by Jackie Zack
A weight had been lifted and he was free, like the sun had appeared after a long season of heavy clouds and rain. A season that lasted years on end.
“Thank you for today,” Kory said softly.
She nodded.
“Dafina...” He took hold of her hand and held it gently, thankful to look at her beautiful hand as he struggled with his thoughts. Her hand—he had a ring for her.
“What?”
He looked up, expecting to see concern but instead saw faint amusement. How he loved that about her. “I, uh…” Emotions clogged his brain. Action. That was all he knew. He leaned forward and kissed her, trying to convey his love, breathing in the warmth of her perfume. When he moved away to catch her expression, he couldn’t quite determine her thoughts. Her arms around his shoulders relaxed to let him go. He kissed her softly on her neck then whispered. “I love you, Dafina.”
“Love you, too,” she whispered back, and caressed his cheek and jaw line. Her eyes were liquid sincerity. She gave him a small, soft kiss…the purest kiss.
He sat back in his chair as he was before and went for the box in his jacket pocket. Surely he was only operating on autopilot now, being swallowed up in the moment. His hands shook as he took hold of the ring. “This is for you.”
She took in a surprised breath and smiled. “The tiger-eye ring.” She watched as he slipped it on her left, ring finger, her smile deepening.
“I know it’s not a diamond…but will you marry me?” His voice threatened to give out and he swallowed hard. “I love you, Dafina, and I want to always be with you. For us to make a life together. To have the family that you want. To bring happiness to you.”
Tears of joy welled in her eyes, and she didn’t speak. A dull pain in his gut struck him as he was uncertain of the tears. No. Not happiness or joy, they were of out of sadness or grief. What had he done?
She stood and glanced at the hall as if she wanted to leave the room, but he couldn’t let her go. Not like that. He rushed to her in one step.
He put his arms around her and held her. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She trembled like a feather ready to drift to the floor, and a tear slid down her cheek. Where was her spunkiness and her inner strength? Before she could have easily batted her eyelashes at him and told him to get lost.
“Kory…there—you don’t know.” She stopped and took in a shaky breath. “Remember George, the conversations with Aunt Nesta?”
His thoughts raced. “What? We had a lot of conversations. That’s one of the ways we got to know so much about each other. Her topics delved deep.”
“Think about it.”
George…the annulment. His arms lost their hold on her as he thought. Auntie had asked if Dafina was expecting, and she’d said it was too early to tell. Dafina had only teased her aunt or was she not teasing? Had she found out that she was pregnant with George’s baby?
Dafina took a small step back, and he let go of her. “Well,” she stated softly. “You’ll have to ask me again later—if you want to marry me. But I’ll wear your ring,” she smiled and her cool, mysterious self was back, “Mr. Kory Slate, writer of horror.”
She disappeared from view as she stepped out of the kitchen.
****
The next morning, Dafina awakened refreshed. She’d totally done the right thing, making Kory think a little bit deeper about what marriage would entail. She had been married before, that was part of her past. And part of her present involved relatives like Aunt Nesta that could pop up at any moment, stay for an extended amount of time, and ask questions—lots of questions.
She didn’t want him to haphazardly make a life changing decision, and if she were totally honest with herself, she needed more time to think about it, too. She knew a bit about what a bad marriage looked like. The loft bedroom in her home appeared in her mind with the horrid, mud-brown bedcover. She shuddered at the sad thoughts the room evoked. How would she ever be able to go to that part of her house again? Maybe it would be best after all, losing the house and starting over.
Still, the thought of Kory asking her to marry him warmed her heart and brought giddy happiness inside. She hadn’t felt that way about George even though she had loved him. How easily everything appeared in its correct form in hindsight.
Kory rushed into things and when uncertain, used that foolish coin to make a choice. She gritted her teeth. He’d better not have used it to decide to propose. At least she’d given him cause to think it over. The poor man looked absolutely befuddled.
