Magic Minutes

by Jennifer Millikin

  I glance at Mom, and her eyes flicker with excitement. “And you know this for certain?” I ask, looking back at Sky.

  “Yes,” Sky chuckles, “but not because I’m a mind reader. Mom and I talked about it last month, after you and Matt saw Noah in the airport. She didn’t think Matt was right for you, and she wanted you to call Noah and ask him to come home and be with you.”

  I look at my mom, astonished. She touches my hand, this time able to squeeze it harder.

  “You should call Noah’s mom, Ember,” Sky says. “Figure out when he’s leaving, or if he’s already gone. Do something crazy and romantic and stop putting other people’s happiness in front of your own. Go after what you want.” She forms a fist and shakes it between us. “Take it. Make it yours.”

  “You should be a motivational speaker.” I laugh, but excitement builds inside me.

  My gaze swings to my mom. Her chin lifts and lowers, a micro movement, but it’s enough. I see her agreement.

  “Okay,” I stand, releasing my grip on my mom’s hand. “I’ll call Johanna.”

  I step out of the room and pull my phone from my purse with shaky fingers. Weirdly enough, Johanna has been coming to my yoga classes for the past year. My shock over seeing her eventually faded and she became a welcome sight in my classes. One day, she hugged me when she said hello. Now that’s how she always greets me. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t feel comfortable calling her.

  The phone rings and rings, then goes to voicemail. Defeated, I go back into my mom’s room.

  “She didn’t answer.” I chew my bottom lip and stare at the phone in my hand, willing it to light up with her return call.

  “Why don’t you go to her house?” Sky asks.

  I narrow my eyes at her. “What’s going on? You don’t even like Noah.”

  She shakes her head. “Not true. I didn’t like how broken-hearted you were, and I didn’t like him coming back when his brother got married and breaking your heart all over again. But, I do like him for you. In your heart you’ve never been able to let him go, even though you do it physically.” She stands up and comes to me, resting her hands on my shoulders. “I just want you to be happy, Ember. I want you to put yourself first.”

  From the hospital bed Mom makes a garbled sound and we both rush to her. She tries it again, and another sound comes out. Over and over she does it, until the sounds turn into pieces of words. Sky brings her a sip of water, and she keeps going. Eventually she manages a short, hushed sentence.

  “I love you girls.”

  “Mom, we love you too,” Sky says through her tears.

  I laugh even though I’m crying. My despair over Noah is overshadowed, until my phone rings from the counter. I peer over, reading the name flashing across the screen.

  “It’s her.” I gulp, looking at my mom. Mom points to the phone insistently. I answer and bring the phone to my ear. “Johanna, hi.”

  Her elegant, smooth voice comes through. “Ember? Is everything okay? How is your mother?”

  “She woke up.” I smile at my mom. “She’s doing great.”

  Just then the doctor walks in. Sky greets him and gently pushes me out of the room. “I got this,” she whispers. “You take care of you.”

  I nod and walk a few feet down the hall, away from the flurry of activity at the nurses station.

  “Sorry, Johanna, I had to leave the room I was in.” I pause to rub my forehead with my hand. “Listen, I know this might sound crazy, but I want to know when Noah is leaving today, if he already left, what airline he’s on, or if I should even be asking. I know he’s going back to Atlanta, and he’s going to play again, but—”

  “Ember, slow down.”

  I take a deep breath, nodding even though she can’t see me.

  “First off, Noah and Miranda’s plane took off thirty minutes ago. They caught an earlier flight. Second, what do you mean he’s going to play again? He quit.”

  I’m silent, staring at an indentation in the wall, trying to wrap my mind around Johanna’s words. He quit?

  “He told me he’s rehabbing with the team, and he’s going to play again.”

  “Oh, dear.” Johanna lets out a heavy breath. “That’s not true, Ember. I think,” she pauses, the line is quiet, then she says, “I think maybe he was letting you think that, so you could be happy with Matt. We had a conversation about sacrifice and selflessness. It’s his way of letting you go.”

