For Your Safety

by Jenny Bunting

  Her husband trails her as they pass us. I snarl, and Annie giggles at me. I have to get used to small-town gossip again.

  Annie says. “Have you heard from Henry?”

  I shake my head. It’s been almost a week, and I’m not sure what I expected from him. He’s not on social media, so it saves me from watching his content for clues. We didn’t exchange numbers, deliberately. Is he as broken up as me about our time together? What is he doing? Is he seeing another woman already? I’m not sure at this point if knowing or not knowing is beneficial.

  “I just don’t know if it bothers him as much as it bothers me.”

  “I’m sure he’s broken up over you. You’re too awesome for a guy to get over you so easily.” She kisses my head, and we keep walking.

  “What’s going on with Jason? He was in quite the hurry yesterday.”

  Jason came over last night. When I opened the door, he stepped back, shocked that someone knew he was visiting Annie. I let him in, and he was as jumpy as the drug addicts I used to pass on Market. Annie and Jason disappeared into her room, and then he left forty-five minutes later, like he was on a timer.

  Annie says nothing as we reach the end of the main drag and see a red barn in the distance. Staying with Annie, I’ve noticed some things. She constantly checks her phone. Getting a text from Jason is like a hit of crack. The highs are so high and the lows are low. I would’ve flipped out on him by now, but my sister has been way too nice. “You look like you need a drink.”

  “Definitely,” I say. I vaguely remember this building, and I go through my memories and knowledge of the town. “Wait, is that new?”

  “It’s always been there. The Finches spruced it up, and now their brewhouse is there,” Annie says. The Woody Finch Brewery has been a fixture in Goldheart for the last three years, but it seems like the Finch family has really upped their game recently.

  “Are all the kids still there?” I ask, even though the Finch siblings are all older than me by at least five years.

  “Yes. Emily, Cameron, and Reid all stayed in town, but Jackson just moved home.”

  “Wow, I remember this place being rundown and almost condemned,” I say as Annie leads me onto the gravel driveway, past picnic benches filled with families and through the open barn doors.

  It is packed. The Finches must be doing well.

  “There’s a long high table over there,” Annie says. “Grab us a spot. What do you want?”

  “A cider, if they have one,” I say.

  “Coming right up,” Annie says, walking to the bar. Cameron’s working behind it today. I would notice him anywhere. Six-five, he has a reputation of sleeping with eighty percent of the single, available women in town and ninety percent of the tourists. To the best of my knowledge, he has never hooked up with Annie, and I hope it stays that way.

  Sitting alone, next to other couples chatting and families enjoying each other’s company, I wonder if I could ever fit in here. I haven’t lived here more than a few months on summer break from college, and since then, I’ve barely come home except for a day or two here and there for visits or holidays.

  My phone buzzes, and I look up. Annie is chatting with Cameron, and he has a big smile on his face as he talks to her. I shoot daggers at him so he will at least instinctively know not to mess with my sister.

  Erin: How are you? We miss you.

  I want to cry.

  Me: Me too.

  Erin: How does it feel to be back?

  Me: Weird. I’ll have to get used to it. I like being with my sister, though.

  Erin: My couch is always open.

  Me: I’ll keep that in mind.

  Annie rejoins me with my cider in a pint glass and a golden, cloudy beer in a snifter for her.

  “What do we cheers to?” Annie asks.

  I remember the last cheer with my friends, and I lift my glass.

  “To being from here,” I say.

  “Don’t sound so excited,” Annie says as our glasses touch.

  The quiet music playing over the brewery switches to “Party in the USA,” and I set my cider down.

  “Are you okay?” Annie asks me before I realize what is happening. I’m slumped over the table, sobbing.

  I lift my head. “No. I’m not.”

  “What is it?”

  It’s everything. How one day with Henry made me question everything. How that city wormed its way into my soul and I can’t be happy living anywhere else. How being home this last week has felt like my soul is dying.

