They walked down the deck to the swing in the backyard and sat down together as they watched the kids play.
“As you can see there still needs to be a lot of work done. A lot of furniture to buy,” Travis said. “But it’s a start, right?”
“One thing at a time,” Beryl said.
Travis stood. “Let’s get the rest of the stuff out of the trunk. I want to cook dinner for you and the boys,” Travis said.
“Okay.” Beryl turned to the boys. “Boys, we are going to get things out of the car. Don’t go out of the yard.”
“Okay, Mommy,” Cameron said.
Travis and Beryl retrieved the things from the trunk that Beryl had accumulated since leaving Darrin. Beryl had not heard a thing from Darrin since the day she’d left him. Both she and Travis assumed that he’d probably thrown out all of the items that had been left in his home.
Later on that night Travis put out four plates on the bar. He had purchased four matching barstools with chair backs from the Goodwill store. He put food on each of their plates and poured lemonade in two glasses and two cups for them all to drink.
“Beryl, Cameron, and Jayden, dinner is ready.”
The boys came running and Beryl walked in the kitchen behind them.
“Whoa, was I supposed to change for dinner also?” Beryl asked, looking down at her faded blue jeans and plain T-shirt.
“No. I just wanted to change.”
Travis had put on a pair of black dress pants, a long-sleeve red dress shirt, and a matching Geoffrey Beene paisley tie.
“You are making me feel underdressed,” Beryl said.
“Nonsense. Now come on in here so we can get ready to eat.”
“Something sure does smell good,” Beryl said. “What’s for dinner?”
“Spaghetti with meatballs and red sauce, along with French bread and lemonade,” Travis said.
They each helped the boys get on their stools before sitting down themselves.
“You went all out, didn’t you?”
“I did and I only spent six dollars for this whole meal,” Travis said.
“Six dollars? Really?”
“Yep, the grocery store had a deal. For five dollars you could get a forty-two-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce, a bag of meatballs, four pieces of French bread, and a drink. The spaghetti wasn’t in the deal. So everything with tax was only six dollars.”
“Wow. You really do know how to find a deal.”
“I learned the hard way.” Travis nodded his head. “Enough talk. Let’s say grace and eat before our food gets cold.”
After dinner, Travis and Beryl washed the dishes together while the boys played upstairs. When they were finished washing the dishes, Travis asked Beryl to sit back down with him at the bar.
“Have a seat,” Travis said.
Beryl did as she was asked.
Travis sat also and took Beryl’s hands into his. “Beryl, I don’t want to let another minute go by without telling you how glad I am to have you and the boys back in my life. I count it as an enormous blessing.”
Beryl smiled at Travis. “I have to say that it has been refreshing to have you back in our life also. I mean I like the new you. You’ve really taken life by the reins and turned so many things around that I really thought you’d never be able to. Quite honestly I had given up on you.”
Travis bowed his head for a moment then looked back into Beryl’s eyes. “It feels good to hear you say that you like the new me. Especially since I know that you did give up on me.”
“I have to say that the past few weeks of our getting to know each other again have been wonderful. It is as if we are dating again for the first time,” Beryl said. “And I like it.” She smiled again.
In the days since Beryl and the boys had moved in with Travis, the couple had slowly started to get to know each other once again. They had gone on a few dates just like they had when they first met. They also did family outings together with the boys on the weekends. Each Sunday they attended church services together.
Travis had been focused on continuing to excel at his job at the call center while keeping his janitorial job at night. Beryl still had not found work, so Travis was the one who had been supporting them all. Travis had been holding it down for his family for the first time in his life.
“I am so glad to hear you say that,” Travis said. He stood and said, “Boys, it’s time. Come on down.”
“It’s time, Daddy?” Cameron yelled.
“Yes, come on down,” Travis said.
Beryl’s eyebrows rose in question. “Time for what?”
Travis grinned. “You’ll see.”
They heard the boys barreling down the steps. When they came around the corner, each boy had a rose in his hand. They stood by their father’s legs as if at attention.
Travis moved closer to Beryl and stood right in front of her. He took both of her hands in his. “Beryl, I am so very thankful and blessed that God put you in my life the first time. I am even more thankful that the Lord has given me a second chance to get this whole thing right.”
He took a deep breath and smiled at her. Then he bent down and got on one knee.
“Travis?” Beryl asked in question. “What are you doing ?” A smile started to cover her face.
The boys followed suit and each did their best to get down on one knee and stay balanced. Both Travis and Beryl looked at them and laughed.
“Did you guys plan all this?” Beryl asked.
“Sort of,” Travis said. “But at this point the boys are ad-libbing.”