She showered quickly and dressed for the day. As she put on her mascara and lipstick, she could hear muffled voices, his parent’s voices—but not Kory’s. Wasn’t like him not to join in on any conversation. Perhaps he was still asleep.
Stepping out into the hall, she could see his open bedroom door. She peeked in. Empty. He’d made his bed and taken off.
“Good morning,” Kory’s mum said. “Come and have breakfast. I’m sorry we have to leave for work. But help yourself to the pancakes or whatever you’d like. There’s cereal and—well, you know.” She laughed.
“Thank you for letting me stay here. Very kind of you.”
“We’re happy to have you.” The older lady’s voice hushed, “Even if you take our son away to live in Wales. You bring out the best in him.”
“That she does,” Kory’s father chimed in. “Also it will give us a reason to go traveling.”
His wife poked him in the ribs.
“Evidently, I’ve said too much.” He half smiled.
“Kory had some things to do at his apartment and said to tell you that he’d be back later. Make yourself at home.” Kory’s mum stepped out of the apartment and his dad followed.
“Have a good day.” Kory’s dad nodded and winked.
Dafina nodded in return and smiled.
After the door closed, she folded her arms across her chest, not feeling too sure about Kory wanting to live in Wales. With him being gone for the day, it wasn’t a very good indicator of his thoughts for her. He’d finally thought it all through.
Chapter 23
Dafina felt like the time idled by during the last two days. Although Kory had seemed like himself and treated her kindly and with love like before, he seemed distracted. Of course with good reason, but which way would he go? Did he love her enough to ask her again? She’d spent yesterday at his parent’s apartment working on her laundry and Kory’s. She cleaned what little there was to clean in the kitchen and made dinner for the family. When Kory hadn’t shown up for dinner, she ate a small amount then retired for the evening.
Later, she heard his uneven footsteps head to his room. How that reminded her of George and how she hated that. Kory didn’t drink though. Had he started? Was he sick?
In the morning, they’d said their goodbyes to his parents with much hugging and well wishes. On the plane he’d fallen asleep, having the handsome face of an angel. Why hadn’t she said yes?
She thought the same again, as she drove them from the airport to her home. Kory all but stumbled over himself, saying that he’d stay in the stone cottage. A true gentleman, he was. Yet his actions yesterday left her stumped.
“So why did you leave me yesterday—all to myself.”
“My parents didn’t tell you?”
“They said you had work to do in your apartment…”
He nodded. “Yeah—”
“What could have been so important?”
“They didn’t tell you anything else?”
She shook her head, and he gave a weighted sigh.
“I cleared out the apartment. Boxed up everything I might need—which was very little.” He laughed. “The rest I took to the rescue mission where Mom and Dad volunteer.”
“Where are the boxes going? That you need?”
He smiled. “Um. Your place.”
“Oh?” Her happy surprise sounded in the short word. The fellow showed himself to be serious. A peace settled down on her.
Before reaching home, she stopp
ed at It’s a Mystery to pick up Griff. The corgi gave her many kisses as she carried him to the car.
“Looks like he’s happy to see you.” Kory petted the dog and received kisses, too.
Griff settled onto her lap to travel the rest of the way home.
As she pulled into the drive, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “Now what?”
“Am I seeing things? Is that your aunt’s car?”
“It is. What could she want? Look, she must’ve seen us. She’s waving at the front door from inside. She still has a key.” Dafina blew out air, feeling deflated. Kory would probably grab his luggage and go home to the States. “I’m sorry.”
“For what? Don’t be sorry. But I need to talk to you—alone. Can we go to your church, to the parking lot? We can talk there. Give me a kiss for luck and I’ll go tell Auntie that we’ll be back later.”
She gave him a kiss like she’d never see him again, and his spirits looked to be soaring.
He turned to exit the car, but she stopped him. “I’ll go…I need to do it. Wait here?”
“All right.” He nodded.
