by Tina Michele
“Not at all, Mom.”
“So, let’s ask it this way, when are you going to see her?” her mother asked.
“What? I’m not. I can’t. I’m here to make sure that everything is all right with you and give Gianna a break. Not to go see her.”
Once again, Gianna and her mother explained that everything was fine, and there really was no need for her to have come all that way for nothing. As it turned out, her mother didn’t even have another appointment for a month.
“That’s great, but I can’t.”
“Listen, Haven. It’s been like three years or something since y’all broke up and you still haven’t gotten over her. Sure, it’s probably a little unhealthy from a psychological standpoint. I guess the difference between you and someone else would be that y’all have been together in one way or another for more than twenty years.”
That much was true. There was hardly a memory from all those years that didn’t have Willa in it. “Yeah.”
“Great. So we’ve established that you’re going to see her. Now we need to spend the next thirty minutes squeezing the when out of you,” Gianna said.
“Maybe…or maybe I could just call her back and see what she says?” Haven said.
“Well, I’ll be damned. That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“Speak for yourself.”
* * *
“What are you doing?” Kyle asked Willa as she paced around, and he tightened the last piece of wire around the gatepost. They had finally finished the barbed fencing along the front half of the property and up to the gate. They was a relative term as Willa had been too distracted that morning waiting for Haven to arrive.
“Nothing. Why?”
“That much has been obvious all morning. Why are you pacing around like a nervous sow?”
“I’m waiting for…” Willa paused in mid-sentence when she saw a vehicle coming up the road.
“For who?” Kyle asked, following her line of sight to the vehicle. “Who is that?”
“I dunno yet. Could be Haven.”
“Haven? How? Uh, you said she lived in Colorado.”
“She does. But she just happens to be here visiting her mom. I found out yesterday when I called. She’d just landed. Curious coincidence, don’t ya think?”
“To say the least.” Kyle and Willa watched the car as it came and went past them. “I have so many questions I don’t even know where to start.”
“Maybe save them for later. I think this one’s her.” Willa spotted another vehicle going a bit slower than the first.
“But—”
“It is! Oh, shit. She actually came.”
“Oh, shit is right,” Kyle said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Willa smiled and waved as Haven pulled into the gravel drive and up to the gate. “Hey! You made it,” Willa said. Her heartbeat was quick and her stomach fluttered when Haven smiled back at her.
“I did. No way, is that Kyle?” Haven squealed.
“It is,” Willa said. Haven put the car in park and killed the engine as Willa opened her door.
“Oh shit!” Haven jumped out of the vehicle and rushed to him. He picked her up in his arms and spun her around. “What happened to you?” she said when he set her down. “What is all this? So manly.” She ran her fingers through his full beard.
“Me. What happened to you?” he asked.
He was no doubt talking about Haven’s dramatic physical changes, most noticeably her hair. It was in two wild pigtails with hair sticking out in every direction. Willa noticed that the ends were pink now, a new addition since camp. So was her makeup. A week on the river made no time or need for hair and makeup, so this was the first time Willa had seen Haven in “real life.” She wore a denim skirt, combat boots, a vintage camera tank, and some flowy kimono thing over it all. Willa was both intrigued and aroused by Haven’s curious ensemble and attitude, but it was her incredible smile that pulled her all the way in. Willa couldn’t believe that after all the time that had passed, Haven was here.
“Look at you. All cowboyed up and sexy as hell. Both of you,” Haven added as she looked Willa up and down.
Willa stood frozen under Haven’s gaze until she looked away. “Hey, Kyle, get the gate and I’ll pull her car in.” Willa pulled the car up to the house, while Kyle and Haven followed her on foot.
“So, Kyle says y’all were working hard running fence all morning. It looks great.”
“Yep. With that done we can open it up as another pasture for the sheep and goats.”
“Nooo. You’ve got goats? I love goats.”
“Well, we have to move them over anyway. We can just do it now, if you don’t mind?”
“No way. Don’t let me interrupt what you’re doing,” Haven said.
They headed off toward the barn as Kyle began giving Haven the brief overview of the property. “This is my place. Haven built hers over that way like some sort of secluded hermit.”
“I’m not a hermit. It’s more wooded and closer to the lake is all.”
“There’s a lake?” Haven’s eyes grew wide.
“Yeah. Over that way. You can kinda see my place through the trees. See?” Willa stood behind Haven and pointed over her shoulder toward a small speck of red in the distance.
“Wow. What is this, like a thousand acres?”
“Nope, about sixty. Kyle has the large animals over here, and I keep my chickens and the llamas over by my place.” Just then, Annie came hightailing it across the yard toward them. Willa whistled and called her over to introduce Haven. “This is my girl. Officially, the best dog I’ve ever had. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
“Hi, sweetie,” Haven said as she bent down to give Annie a few chin scratches.
“No getting rid of her now,” Kyle said.
“Awww. That’s okay.” Annie planted a wet nose kiss right on Haven’s lips.