Beryl looked at both of her sons, who smiled up at their mom.
“You know people can go all around the world looking for something that is right under their nose. I learned over the past year that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. I wanted to find a woman who was loving and also supportive, someone who would be a helpmate as well as someone who was down to earth.”
Travis squeezed Beryl’s hands. “I wanted a woman who could hold her own, and want to be held when the time was right. And I’ve also found that I value a woman with motherly instincts.”
Travis dug in his pocket and pulled out a small black box. “It seems like I’ve been all around the world looking for what I already had in the first place.”
He opened the box. “Beryl, will you marry me, again?” Travis asked.
Beryl looked at the box and the ring it held. “Travis, what in the world?”
The box contained an engagement ring. It wasn’t the same ring Beryl had worn for years while married to Travis. Travis had gone out and purchased a new ring for her.
“I wanted to get you another ring. I wanted there to be a new ring for our new beginning,” Travis said.
“Travis, it is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful,” Beryl said.
“So how about it? Will you marry me?”
Without hesitation Beryl said, “Yes.”
Travis took the ring out of the ring box and placed it on her left ring finger. He then stood and they hugged and kissed. They didn’t stop kissing until they both felt tugging on their clothing.
“Mommy, Mommy,” Cameron said.
“Yes, baby?” Beryl said.
“This is for you.” Cameron handed his mother his rose. Then Jayden handed his mother the rose he held.
“Thank you, boys,” Beryl said. She gave each a tight hug. Beryl looked at the ring on her finger with admiration.
“I know it isn’t a rock like the one Darrin offered you, but ...”
“But nothing. Darrin is in the past. Thank the Lord I didn’t end up marrying that guy with his stalking self. I hope I never have to see him again.”
“If he takes heed to the talk I had with him, then he won’t come anywhere near you, the kids, or me ever.”
“I’m glad you were there to intervene. You had our best interest in mind,” Beryl said.
“Oh yeah. There is something I forgot to tell you about,” Travis said.
“What’s that?”
/> “Remember when I told you about the conversation I had with Darrin that day I met him at his office?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Beryl said.
“Well, when I was telling him to leave you alone, I also told him he was fired.”
“Fired?” Beryl asked.
“Yeah. I told him that because he got you fired first and because he also got me fired, he was now fired.” Travis chuckled. “You should have seen the look on his face.”
Beryl chuckled. “You are too funny.” Then as if thinking about what he said, she said, “What do you mean he got you fired?”
“When was the last time you had any red slushy ICEE?” Travis asked.
“Come to think about it, the last time I had one was—”
Travis cut her off saying, “At Alley’s.” Travis grinned and started dancing around as he sang the Alley the Alligator song. “Come on, kids, follow Alley. Jump and play and eat yippee.”
Beryl’s eyes grew wide. “That was you?”
Travis nodded his head. “Yep.”
Beryl busted out laughing and Travis laughed along with her. They laughed until they started crying. Then the boys started laughing with them also, even though it was clear the two had no idea what they were laughing about.
Travis and Beryl hugged each other. Then the boys joined the hug by holding on to their parents’ legs.
“I am such a blessed man,” Travis whispered into Beryl’s ear. Then he looked up toward heaven and said, “Thank you, Lord.”
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think about Travis’s situation in the beginning of the novel?
2. Why do you think Travis was unable to keep a steady job for so long?
3. Why do you think Travis was finally able to keep not just one but two jobs in the end?
4. What do you think about Travis’s idea to become a player and to find a woman?
5. What do you think Travis’s motivations were to become a player?
6. What are your thoughts on Travis’s relationship with Beryl in the beginning of the novel?
7. What kind of progression did you notice throughout the novel as far as Travis’s thoughts and actions?
8. Do you think that Travis will be able to continue to keep a steady job and take care of his family?
9. Do you think that in the end, Travis finally realized that the marrying kind of woman he had always been looking for was Beryl?
10. How do you feel about the way Travis handled Darrin?
11. Do you think Darrin will try to cause any more problems?
12. What are your thoughts about Darrin?
13. Do you think that Beryl now appreciates Travis for the man he is showing himself to be?
14. What was your most favorite thing about the novel?
15. What did you think about the ending of this novel?
16. Did you know that Travis and Beryl’s story began in Monique Miller’s previous novel titled Redemption Lake?
About the Author
Monique Miller is a native of North Carolina. She currently lives in the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina area with her family. For more information about the author, you can log on to www.authormoniquemiller.com or contact her at [email protected].
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The Marrying Kind Copyright © 2012 Monique Miller
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-6228-6044-9
This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living, or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.
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