  “No,” I whisper. The indentation on the wall becomes watery, my vision swirls, and the tears flow quickly. He can’t let me go. He can’t. Not my Noah. Not the boy who pulled me from a lake and peered into my soul.

  This crack in my heart is the worst of them all. I could patch the others, because I was letting him go to pursue a dream. But this… This is misery.

  “I’m sorry,” Johanna says.

  “I need to go,” I whisper, and hang up.

  There is no place for me to hide. No place for me to break down. I want to rage. Wail. Scream. Pound my fists on the wall.

  Squeezing my eyes and hands shut tight, I breathe in and out. In and out. My mind races even in my attempts to calm myself. Thoughts hurtle through my brain, colliding.

  For years I’ve been holding on to the most precious parts of Noah. I always let him go chase his dream, but he never really left. He was in my heart. In my mind. He was softness at the end of my fingertips when I closed my eyes. A brush of lips against my temple when I let myself remember.

  I’ve been the one letting him go. Not this time. That makes it so much worse. He quit the team. He’s going back to Atlanta.

  He let me go.

  33

  Noah

  A mess. That’s what I am.

  Miranda might kill me. I think she has reached the end of her rope with me. Doesn’t matter anyway. Soon she’ll be free from my crutches and ineptness.

  I’ll have a life now. One that doesn’t include soccer. I don’t know what that looks like, or means, but I’ll have it.

  Miranda must be sick of driving me around. She didn’t complain when she loaded my suitcase into the back of the car, or shoved my crutches alongside our bags. She’s quiet on our drive now. I can’t blame her. She’s probably thinking about all the things she needs to do. She has a life too.

  My good leg bounces anxiously as I check my watch. We should be somewhere over Texas by now, maybe even Louisiana.

  “Thirty more minutes, Noah.” Miranda has the tone of a parent talking to a child.

  I laugh. I don’t know if that’s the correct response, but my insides are jumbled and I can’t manage a sentence right now.

  My heart was screaming at me long before the crackling voice came on the airport intercom system and announced our delayed flight. While Miranda went to the restroom I walked up to the counter and canceled our flight.

  My heart had it right all along. I had to go back to Northmount. Ember needed me to fight for us.

  The drive is excruciatingly long. At least, it feels that way. LA traffic made me want to pull my hair out. I tipped my head back, closed my eyes, and once we were through it I spent the remainder of the drive picturing Ember’s face. Finally, we make the turn onto Ember’s street. Miranda slows to a stop and parks.

  “Noah,” she starts, but pauses.

  “What?”

  Her lips twist, like she wants to say something. She’s probably going to tell me I’m crazy, that Matt is still in the picture, that none of this makes any sense. All things I already know.

  “Nothing,” she says, shaking her head slowly. “Good luck.”

  I nod to her and reach back, pulling my crutches with me as I get out. Miranda drives away, and I realize she didn’t ask if she should stay or go. I make my way to the front door and knock. Nobody answers. There aren’t any cars in the driveway either. I could call Ember, but I’d rather see her. I need to see her face when I talk, watch her eyes, touch her soft skin.

  I wait. The afternoon sun pours onto the front porch, and soo
n my shirt is sticking to me. I get up, go around the front of the house, and reach over and unlatch the gate. I caught enough of a glimpse of the backyard to know there will be shade. I’m going to be here as long as it takes.

  There’s a bench in the backyard, but it’s in the sun. It takes some work, but I manage to get myself settled under a large tree in the corner of the yard.

  I wait. And I wait. I tip my head back against the trunk and close my eyes.

  Eventually I hear voices, but it’s hard to know if they’re coming from Ember’s house or the neighbor’s. Suddenly the back door opens and Sky walks out. She sees me, jumps, and throws a hand over her mouth.

  “Ember?” she yells, her voice shaking. “Can you come out here please?”

  There’s a second voice from inside the house but I can’t make out the words.

  Sky keeps her eyes trained on me. She looks…happy? Not exactly the response I was expecting from her.

  Ember appears on the porch beside her sister, but she doesn’t see me. She’s looking at Sky. “What?”