Dafina walked shakily to the house with Griff at her heels. Everything seemed to be happening at once. She had to find out why her aunt was in the house, and she had to prepare herself for what Kory wanted to discuss.
“Helllllooo, dear,” Aunt Nesta chimed. “I have my home being fumigated. Didn’t think you’d mind me coming.”
“Of course not.” Dafina managed a smile. “I need to go check on something, then Kory and I are leaving for a short bit, but we’ll be back.”
“Fine, dear, fine. I’ve just been reading.”
Kory’s books no doubt. Dafina gave another brief smile and walked down the hall and up the steps to the loft bedroom. She hated her destination, but she needed to confront her bad feelings. Her failed marriage had been short but that didn’t make the pain any less.
Really, weren’t all men the same? Controlling, selfish, egotistical? Part of her tried to reason that she hadn’t seen the same qualities in Kory that George possessed. Maybe if she looked at the horrible empty room, she could quit viewing Kory in such a rose-colored, perfect light. And level out the playing field, so she could think clearly and not make another mistake.
She reached the top step and lifted her gaze to the room. Her jaw dropped at the sight. It wasn’t the same room at all anymore. A beautiful garden scene painting hung on the wall. The bed was covered with a tartan blanket in her favorite colors and with pillows in the shape of flowers. Through tear filled eyes, she took in the sight and moved closer to the bed. The blanket was soft…warm. Kory. She remembered the creaking noise of the steps. Kory had done this for her.
She took a minute to blink the tears from her eyes. Kory was a different man than George. There was no comparison. She left the room, feeling that the bad memories were best forgotten. Her whole life was ahead of her.
Nesta waved goodbye to her as Dafina left the house. Devoted Griff trotted along beside her.
“Everything okay?” Kory asked, as she and Griff got into the car.
“Fine.” She was more than fine. “To the church parking lot?”
“Yes.”
“Why there? What’s ‘appening?” She backed the car out the drive and headed out.
“Nothing. We can talk freely there. Holy ground and all that.” He smiled. “Is Auntie…?”
“Nesta had her home fumigated for something or other, so.”
“Hmm.”
She dared a glance. He appeared deep in thought.
After several minutes of driving and wondering what he had in mind, she made a few more turns, pulled into a parking space, and turned off the car. Expectation weighed heavy on her. What had he to say? She turned to him and he clasped both her hands as if to ask her not to leave.
“Dafina. I think there’s some sort of miscommunication between us. I’m not sure what it is, but we need to figure it out. I do love you. With a lasting love, an unconditional love…do you know what I mean?”
Did she know? His words brought comfort.
“It doesn’t matter to me that you’re pregnant with George’s baby. It’s your child. Yours. I’ll treat the baby as if he or she were mine. Yours and mine. You’ve no need to worry. We’ll always work things out with God’s help—whatever comes our way in life.
“I can’t let you go. I’ll keep on asking you to marry me until you tell me to stop and go away. Dafina, you do love me?” He held her hands as if his life depended on it. “Will you marry me? There is the church. We can elope.”
Her heart pounded and her eyes filled with tears. “I do love you…but there are two things.”
“Okay, what?” His look of determination said that whatever it was, it could be worked out.
As she tried to calm herself down, she saw that his heart pounded almost as heavily as her own. His shirt twitched over his heart and the pulse in his neck visibly throbbed. “A small thing, it should only be…but it bothers me.”
“Tell me.”
“You trusted me to go with you to New York, by the flip of a coin. What if it landed wrongly and I didn’t go with you? Would we be having this conversation now? Why trust our relationship to the odd, chance mistake? How can I mean that much to you? Do you understand now why I couldn’t answer—why I wanted us to think it over?”
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a coin.
She waited. What was he going to do—flip the coin again? Did he understand? To her surprise, he gripped the coin tightly and made a noise of either crying or laughing. He blinked back tears.
“Dafina. You mean everything to me. It’s a two headed coin.”
