Mountains Between Us
Page 25
Eliza rolled her eyes. “You’re not crashing anything. You could have gone to the wedding if you wanted. You were invited, after all.”
“Yes, but does anyone really want their ex-spouse at their wedding?”
“I suppose not,” Eliza said. “Well, let’s go, then.”
They got out of the car but didn’t actually have to go inside. Lila met them at the door, holding on to AJ’s hand as he danced to the music streaming out through the open doorway.
“Hi, Dad,” AJ said. “Want to come dance?” He let go of his grandmother’s hand and started twisting—literally doing the twist. “Look what Mom taught me,” he said with enough enthusiasm to make everyone laugh.
Henry crouched in front of his son. “That’s really great, AJ, but we’ll have to dance another time. Right now, I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise? What is it?”
“Well, if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it? Go get in the car. We’ll leave as soon as I say good-bye to your grandma.”
AJ twisted his way to the backseat of Henry’s car and buckled himself in. Henry turned his attention to Lila. “Thanks, Lila.”
“Oh, you’re welcome.” She turned to Eliza. “It’s nice to see you again, Eliza.”
“Likewise.”
Henry watched as Lila pulled Eliza into an embrace.
“You’re taking good care of him, I hope,” Lila said.
Eliza smiled. “Of course.”
“Dad!” AJ called from the car. “I want my surprise!”
“All right,” Henry said. “Let’s get going.”
* * *
Eliza wondered what Henry was up to. She could tell he was driving in circles, delaying their arrival at wherever it was they were headed. As they made the same right turn for the third time, AJ finally caught on.
“Dad,” he said, “we’ve been here before. Are you driving in circles?”
Henry laughed. “Maybe.”
AJ leaned back in his seat and let out a dramatized sigh. “Dad, come on!”
“Okay, okay, we’re almost there.”
They were in a part of Rose Creek Eliza had never seen before. It was a quaint neighborhood, modest homes with manicured yards and a friendly sidewalk lining the street. And then Eliza realized where they were going. Sure enough, Henry slowed the car and pulled into the driveway of a little white house with dark-blue shutters. The porch light was on, casting just enough light into the yard that Eliza could see a child-size soccer goal sitting in the grass.
“Whose house is this?” AJ asked.
“Why don’t we go inside and see?” Henry said.
Eliza followed a few steps behind, allowing Henry the opportunity to enjoy the moment with AJ. Henry unlocked the door, ignoring the constant questions AJ was volleying his way. “Why do you have a key, Dad? Did someone give you a key to their house? Do I know who lives here?”
Once inside, Henry looked down at AJ. “Why don’t you look around and see if you can figure out whose house this is?”
“Okay!” He dashed off down the hallway, looking for clues.
Eliza moved to Henry’s side and slipped her hand into his. “This is really amazing,” she said.
Henry smiled. “It’s been so hard not to tell you. But I wanted it to be a surprise for you too.”
Eliza looked at him. What was he trying to say?
“Dad! Dad!” AJ came running down the hallway at full speed. “There’s a room back here, and it’s full of Legos. They’re everywhere! It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! Come see!” He turned and raced back down the hall.
Henry laughed. “After you,” he said to Eliza.
She followed AJ down the hall and entered what could only be described as the most incredible Lego-themed bedroom she had ever seen. There were shelves full of Lego sets already built. There was a massive steamer trunk against the wall that was full of miscellaneous pieces. There was even a giant Lego head sitting on the dresser.
“Dad, look,” AJ said, holding up the giant head. “You put all the random pieces in the Lego head and it sorts them for you. Isn’t that cool?”
“It’s very cool,” Henry said.
“How did you do all of this?” Eliza whispered under her breath. “This is incredible.”
“Dawson Peterson outgrew his Lego collection,” Henry whispered back. “Most of this was his.”
“I still don’t think he’s made the connection,” Eliza said. “He doesn’t realize this is all his.”
