by Gail Sattler
Doreen ran to the end of her long driveway. Panting now, she looked down the street and spotted his car pulled over to the side of the road, by itself, with no apparent damage. Edwin was nowhere to be seen.
As she jogged toward the car, she saw Edwin’s head appear from behind the open trunk. He moved awkwardly along the side of the car, bent at the waist, sleeves pushed up to his elbows, rolling a tire.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Doreen slowed her pace to a fast walk, soon arriving at Edwin’s side. He grunted and muttered something under his breath as he struggled to remove the lug nuts.
“Problems?” she asked.
“Huh?” He raised his head, smiled at her, then lowered it again. “Oh. Hi. Yeah,” grunted Edwin as he pried off the flat tire and heaved the spare into place. “Looks like I ran over a big hunk of something metal on the road, and it shredded the tire instantly.”
Doreen examined the destroyed tire that was leaning on the side of the car. From the appearance of the shredded rubber, Edwin was lucky it had not been more serious.
“Need some help?”
Edwin mumbled as he tightened the last lug nut. “Nope. Got it.” He tossed the remains of his tire into the trunk and wiped his hands on the front of his pants. “Do you know you have wild animals out here?”
“Wild animals?” Deer lived in the woods, although they were seldom seen near the road, and of course often the raccoons could be pesky at night, but she’d never seen anything that could be termed a “wild animal.”
He grinned as he examined his hands, then slapped them together, as if that would remove the dirt that couldn’t be wiped on his pants. “Yeah, Dozer and I saw these monster squirrels running in the trees. You should have seen him go after those killers.”
“I’ll bet.”
With complete disregard for anything else he might have had in the trunk, Edwin tossed his tools and the jack on top of the ruined tire, then slapped his thighs to get the dust out. “Let’s go. Hop in.”
Doreen smiled. He had inadvertently smeared some grime on his cheek and across the bridge of his nose. She didn’t mention it, waiting for them to get back to her house so she could do it properly.
“How are your parents?” Doreen asked hesitantly.
Edwin sat in the driver’s seat, placed his hands on the steering wheel, and turned to face her. “Visiting hours aren’t until afternoon, but I phoned and they said they’re as well as can be expected. I guess that’s good news.”
Judging by the expression on his face, he was still very worried. “Yes, I think it is.”
“Dozer make it okay to your place?” he asked as he started the engine and pulled onto the road.
“Yes. After all, I’m here, aren’t I? But I’d really like to know why you let him go.”
Edwin laughed lamely and shrugged his shoulders. “He was driving me nuts. He knew where we were going, and he was so excited, I just let him go ahead of me. He brought you, didn’t he?”
She nodded. The dogs both popped out the doggie door when the car arrived beside the house. “I was worried when your dog showed up without you.”
“Sorry about that. I would have tied a note to his collar, but I didn’t have a pen.”
Doreen excused herself to visit the washroom, and when she returned, she found Edwin in the kitchen washing his hands with her dish detergent. He found a clean spot on his pants to wipe them, helped himself to a large glass of water and stood at the sink as he noisily glugged it down, then choked when he saw her standing in the doorway.
“You startled me, I didn’t see you.” One eye narrowed. “What have you got in your hand?”
Doreen held out a wet facecloth. “What’s that for?” he asked, rechecking his hands, making sure they were clean.
“You have dirt on your face. Sit down. Look up.”
Doreen stood in front of him as he sat in the chair. Edwin closed his eyes and sighed as she wound her fingers into his hair to steady his head while she used the warm cloth to wipe the dirt smudges off his cheek and nose.
“Mmm. I like this,” he mumbled.
“What?” Doreen asked absently, wiping away the last black remnants.
Edwin kept his eyes closed as he leaned into her hand. “This. You.”
The cloth stopped moving, then resumed motion. Like? If that was the best he could do, then she would take it. Yesterday she was in the best friend category, whatever that meant. She supposed one had to “like” their best friend, although the ranking still managed to disappoint.
But what could she expect? Up till now, she had never given Edwin any indication of how she felt about him, or ever encouraged him in any way, except for a few stolen kisses she wouldn’t forget till her dying day. For the most part, she’d purposely kept her distance, trying not to mix helping him in his Christian discovery with anything personal.
Since he started it, even if all he said was “I like you,” she could at least do the same. If he didn’t respond, then at least she would know where she stood. The thought terrified her.
She continued to wipe at a spot that had long since been wiped clean, justifying the ministrations with the knowledge that he was enjoying it.