“How? How is that—”
“It was Luke’s. From one of his magic tricks.”
She took hold of the coin and turned it over in her hand. “Heads on both sides.”
Kory nodded. “I had no chance of losing.” He gave her a quick hug then focused on her eyes. “And what’s the other thing?” She glanced down, avoiding his intense study. “I really appreciate you wanting to accept my baby, but it’s not going to work…” She looked into his eyes again and saw the depth of his concern.
“Why? We can make it work. There isn’t any reas—”
“I’m not pregnant. But if it helps, I do have a dog.” She smiled.
Griff lifted up his head and looked at Kory.
****
Driving on the way back home, Dafina had to keep reminding Kory to drive on the left side of the road. Finally, he pulled off the road in a safe area and switched seats with her, so she could drive with both of them laughing like idiots.
As their laughter died down, she replayed the ceremony in her mind as she drove. She couldn’t help it—she could hardly believe it. They had managed to get hold of the pastor and he’d married them. Marrying Kory on the spur of the moment wasn’t anything that she’d ever dreamed of, but the sweet, simple ceremony meant everything to her. The words of commitment they gave to each other gripped her heart. Joy and love overwhelmed her being. Kory was her husband.
She looked over at Kory who held Griff. Her dog had been a good little witness during the ceremony, sitting close to her feet. As she thought about it, she realized it was a true gift—eloping instead of having a big wedding with all the preparations getting in the way.
Kory had whispered to her that they could have a wedding later for their family and friends if she wanted. When it came time for the rings, she assumed that she already had his ring—the tiger-eye. But he carefully slipped off the ring and put it on her right hand, then placed a wedding band and a diamond ring on her left. It took her breath away.
Dafina glanced again at the ring. Brilliant colors sparked in the sunlight.
She parked beside Aunt Nesta’s car. As they stepped inside the house, Nesta met them at the entryway.
“Well. I might say, you two look especially happy. Dafina,” Nesta said, “you are fairly glowing.”
“Oh?” Dafina felt her
face grow warm and caught Kory’s grin.
“Well, I’m off. My house should be done.” Nesta headed to the door. “Thank you for letting me stay here today.”
“Already?” Dafina felt confused. “I thought you’d need to stay for a while.”
“Heavens, no, dear. Ta-ta.” Nesta waved as she headed down the walk to her car.
“I’ll be back—want to tell her something.” Dafina turned to leave.
“Okay—” Kory nodded.
She hurried after Nesta and reached her after she’d settled into her car.
“What is it, dear?” Her aunt peered up at her.
“I have to tell you. Kory and I were just married.” Relief at telling the truth flooded through her.
“Congratulations, dear!” Nesta’s eyes sparkled.
“You don’t seem surprised.”
“Oh, no—just thrilled for you, so thrilled.” Her aunt kept her voice hushed. “You see. I had learned about George putting that annulment through, then Kory arrived.”
“Oh—” She’d known all along.
“I could see what you two were trying to pull off—” She smiled. “But no, no—don’t feel bad. The whole thing…” She paused searching for words. “Brought about a change in me.” Her lower lip trembled. “I was wrong—so long ago. Rushing my wedding plans. Getting the property. And then living here. Dear, I’m so sorry. I don’t know any way to make it up to you and your mum other than coming clean to your grandparents. I’ll beg them to give the property to you—permanently.
She handed Dafina her key to the house. “While I stayed with you, I could see that Kory was a sweet gentleman and a perfect match for you. I purposefully asked specific questions, dear. Couldn’t you tell? So you two could get to know one another.” She nodded. “I wish you all the best, dear.”
“Thank you, Aunt Nesta for everything—”
Nesta got out of her car and gave her a hug. After getting in her car once more, she waved, and backed out of the drive.
Tears sprung to Dafina’s eyes. Everything was forgiven. Everything was new. She turned toward their home and smiled. Kory and Griff waited for her at the door. Her heart filled to overflowing with love.