“Hey, AJ,” Henry said. “What’s that say on the wall over there?” He pointed just above the bed. AJ turned. On the wall just above the headboard, in Lego-made letters, was AJ’s name.
“It says AJ.” He froze. He turned to his dad, eyes wide with excitement. “Is this my room? Dad! This is your house? This is so awesome!” Henry bent down just in time to catch his son, who was now throwing himself across the room and into his father’s arms.
“Now you can come stay with me any time you want,” Henry said. “You can come for the weekend or any other time. Would you like that?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Without any prompting or any music, AJ jumped onto his new bed and started to dance the twist.
“I think you’ve made him a little happy,” Eliza said.
Henry only smiled.
“You know,” Eliza said, “seeing you like this, being all happy loving your son, it makes me really, really love you.”
“Is that so?” Henry leaned down and whispered softly in her ear, “I have something for you too.” With a glance over his shoulder to make sure AJ was happily occupied with his Legos, Henry took Eliza by the hand and led her back down the hallway and into the dining room. On the table, there was a single sheet of paper. Henry picked it up and handed it to Eliza.
“What is this?” She skimmed over the paper’s contents.
“It’s a job description,” Henry said. “It’s a job offer, really—the job Dr. Adler is willing to give you if you want it.”
Eliza looked up, puzzled. “I don’t understand. This sounds a lot like the job I already have.”
“There is one small difference. See?” He pointed to the bottom of the page. “With this job, you don’t have to live on campus.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense. Dr. Adler knows she needs counselors on site at all times. Why would she let me live somewhere else?”
“She says you’re too good to lose. She’s willing to hire another counselor to cover the residency and let you shift into a supervisory role, still counseling and working with your students but helping others with theirs too. It’s a promotion, Eliza. It’s a good thing.”
“Of course, I see that. This second part—it lists the new responsibilities. I’m just trying to figure out how it will all work out. I mean—”
“Eliza, stop,” Henry said gently. He pulled the paper from her hands and set it back on the dining room table. “You’re kind of missing the point.”
“What?”
“Why would I care so much about you living off campus unless I wanted you to live here with me?”
“Henry? Are you . . . ?”
“Proposing? Yes, I am.” To Eliza’s surprise, Henry darted into the dark kitchen, then returned with a large stack of paper in his hand. Around the paper, there was a single piece of twine tied in a knot. Tied to the twine was a beautiful diamond ring. Holding the stack of paper, Henry dropped to one knee.
“I thought I knew what love was. I thought I’d found the kind of love that would make me happy. And I guess in some ways I had. But there was so much I didn’t know, so much I was afraid of knowing. Until I met you. You changed everything. You changed me. Will you marry me?”
Eliza smiled through her tears, nodding her head yes. “Of course; of course I will.” Henry stood up and handed her the stack of paper. While she held it, he untied the ring.
“Is this your book?”
“It’s a book,” Henry said. “A new one. I finished it onl
y last week. I’ve been writing . . . I feel like I haven’t really slept in weeks, but I wanted to finish it. It’s for you. This one I wrote for you.”
“Thank you, Henry.”
Henry grasped her hand and gently slid the ring onto her finger.
It was a perfect fit.
About the Author
Jenny Proctor writes from her home in the mountains of Western North Carolina. She loves being a mom, loves being a writer, and loves being a Mormon in the South. Jenny is convinced that the four basic food groups should be fruit, bread, cheese, and chocolate and consumes plenty of each, quite often together. When she isn’t writing, Jenny likes to run, swim, and bike (because it balances out the bread, cheese, and chocolate).
Mountains Between Us is a reflection of Jenny’s love for the Blue Ridge Mountains. She believes the mountains have a way of filling people and making them happy and hopes to share a little of their majesty and spirit through her words.
Jenny’s first book, The House at Rose Creekwas released in 2013. To learn more about Jenny, visit her website at www.jennyproctor.com.
Other Books by Jenny Proctor
The House at Rose Creek