'Is your house here?'
'The next one on the right.'
The house was several hundred feet from the road and the drive was
long and narrow, flanked by pines. When the house came into view
she looked at it with delight—dark wood, white-painted window
frames, a big stone chimney covered with ivy. A house out of a
picture.
He opened the door and she climbed out of the car.
He smiled down at her. 'What do you think?'
'It's beautiful.'
'Wait till everything is green. I saw colour photos. Look at those
azaleas over there. It'll be quite a scene when they're all in bloom.' He
took a key from his pocket and opened the heavy front door.
'Welcome home,' he said, waving her in with an expansive gesture.
They entered a small hall with an open archway leading into a large
living room empty of furniture.
Linden walked through the rooms in a daze. It was a house with
character and warmth and atmosphere, even without furniture. It was
at least a hundred years old and maintained meticulously. There were
gleaming oak floors, a field stone fire place in the living room, and a
flagstone terrace overlooking the Naugatuck river. Woods stretched
out beyond the river and the house was surrounded by large pines and
firs. The kitchen was done in natural-stained oak and the modern
appliances were all craftily hidden behind oak panelling. There were
several bedrooms with luxuriously soft carpeting, all empty.
'I ordered a bed and mattress,' said Justin. 'It should be delivered
tomorrow.'
'Where will we stay tonight?'
He rested his arms lightly on her shoulders and smiled into her eyes.
'Well, as I see it, we have two choices. One: We can check into a
motel. Two: We can go to the sports shop and buy a couple of
sleeping bags. We can zip them together and camp out on the floor in
here.' He moved his foot over the carpeting. 'This looks nice and
thick. Should be all right for one night.' He looked at her expectantly.
'What do you think?'
She stood on tip toe and put her mouth against his. 'Going to a motel
is so tacky,' she whispered against his lips. 'I want to stay here.'
'I hoped you'd say that.' He kissed her, then drew away, laughing
lights in his eyes. 'You haven't seen everything yet.'
She clung to him. 'I don't care.' She felt wanton, light-headed. She
wanted to make love. Now. Here. On the floor.
'Oh, but you will.' He took her hand and led her through another
door. 'How do you like this?'
It was a study lined with empty bookshelves. Near the window stood
a large battered wooden desk on top of which sat, incongruously, a
sleek, shiny computer unit with a small television-type screen.
Linden gave a soft laugh. 'You weren't kidding, were you? About a
computer?'
'A word processor. This one is specifically programmed for that. See,
this is the printer. Marvellous machine. I'll teach you how it works.'
'No thanks. Fancy machines like that are not for me.'
He was grinning at her. 'All you need is a few manual paint brushes
and some pots of paint, right?'
'You've got it.'
Justin reached for a door in one of the walls. 'See this door? Was just
put in a couple of days ago.'
'There's another room?'
He nodded. 'It has its entrance off the hall. You probably didn't see it.
It's built a little funny, this house. I thought it would be more
practical to have a door between these two rooms.' He swung the
door open, went in ahead of her and turned to face her. 'For you,' he
said, watching her.
The bright light made her blink a few times. Another empty room.
White walls. Sunlight streaming in through two large glass sliding
doors with a view of the river. On the other side the room had a
slanting roof with a large skylight built into it.
She couldn't believe her eyes. An indescribable feeling of elation
filled her. 'A studio,' she whispered. 'A real studio!' Her eyes filled
with tears. 'You were thinking of me when you bought this house,
weren't you?'
He smiled crookedly. 'That's why I bought it. Because it had this
room. There were other houses, some nicer than this one, but none
had a room like this.'
'Oh, Justin! I don't know what to say!' She was laughing while tears
rolled down her face. She threw her arms around him and pressed her
face against his shoulder. 'It's the nicest present I've ever had.'
'I thought that was the cheddar I got you from Penang.'
'You just managed to top it.' She kissed him fiercely. 'You're
wonderful you know. And to think I nearly let you go!'
'I wasn't about to let you go, though.'
'I'm sorry I was so awful.'
'I'll forgive you.'
She sighed. 'I'm glad. Justin?'
'What?'
'There's something I haven't told you yet.'
'What?'
She looked into his eyes and swallowed hard. 'I love you. I love you
very much.'
His arms tightened around her and he put his face against hers. 'I love
you too, Linden,' he said huskily.
For a while they stood silently in each other's arms.
'What are we going to do about us?' he asked at last. 'Do you want to
live together for ever and ever, or get married?'
She gave a low laugh. 'We can do both.'
He grinned. 'You're absolutely right.'
'It might be better for the children.'
'True. How many?'
She smiled brightly. 'Oh, five at least.'
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