“I like you, too.” She gulped. Was that the best she could come out with? This baring your soul stuff wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought.
Edwin opened his eyes to watch Doreen. While unexpectedly overjoyed to hear her admit that much, he wondered what brought it on. His heart started to beat faster. Saying out loud that she liked him was the best admission she’d given so far. Was there more? Could there be more?
Edwin wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. “You know what I’d like?”
Doreen swallowed hard, opened her eyes wide, and stared at him. “What?” Her voice sounded too shrill.
Edwin sucked in a deep breath to summon his courage. He might as well go all the way. “I’d like to get married.”
“What?” she choked out.
“To you.” Edwin grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into his lap while he figured she would still be pliant enough to go. “I want to be married to you, Doreen.”
In the blink of an eye, Doreen found herself in Edwin’s lap. She trembled all over as his fingertips trailed slowly up her arm, up her neck, then over her cheek until they rested on her lips. “This better not be some kind of joke,” she said, recalling the unpleasant scene the last time he mentioned marriage. Her voice quivered as she continued. “I mean it, Edwin.”
“I love you, Doreen.”
The expression on his face was a mixture of fear and anticipation. Doreen blushed and struggled to maintain eye contact.
“I love you, too, Edwin.”
Two fingers rubbed her lower lip, then both hands rested on the nape of her neck as he drew her mouth to his for a long, slow kiss.
Doreen’s eyes remained closed for a few moments after they separated. How had they gone from wiping a few smudges off his nose to declarations of love and marriage?
Doreen’s mind nearly spun out of control. Even though he continually phoned to invite himself over, she had no idea that he felt this way. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks.
What would marriage to Edwin mean? What would he be like to live with? A bit of a scatterbrain and more than a bit of a slob, he was undisciplined and his attitude too offhanded. No doubt some things about her drove him nuts too, but what was wrong with that? That was all part of what made Edwin who he was, and that was who she had fallen in love with.
What about his relationship with God? He was a new believer, but she was certain that his decision had been genuine. They both had a lot of growing still to do, but she was confident that he would love her as God directed, in faith, trust, fidelity, and with all the love in his heart. She cleared her throat and reached out to touch his cheek, all her love for him as obvious as the stars in her eyes. “What about being friends, like you said yesterday?”
He held the hand touching his cheek with his, leaned his face in
to it, then kissed her palm. Her breath caught as shivers ran all through her body to her toes. With the other hand he reached down to the small of her back to steady her as she remained seated in his lap. “Don’t you think it’s important to be best friends when you’re married?”
Doreen’s heart leapt into double-time at that thought. “You’ve mentioned marriage before. Why should I take you seriously this time?”
Regret shadowed his face. “You know, I meant it when I said I thought we should get married, but I was so nervous I tried to joke about it when I shouldn’t have. I can only say again that I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Doreen. I wish I could make it up to you.”
Unable to look her in the face, Edwin closed his eyes and kissed her palm once more, then her wrist, as a show of apology.
Her heart pounded in her chest and she forced herself to breathe again. “And I’m sorry I overreacted. I don’t know what made me jump down your throat like that. I’m really sorry, too.”
Still concentrating on her hand, Edwin swallowed, dropping his voice to a whisper. “Enough sorrys. I do want to get married, because I love you with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind. I want to marry you before God, and love you as my best friend and my wife, just like I read in Corinthians.” He turned his face up to hers. “That was really beautiful, and I want us to love each other, like that, forever. Doreen, will you marry me?”
Touched by his tender and solemn words, tears of joy silently streamed down Doreen’s face. Not wanting to break into sobs, she bit her quivering bottom lip.
Gently, Edwin reached up to wipe away her tears with his fingers. “Aw, Doreen, please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to make you sad, I want to make you happy.”
“Oh, Edwin,” she gulped indelicately, “you have. I want to marry you, too. I think we will be very happy together.”
Slipping his fingers from her cheek, Edwin drew her closer for a long kiss.
Edwin released her mouth only long enough to catch his breath. “I love you, Doreen,” he sighed, lowering his mouth to Doreen’s again.
“I love you, too, Edwin,” she whispered hoarsely, waiting.
“We’re going to be very, very happy.”
“Yes, Edwin, we are.”
About the Author
Gail Sattler lives near Vancouver, British Columbia, with her husband and three children. Walking the Dog is her first published novel, and her own Standard Schnauzer was a major inspiration for the story.
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Gail Sattler
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