, he acts like I’ve committed to marrying him and we’re not even engaged. The longer this goes on, the more I’ll hurt him by putting him off, and the more I’ll be a nervous wreck if I keep accepting his proclamations to everyone that we’ll be getting married. Ugh! What to do?
“MG, are you there?”
“Yes, Nelise, still here. What’s up?”
“Do I marry this guy or not? Tell me!” she demanded.
“Ha! You know I can’t do that, but I will tell you as long as you have doubt, you shouldn’t. You need to take a step forward or backward and see how you feel.”
“Like forward would be getting engaged and backward would mean backing off for a while?”
“Yes. Do one or the other mentally and see how you feel,” MG said and vanished unusually without another word.
Chapter 43
Vince picked Nelise up in the truck and they headed for Gertie’s the next morning. Nelise checked the back seat more than once to make sure they had everything. She finally settled down, feeling sure that they did. Vince was quiet the whole time.
“What are you so quiet about, Vince?”
“Oh, nothing much. Just thinking about past holidays with my family. I got a call from my brother in Alaska wishing me a good holiday. I should go up and see him but I would rather him come down here and he won’t, even if I would buy him a plane ticket.”
“Why not?” Nelise asked. Since Vince had lost his parents and a sibling years ago, he rarely spoke about the past and she well understood why.
“He says he doesn’t like flying but I think seeing me would probably bring back the pain of our loss. I look forward to the day when I can have a family of my own,” he said, glancing at her.
“That’s why I try not to look at the past,” Nelise said, oblivious to Vince’s inference. “It can trigger all kinds of memories. But today is Thanksgiving Day, and it’s been a lon
g time since my aunt had a man in her life so I’m going to be all about helping make this a good day for her and Stanley. He might be younger than she, but they seem to get along well in spite of it.”
“I’ll go along with you on that,” he said, reaching over and patting her knee as if they had been together for a very long time. It warmed her heart yet made her feel sad at the same time and she wondered why. Well, there’s plenty of time to think about it after today. We can all use a happy day.
The men were watching a football game while the women prepared the food and set the tables.
“When is Stanley’s family coming?” Petal asked.
“I told them we would eat around two-thirty so I’m sure they’ll be along shortly,” Gertie said as she whipped the potatoes.
Everything was done; decorations up, table set, food ready to come out, and coffee made. They sat at the kitchen table waiting.
“Auntie, you’re absolutely beaming today!” Nelise said.
Gertie smiled widely and blushed.
“Yes, you are,” Petal agreed.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good man in my life to enjoy the holidays with,” she said happily.
“I can vouch for that,” Nelise said. “On one occasion, we spent Thanksgiving Day at the movies. We watched three in a row.”
Gertie laughed. “We sure did and ate a lot of popcorn too; but wasn’t it fun?”
“Yes, but by the time the third movie was over, I was glad to move past the holiday,” Nelise added with a chuckle.
“Well, I feel sad for the both of you! Had I known, you’d have spent Thanksgiving with me and my family,” Petal said.
“What is your family doing this year, Petal? Although I’m glad you’re here, why aren’t you and Byron spending Thanksgiving with your families?” Gertie asked.
“My family went out of state and Byron’s family lives out of state in the opposite direction. Since this is our first holiday in our home, we wanted to have fun decorating it and spend time with our friends.”
“Well then, I’m so happy for you both and glad you are here,” Gertie said. “Here they come now,” she added. “Nelise, get Stanley.”
Gertie opened the door and welcomed the guests as they came in.
“You can put your coats in the first room on the left,” she said as Stanley, Vince and Byron came into the kitchen.
“Hi, Uncle Ralph and Betty. This is my girlfriend, Gertie, her niece and her niece’s boyfriend, Nelise and Vince, and our friends, Petal and Byron, Petal’s husband. Where are Kara and Anthony? Weren’t they coming with you?”
“Oh, they’re running late. Something happened with Kara’s boyfriend, and Anthony’s wife is always late as you know,” Betty said, rolling her eyes.
“C’mon in the living room and sit. Can I get anyone a drink?” Gertie asked.
Shortly after drinks were served, there was a knock on the door and Stanley opened it.
“Kara, how are you?” he asked with a hug and looked behind her.
“Hi, cuz. Don’t bother looking for my boyfriend; he decided to do Thanksgiving with his kid. I don’t know why I put up with it, but when we get married, his kid will have to spend it with us in our home or else. You got any beer?” she asked.
“Sure, Gertie will get one for you and introduce you around. Here comes Anthony and his wife now.”
Stanley welcomed them in and made sure everyone knew each other before they sat at the table. Once seated, he invited everyone to hold hands and said a blessing.
After the meal, the men went to check on the game while the women cleaned everything up and prepared dessert. Then Gertie called the guys in and after everyone was seated, Stanley stood up with his hand up.
When all eyes were on him, he took Gertie’s hand and pulled her alongside.
“I have an announcement to make. Gertie and I are getting married this Christmas Eve.”
Nelise’s mouth dropped open. Petal jumped up screeching with delight, and the others clapped and hollered. While dessert was served, everyone took turns congratulating the couple.