When they reached the barn, Haven’s smile was already stretching from ear to ear. She looked like a wound-up top waiting to be let loose, and that was before she saw the kids that came running up behind their mothers. “This is Fanny, Clara, and Eunice and their babies, Bert, Reba, Jenny, and Benny. They’re twins.”
“Ooh! Can I pet them?” Haven was visibly shaking with excitement.
“Ha ha, yes.” Kyle opened the gate, picked up one of the babies, and set Bert into Haven’s arms.
The mothers circled around, waiting their turn for attention while the other kids jumped and pronked over each other. “I’m in heaven,” Haven said.
The mothers began to wander off to explore their new pasture, calling for their little ones as they left. Bert began to call after his mom, so Haven reluctantly set him down to rejoin his family.
“We can track them down again later, if you want,” Willa said.
“Hey, I need to ride up to the north side and bring down Harold. I’ll be back,” Kyle said.
“Harold?”
“He’s a bison. We rescued him from an animal entertainment company. You know, like ones that lease animals for commercials and stuff. We got him, two llamas—Fred and Ginger—and Leland.”
Haven laughed. “You’re killing me with these names. Who, or should I say what, is Leland?”
“Leland is an ass, literally. He’s a donkey. Those are the only four residents here without a real job.”
“You mean, food?” Haven raised her eyebrows and her smiled sunk into a frown.
“Well, yes and no. We’re a farm, after all. Here, let me show you.” Willa took Haven by the arm and led her off toward the rest of the property. “We have meat chickens and egg chickens. We breed sheep for their wool, and goats for meat and sale, although so far we’ve only used them for milk, cheese, and soap.”
Haven’s frown eased. “Well, we have to get it from somewhere.”
“Right.” Willa stopped them in front of a large hut flanked on each side by large wire pens. “These are my babies.” The chickens knew when she was coming and they poure
d out of the coop and came running from every direction.
Haven squealed in surprise. “Oh, shit!” she said as they circled around them like a hungry mob. Haven grabbed onto Willa’s shirtsleeve.
She laughed. “They won’t hurt you. Well, Rudolpho might; he’s a dick. You just poke him like this.” Willa grabbed a broom handle and demonstrated her practiced stick poke.
“They just run loose like this? Won’t something hurt them?”
“They’re in the coops at night, but during the day when we’re out working they have free range.” Willa winked, and Haven moaned. They both laughed. “Come here,” Willa said as she opened the door to the coop and led Haven inside. “Reach in there.”
Willa pointed to a hay-filled box, and Haven hesitated. “What?”
“It’s okay. Here.” Willa grabbed Haven’s hand and together they reached into the nest, and Haven pulled out two eggs.
“Oh, wow! They’re blue.”
“Look here,” Willa said, pulling two deep red colored eggs from the next nest.
“What?” Haven said.
Willa laughed. “Those are from an Ameracuana, and these are from a Copper Maran. Or as I call them, Carmelita and Barbara.”
“Do you eat them?”
“Every morning for breakfast. I’ll make them for you. Um, sometime. Whenever.” Willa could’ve smacked herself. She hadn’t meant to imply anything, and it probably could’ve been ignored if she didn’t trip all over her own tongue.
“I’d like that,” Haven said.
Chapter Seventeen
Haven stood inside the doorway of Willa’s home in stunned silence. She had been so overwhelmed from the moment she arrived at the farm, she didn’t think that it was possible to be more so. Every inch of her house was built and decorated to match Willa’s style and personality. Quirky knickknacks and antique farmhouse collectibles filled the large open room made up of the kitchen, dining, and living spaces. The tall ceiling exposed the trusses and open loft over the rear of the house that Haven guessed was the bedroom area. When Willa led her down the short hallway, her assumption was confirmed. There was also a large laundry room on one side and a bathroom on the other. Both were decorated with a similar rustic farm style as the rest of the house. “I cannot believe you built this all by hand.”
“Well, Kyle made most of it happen. He did the hard work. I just did a lot of holding and pointing.”
“I doubt that very much. This is incredible, Willa.”
“Thanks. It’s small, but it’s home. Great thing is that it’s portable and almost completely off-grid.”
Haven listened as Willa described the different features of her composting toilet and solar power. She was blown away by all of the hard work and engineering that went into constructing the house. “These would be amazing ideas to use if I ever find myself starting a camp like Valiant.” Willa had everything that they’d always talked about, even down to rescuing abused animals. As amazing as it all was, it hurt, and she was more than a little bit jealous.
“Do you think you’ll start your own camp one day?” Willa asked.
Haven could hope so, but in reality there was no way she could do it alone. “Not in Colorado, that’s for sure.”
“You could start it someplace else, like Florida?”
“As much as I like Florida, I don’t think I could make it work here either. I’d need someplace with mountains and rivers, trails for horses, lakes and creeks, and maybe a few less deadly predators.”
“I see.” Willa had set out a plate of cheese and snacks, and they both devoured it within minutes. “Stay for dinner? I’ll put some chicken on the grill and whip up a potato salad if you’re interested.”