  It becomes clear to me what I have to do. Miley singing takes me right back to how I felt dancing with Henry at Thrill Mountain. How I’ve never felt so comfortable, so alive. How my future has to be in San Francisco, not here in Goldheart. How my future is with Henry.

  My tears dry, and everything becomes so clear. “I think I have to go.”

  Annie follows me out of the brewery. “Where are you going?”

  “I think I have to go back to San Francisco,” I say. “I have to.”

  I walk in the direction of Annie’s car, parked in a public parking spot behind Town Square.

  If I get an Uber to the El Centro BART station, I can take the BART to the 24th St. Mission…

  “You’re just adjusting. Let’s go home. You’re tired,” Annie says, following me.

  “I’m not,” I say.

  “This is crazy,” Annie says. “Raegan, I…Wait. Who’s that?”

  I turn around to see Henry searching the street, holding a collection of green, blue, and pink flowers. His face bursts into a smile when he sees me, and I break into a run.

  Somehow, I end up in his arms like a needy koala.

  “Hi,” he says into my hair, his hand under my butt.

  “Hi,” I say, smiling so hard it hurts. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came here to find you,” Henry says. “I’m going to put you down before I drop you.”

  “Okay,” I say as he sets me down.

  He’s here. I’m not hallucinating.

  “Let’s sit down,” he says, leading me by hand to a bench where the bus picks up. He hands me the flowers, and I smell them.

  He takes one of my hands in his. “Our date together was so special. I kept wondering why Erin set up a date on your last weekend in San Francisco, and now I know why. She saw something in us that we couldn’t see. I need you in my life, Raegan. I would love to be friends, but…” Henry pauses. “I’m not sure I can only be friends with you. The sex was just too good.”

  I laugh and then, I breathe in to avoid any more tears.

  He’s here. For me.

  “What are you saying?” I ask.

  “Be with me,” he says. “Even if we’re long distance for a little bit.”

  He hugs me, and his strong arms around me, the way he smells, how he kisses my hair makes me feel like I’ve found my person.

  Henry is the one I’ve been looking for.

  He pulls away from me with rosy cheeks.

  “Is that your sister?” Henry points to Annie, who is watching us with crossed arms. I nod.

  Henry walks over to Annie, and I can’t hear what he’s saying. I’m sure Annie is giving her usual spiel, that she owns a shovel and no one would find his body if he hurts me.

  She hugs him, and they walk back to me. Henry intertwines his fingers with mine and warmth flows through my body.

  “Get out of here,” Annie says with a hand wave.

  “You don’t mind?”

  “No,” Annie says. “One of the Finch siblings is bound to keep me company and finish your drink.”

  “Not Cameron,” I say with a finger point.

  “Whatever, Mom,” Annie says. “Cameron wouldn’t be interested in me anyway.”

  What a crock of shit. My sister is tall and beautiful, and she has a vagina. Cameron would definitely be interested, even if he says he isn’t.

  Henry and I walk out the brewery and down the gravel road. He turns next to a meadow, the sun setting behind a
hill. It castes a golden hue over the grass and makes his eyes squint.

  He’s so cute.

  “So, how is this going to work?” I ask.

  “I’m not leaving San Francisco until we figure out if this can work or not,” Henry says. “No more traveling. I know you need to figure out some stuff here, and I’ll be busy in the city. Still, I want to see you on every one of your days off. We can trade off who visits whom. I want to talk to you every night. We can make this work until we know for sure. I just need to know.”

  “Erin told me I could stay on her couch so I can be back in San Francisco,” I say. He lights up and takes my face in his hands, kissing me.

  I feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie.

  “Come back to me,” he says. I want to melt into a puddle.

  San Francisco. A place I thought was only temporary. Thinking about living there, really living there, makes me giddy. It’s the same feeling I had on the plane to France for my study abroad, how I felt crossing the borders into a dozen new countries. Doing what I want to do, life feeling so right I know it in my bones.

  “San Francisco,” I say, bringing my hands to my heart.