  Sky points and Ember’s gaze follows her finger. To me.

  She gasps and hurries down the porch steps. I roll onto my side, reaching for my crutches.

  “Don’t,” Ember yells, laughing.

  I ignore her. This bum leg isn’t going to stop me from getting up and holding her in my arms.

  She’s reached me by the time I make it up on my feet. Her lips part to speak, but I don’t let her. My hands hold her cheeks and I silence her words with my mouth. She clings to my waist, pressing herself against me. Her scent surrounds me, engulfing my senses. I inhale every essence of Ember. My crutches fall to the ground with a thud, and I find I can stand if I keep most of my weight on my other foot.

  Ember pulls away and looks to the ground, cupping her mouth. I stop her when she bends to pick them up.

  “Don’t worry about those. I have to tell you something.”

  “I know you quit,” she blurts, then laughs. “I thought you were supposed to be in Atlanta right now. Why did you come back?”

  I tip my head and keep my gaze on hers. She is the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. “I’m not sacrificial like you. I can’t bow out because Matt proposed and you’ve moved on. That’s what I was trying to do, but I couldn’t. I can’t go back to Atlanta and let you marry him.” I know I’m rambling, but the words keep coming. “I’ve never stopped loving you, Ember. Not at all. I’m grateful you encouraged me to pursue my dream, but it took me a long time to realize how easily a dream can become a delusion.” My thumb grazes her jaw. She watches me through her thick eyelashes, her features soft. “Sometimes the heart knows better than the mind. My heart has never left you, Ember. We are good and right. Don’t marry him. Marry me.”

  Shock widens her eyes, rearranging the softness of her features. Her lower lip drops, her mouth forming an o.

  I tip my head back and laugh into the late afternoon air. I wasn’t planning a proposal, but now that I’ve said it, I can’t think of anything better.

  If I’ve ever thought I’ve seen Ember happy, I was wrong. She’s beaming, her eyes luminous, like her insides are aglow.

  Leaning forward, she places both hands on my cheeks, and kisses me. Her lips on mine is a feeling I never want to be without. And I don’t plan to.

  She pulls away with a smile. “I broke up with him. That’s what I was calling to tell you last night, but you said you were going back to Atlanta and I froze.” She leans back in, rubbing the tip of her nose against mine. “We could’ve saved ourselves all this heartache.”

  Turning my head, I trail kisses from her cheek to her jaw. “True. But I would’ve missed the opportunity to sit in your backyard for hours and propose to you.” My kisses move to the space under her ear. “You haven’t answered me,” I murmur. “Yes or no?”

  Ember leans back slightly, bringing a finger to her chin and pretending to think. I wiggle the fingers I have wrapped around her waist and she laughs and squirms.

  “Of course I’ll marry you, Noah.”

  Her hair falls around her shoulders, and I can’t believe she’s mine. The girl who swam into my world and shook it to it’s very core, is going to be mine forever.

  “Come on,” she says, reaching down for my crutches and handing them to me. Ember places a hand on my back as we walk across the yard, sneaking glances at one another and grinning like fools.

  This is it. This is where I belong.

  Ember pauses on the bottom step and wraps her arms around my waist, burying her face in my neck. “Welcome home.”

  Epilogue

  Ember

  Present Day

  “Almost time, love.” Dayton’s blond head peeks around the door. When he sees I’m dressed, he straightens and walks in. “I’m not even going to tell you you’re beautiful. You already know it.”

  I laugh and shake my head.

  “Sky did my make-up.” I smile at my sister. She leans against the counter, looking into the mirror and finishing the last of her own make-up. She meets my eyes and winks at me.

  I look back to Dayton. “Is he ready?” Nervously I pat my hair.

  “Brody’s checking on him. Honestly, how much time does the guy need to spend on his hair? Never mind, I took thirty minutes.” He waves his hand around his head.

  “And it looks amazing.” I smile at him.

  “Yes, well. I was blessed with a good head of hair. The nose however…” He pushes a pointer finger against the tip of his nose, making himself into a pig. “It’s a tad bit upturned.”