Nelise was first to rush up and hug Gertie.
“Auntie, are you sure? When did you decide this?”
“After I almost lost him, Nelise, and yes, I’m quite sure,” Gertie said and smiled, patting Nelise’s hand with assurance.
The rest of the day went wonderfully well. As people left, Stanley and Gertie saw everyone off through the kitchen, handing them their coats and promising to send them wedding invitations. Once Kara had put on her coat and hat, she stopped to congratulate the happy couple again.
“Thank you for having us; it was a delightful day. I expect that Loyle and I will soon receive an invitation to the wedding then?” she asked.
Nelise was at the table sipping hot cocoa and nearly choked on hearing this, spilling her drink on the table and floor. Petal was across from her looking shocked as well. Fortunately, Vince and Byron were still in the den watching television.
“Of course, cousin, of course,” said Stanley as Gertie looked behind her to see what the commotion was.
After the door closed, Stanley told Gertie that he wanted to see the rest of the game and headed to the den.
Gertie sat down with Nelise and Petal with a questioning look.
“Nelise, do you think it is your Loyle?” she asked.
“It can’t be! Do you think so?” Petal asked.
“No, there’s no way it can be. For one thing, he’s gay. For another, he has never been married or had children, but I was shocked to hear that name anyway,” Nelise said, fanning herself.
“That’s right; it absolutely cannot be him,” Gertie affirmed.
Just then, the guys came up the hall from the den.
“It cannot be who?” Stanley asked curiously.
“Oh, just girl talk,” Gertie said hurriedly and started putting the dishes away from the dishwasher.
“Gertie, what are you doing? Those can wait until tomorrow, c’mon,” Stanley said firmly.
“Yeah, Auntie. But if you want to clean everything up now, I’ll help you,” Nelise offered, at which point Gertie stopped.
“We’ve got to get going, work tomorrow,” Byron said and Petal nodded. “It was a great day, guys; thank you for having us over. We look forward to the wedding.”
“I’m so glad you could join us. It helped make the day even more special,” Gertie said, hugging each of them.
Nelise and Vince left right after that. As they were driving home, Nelise contemplated the possibility that it was her Loyle. Don’t be ridiculous, she scolded herself. There cannot be only one Loyle in the world! Besides, he’s gay. Where is my mind?
“You’re pretty quiet, Bumblebee. You must be tired.”
“Yeah, I am. It was a very good day though. I was very surprised at the wedding announcement.”
“So that’s what you’re thinking about. I think it’s great,” Vince said. “That man knows what he wants and is not wasting time; I suppose because of the accident. It looks like your aunt is happy. That’s cool. They like how they dance together and want to continue.”
“Yeah.”
Now I know how you look at it, Vince, but how do I look at it? How does she know he’s the right one? Is she doing it because she’s lonely? No, she’s been fine on her own for quite some time. He seems genuine. Vince seems genuine. Aren’t I? Why can’t I just go for it like Petal and she did? Is it still about Loyle? Just when I’m giving it my best shot, here comes that name again and throws me for a loop! Ugh! Nelise sighed deeply.
“Don’t worry, Bumblebee; it’s all good. We guys were talking during the game and I get the feeling he’s a good one. They sure seem happy together and that’s what counts, right?”
“Yeah, I agree,” Nelise said, wanting to get home and go to Garden.
Vince got out of the truck, opened the door for her, and walked her to the door of her apartment building.
“Thank you for coming with me, Vince. Your
presence made the day even better,” Nelise said and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her.
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Bumblebee. You make me very happy,” he said and kissed her longingly.
The butterflies in her stomach flew up as if a bomb had gone off in their midst. They were fluttering so fast, they kept crashing into each other.
“Vince, we’ve got work tomorrow,” Nelise said as softly as she could.
“Yeah, I know, Bumblebee,” he said, standing back and staring at her eyes.
“Right? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m trying to figure you out, that’s all. I’ll call you tomorrow night. Sleep well,” he said, turning back toward his truck. He climbed into the truck and drove away without further ado.
Nelise sat in her chair.
“Nelise, great to see you. There are lights flashing all around you! What’s going on?” Esleen asked excitedly.
“Really? I had a wonderful day, and my aunt announced that she is getting married. Everything went well.”
“Very nice. What’s on the agenda for this visit?”
“More questions. I want to sit in rocking chairs and talk like my grandmother used to do with me. She always made it look so peaceful and comforting. She would rock back and forth in a sort of rhythm while she knitted and listened to me talk. Of course, I don’t want to knit.”
“I know just the place,” Esleen said and led Nelise to a small country house in the woods. Its wraparound porch was surrounded by flowering bushes, and there was a small pond in the back. There were two rockers overlooking the water with a table between them on which sat two cold glasses of lemonade.
“That’s right! She always had lemonade on a little round table; I’m glad you knew that,” Nelise said appreciatively.
Esleen smiled. “So, what did you want to talk about this time?”
“Has that shift settled down yet? I’m getting impatient.”
“Somewhat, but shifting never actually stops. It’s much like the waves on your ocean; some are larger and faster moving than others yet they never stop.”
“Gee, I don’t know if that’s comforting or not.”