  Henry loops his arms around my middle. “Just watch—you’ll be living with me within a week.”

  “At least six weeks,” I say and kiss him. Linking my arms around his neck, I pull him closer. It’s a kiss of hope and promise.

  “I’m so glad I met you,” Henry says.

  “I’m so glad I met you too,” I reply, nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

  “I have one stipulation for our relationship.”

  “What’s that?” I ask, kissing his neck. We need to find somewhere private, pronto.

  He leans down so his lips are next to the shell of my ear. “No more roller coasters.”

  “Done,” I say.

  He dips me like he did at the park and kisses me, and I can’t believe this is happening to me.

  How funny life is. I should never plan anything because my plans suck compared to what fate has in store for me.

  Epilogue

  Three Months Later

  “Wow,” Annie says as Henry and I walk into the brewery, ready to win.

  We’re wearing matching shirts with “Team We Can’t Stop” written across them, along with matching sweat headbands and wristbands in obnoxious yellow. There might only be five pairs of people showing up to trivia tonight, but we plan to crush every last one of them. We’ve been honing our skills at several bar trivia nights across the city, so we’re unstoppable.

  “Are you intimidated?” Henry asks, posturing with open arms to my sister. My sister laughs as Henry leans over her table and whispers, “I can feel you’re intimidated.”

  “Baby, keep that fire for trivia,” I say. “Is there a trophy? I feel like there should be a trophy.”

  “Are they always like this?” Emily Finch asks. Emily’s family owns Woody Finch Brewery, and she’s agreed to be my sister’s partner for trivia after Jason canceled.

  “Unfortunately,” Annie says.

  Henry dips me in a kiss, and then we high-five.

  We’ve become that annoying couple. In three short months, Henry has become my best friend who I sleep with almost every day. We finish each other’s sentences, we spend all our free time together, and he makes me feel like I can conquer the world. He came home for Thanksgiving with me and I met his family at Christmas.

  I only made it a week in Goldheart before Henry showed up to move me home.

  Back to San Francisco.

  I always lived my life with a heart wide open, and everything in me told me I had to do this.

  The first week back in the city, I was offered a position at an international school because I’m fluent in French. I don’t know why I didn’t pursue that all along. Teaching young children a language I love, in a city I love, being with the man I love is a dream come true.

  After six weeks of sleeping on Erin and Landon’s couch, Henry came over one day with a pizza. When I opened it, I saw a flat box in the corner. My heart stopped. When I opened the box, I found a key.

  “I love you, Raegan. And I can’t stand being away from you one more night,” he said. “Move in with me.”

  A tear slipped down my cheek as I accepted, kissing him until our lips grew numb. A key was wonderful, and it was crazy, but six weeks was long enough for me to know.

  Henry is who I want to marry, who I want to grow old with. Some people need years, some people need months. All I needed was forty-two days. That heart-drop feeling when it was a key instead of a ring signaled to me that I had found him. I was done searching.

  Now he’s back in Goldheart with me for his first official visit. He met my parents. We walked down Main Street like we’ve been together for years. Ms. Hershey, the librarian who I’ve known since I was a baby, pulled me aside afterward and told me he was perfect for me.

  I couldn’t agree more.

  “Is your brother ready for this?” Annie asks Emily.

  Emily shrugs. “We’ll see. We’ve been trying to do more events like this with varied results. Hopefully Dan can see we’re making an effort.”

  I look around and see four other couples waiting at tables for trivia to start. Cameron Finch, Emily’s brother, walks out with pads of paper and tiny pencils, and hands them out to couples participating. Cameron’s gaze falls on Henry, and they give each other a quick nod.

  “Do you know Cameron?” I ask.

  “Oh yeah,” Henry says with a nervous giggle. I look at Cameron and back at Henry. Henry can’t look me in the eye.

  Something is up.

  “Baby, you’re acting shifty,” I say.

  “What are you talking about?” Henry asks, with a “I don’t know” gesture.

  Cameron takes a corner with a stool and the microphone. He speaks into it quietly.