  I laugh so hard I have to hold my stomach.

  “Perfect,” Dayton announces, letting go of his nose. “You needed a little color on your cheeks. No offense, Sky.”

  “Dayton,” I say softly. I’m feeling emotional. “You always know what I need.”

  “Baby, a bat would know you needed some color. Your nerves are washing you out.”

  Playfully, I deliver a soft punch to his shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

  He takes me in his arms and I thank God I stepped foot into that thrift shop on a blustery January day.

  “Am I really supposed to let you go today?” Dayton lays a cheek on top of my head. “Let’s run away together. We could have one of those common law marriages and be anything but common.”

  I know I’m supposed to laugh, but instead a tear slips down my cheek. Then a couple more. I sniff and swipe at them. Dayton pulls back and frowns. “Don’t ruin your make-up.”

  “Please don’t ruin it,” Sky says, depositing the lip color we’re both wearing into her small purse.

  “Water-proof. Long-wearing. Whatever.” I wave my hand around. “Something like that.”

  “Let’s not test it, okay?” Dayton cups my cheeks and grins. “Time to get you out there and married, so you can start adding to an already overpopulated earth.”

  “Dayton!” I yell, half in surprise and half in defense of any yet-to-be created child of mine. He tips back his head and laughs. I roll my eyes. “You’re insane.”

  “Maybe,” he says, dropping his hands, only to weave his fingers through my right hand. There’s a quick knock on the door, and through it comes Brody’s voice. “He’s waiting for you.”

  I take a deep breath, nerves blossoming in my stomach. They are the best kind of nerves—excited, tense, bubbly. Like my core is effervescent.

  Dayton tugs my hand gently, and I follow him to the door. “Time to give you away.”

  My entire life I never spent any time wondering who would give me away at my wedding, and I didn’t spend any time thinking about it after Noah proposed.

  The three of us leave the little dressing room at Sutton House. “How do you think mom’s handling things out there?” I ask Sky, biting my lip and looking out one of the large windows facing the courtyard. From this vantage point, I can’t see much.

  “We’re going to have some awkward Christmases, though I think her new beau will soften the blow.” Sky rolls her eyes. A f
ew months ago my mom met someone online. We’re uncertain, but she’s all in. I think her time in the hospital and recovering forced her to take her life more seriously, and finally get over poem guy.

  Noah’s dad… I never would’ve guessed. I haven’t told Noah about their journal. It’s too personal to be shared.

  We stop before the double doors that lead outside. Dayton pulls one open a few inches and peeks. He straightens, smiling, and lets the door fall softly back into its place.

  “I didn’t know it was possible.” He shakes his head, eyebrows raised.

  “What?”

  “Soccer stud even makes a monkey suit look good. Too bad he isn’t gay.” Dayton sighs dramatically and throws the back of his hand against his forehead.

  “Mine.” I point at my chest and pretend to growl.

  “Yes, I know, and I’m about to give you to him. Then he’s going to take you away for a year before he takes his rightful place as the grape heir.” Dayton laughs at his own joke.

  “Yep,” I grin, trying not to jump up and down. One year abroad. We’re starting in Costa Rica and working our way through South America. From there we’ll head over to Africa, and then on to Greece and up through Europe.

  “Postcards,” Dayton reminds me with a wagging finger. “I want things done the old-fashioned way.”

  “Yes, yes.” I agree quickly. I point between Sky and Dayton. “You two better take good care of the studio while I’m gone.”

  “We will,” Sky says reassuringly.

  “Everything will be fine,” Dayton says. “I have a little bit of experience running a business, you know.”

  “Sorry, sorry.” I hold up my palms.

  Two Sutton House employees come around the corner carrying our bouquets. One of them reaches for the door handles while the other extends the flowers.

  I turn to Sky, touching her shoulder. “You first.”

  A deep breath fills her chest and her smile wavers. She steps forward, taking the smaller of the two bouquets and nodding at the employee holding the door handles. He pulls them back and Sky steps into the opening. Music starts, she casts one more glance at me, then steps from view.