  “Hello everyone. Welcome to the first Woody Finch Trivia Night. I’m your host, Cam.”

  “Go, Cam!” Annie yells with a whoop. I’m not sure why Annie is so nice to him. They’ve always been friendly, but not too friendly, with one another. Cameron and Emily’s brother Reid has been Annie’s best friend since childhood, and I kinda wish they would get together. However, my sister looks at Cameron in a way I’m not completely comfortable with.

  “Thanks, Annie,” Cameron says into the microphone. He pulls the first card up.

  “Which Final Destination film starts with a premonition of a roller coaster accident?” Cameron reads off. “Is it a. #1, b., #2, or c., #3?”

  I write down a “c” on our sheet.

  “I knew that one too, by the way,” Henry says, his hand on my thigh. “I know how much you love Final Destination.”

  “You’re funny,” I say.

  “You love me,” he says, kissing me on my cheek. Even after our short three months, the honeymoon phase is strong and he still gives me butterflies.

  “Okay,” Cameron says, pulling up the next card. “Where is the tallest roller coaster in the world? Is it a. Japan, b. New Jersey, or c. Canada?”

  Why is the trivia all about roller coasters?

  I look at Henry, and he shakes his head. He’s usually more help in trivia than this. New Jersey seems like the most random of the three, so I write a “b” on our answer sheet.

  I look up just as Henry gives Cameron a signal.

  “What’s going on?” I ask Henry.

  “Have I ever told you how amazing you look in yellow?” he asks, kissing me on my neck. He’s trying to distract me.

  “You’re up to something,” I reply. “Will this all be roller coaster trivia?”

  Henry shrugs. It’s totally something he would do.

  “Okay,” Cameron interrupts from the microphone. “Question number 3: What album did Miley Cyrus’s smash hit, ‘Party in the USA’ appear on? Was it a. Time of Our Lives, b. Bangerz or c. Can’t Be Tamed?”

  I put my pencil down. This is adorable. It’s just like Henry to do something romantic like this.

/>   Henry bolts from his chair and rips the microphone from Cameron’s hand.

  What is happening? Oh my God, is it…

  “I have my own trivia question,” Henry says in the microphone. My heart stops.

  “Will she say yes?” Henry asks as he signals to Cameron. “Hit it.”

  The opening chords of “Party in the USA” begin, and Henry grabs my hands and nestles his lips in my hair.

  “Baby, I have something to ask you,” he says. I’m sobbing as he pulls me to the middle of the open area. I don’t know what to do so I dab my cheeks with my sweat wristbands.

  “Raegan Claire Stewart,” Henry says, kneeling down to one knee and pulling out a ring box. He opens the hinged lid to show a stunning diamond, and I cover my face with my hands. “will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

  I nod, and Henry stands up and drops the mic, causing a terrible sound and a scrambling Cameron. Henry slips the ring on my finger and takes me into his arms.

  I’m so in love with this man. It doesn’t matter we’ve been together for only three months. He’s my forever.

  “I love you,” Henry says, kissing me.

  “I love you too,” I say.

  “I invited some people,” he says, pointing to the door. Standing in the corner are my parents and Erin and Cassie. I run to them, and we group-hug with tiny hops on the balls of our feet. They pull my hand each direction to look at the ring.

  “Aren’t you glad I forced you on that date?” Erin asks.

  “So happy,” I say. “Thank you for making me.”

  “No problem,” Erin says, pulling me in for a hug.

  “Look at us,” Cassie says. “She met her fiancé on an airplane”—she points at Erin—“I reconnected with Smith in an elevator, and Henry worked his magic when the roller coaster got stuck.”

  “Dare I say it was fate?” I ask.

  “It’s something,” Erin says. “It’s a little weird, actually.”

  “I’m not mad about it,” Cassie says.

  “Thank you for coming,” I say, hugging them again.

  “We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Cassie replies. I leave them to hug everyone in the room, including Cameron, but the last person I hug is Henry.