“One of those chickens?” Haven asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Willa laughed. “No. Not this time.”
“Whew. Okay. I might need a warning for that. Or maybe not.” Haven couldn’t decide if she would want to know the chicken before she ate it.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time. Beer?”
“Yes. Thanks.” Next time? That was the second time Willa had made reference to visits beyond this one. Haven had let this one slide. “Would you like help?”
“Actually, I sort of made it all up last night after I talked to you on the phone so it would be ready if you said yes.”
Haven laughed. “Seriously?” Haven was flattered that Willa prepared everything based solely on the hope that Haven would accept.
“Yeah.”
“You’re so cute.” Haven stood up to her tiptoes and kissed Willa on the cheek.
Haven followed Willa outside to the grill and sat on the porch swing. She rocked and sipped her beer while she watched Willa master the grill like she had done so many times before. “It’s weird.”
“What’s weird?” Willa asked.
“Sitting here, with you there. It’s a little surreal.” So much so that Haven expected at any moment to be jolted awake and find herself passed out on the couch in her studio.
“I can understand that.”
Haven wondered how she had ended up here in this moment. She had dreamt so many times, in so many ways, the different fantasies of how she and Willa could find their way back to each other. There wasn’t a single one that any realist would’ve ever thought possible. Even Haven’s wild, escapist imagination never could’ve come up with the story she was living now. Haven pulled her legs up against her chest and rested her cheek on her knees. She looked up at Willa, who had moved closer to her. “I can’t believe it’s you.”
Willa sat down next to Haven. “It’s me.”
“I broke up with Bianca.” Haven had no idea why she’d said that. Willa hadn’t asked or even made mention of Bianca at all that day.
Willa sat back in the swing and sipped her beer. “Wow. Okay. I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be. It was inevitable. I probably should’ve done it months ago, like the first time she asked me to marry her.”
“The first time?”
“Yeah. She is persistent and doesn’t take no for an answer to anything. Thankfully, her attention span is short, and she’s easily distracted.”
“So she didn’t see it coming?”
“I don’t know. If she didn’t, she was the only one. She’s a great person and a talented agent, but…but she isn’t you.”
“Well, I am pretty unique. If I do say so myself.”
“Oh, and humble, too.” Haven laughed.
“She’s so humble,” Willa said in reference to an inside joke they had once shared about Janet Jackson.
“You remembered!”
“I remember a lot of things, Haven.”
Haven stared off into the distance, afraid to make eye contact with Willa. “Me too.”
“I remember holding you as you cried yourself to sleep after getting disqualified from the high school drill competition. I remember stealing those trading cards from the flea market because you didn’t have money to buy them,” Willa said.
“I remember the night I showed up at the bar to surprise you and the look on your face when you saw me from across the room.” Haven turned her head and looked at Willa.
“You were wearing a strapless black dress and knee-high leather boots. Who could forget that?”
“I tried.” Haven swallowed around the knot that tightened in her throat. “And when I couldn’t erase you, I did everything I could to cover you up with new people and places.”
“I don’t blame you. You had to do what was best for you.”
“And now I’m sitting on a porch swing, on a farm in Florida, with you. What the hell?” Haven blinked away the tears that had threatened and laughed instead.
“Maybe we should stop wondering how or why and just sit here and enjoy the mystery.”
“And beer.” Haven threw back the last swig in her bottle.
“And beer.”
* * *
Willa had lost track of both time and beverages. After dinner, Kyle, Haven, and Willa sat
around a large fire drinking and reminiscing about their childhood. They had been at it for hours when Kyle looked at his phone. “Holy shit. It’s two in the morning.”
“What?” Haven and Willa said at the same time.
“You heard me. And by the looks of the beer situation, it’s time for me to stumble home and pass out.”
Judging by the wasteland of empty cans around his chair, it was for the best. Willa had gone easier on the beverages, but she still had a decent buzz. Haven had switched over to water hours earlier in preparation for her drive home. “As long as you make it home and don’t pass out on the trail between here and there.”
“Oh, no. My car is over that way. I could just walk you home and then head out.”
Before Willa could protest, Kyle did. “Na, no…nope. I can do it myself. Me. I can walk home.”
“Don’t worry. We have a lot of practice. It’s usually much worse, for both of us.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
“Sure as eggs is eggs, as my daddy always says,” he said as he stumbled off into the dark.
“I ain’t never heard Daddy say any such thing,” Willa called after him, and Haven laughed.
“Although I do recall your dad offering up some equally interesting things,” Haven said.
Just as Willa was about to agree, they heard a loud hoot and a thump from the trail. “Oh, good grief. Kyle?”
“Yup. I’m good. Tripped over this log while I was having a piss. It’s all good.”
“Good Lord. Should we get him a flashlight before he walks off into a swamp or something?” Haven stood and squinted into the night where he had stumbled away.
“Lucky for him there ain’t no swamps between here and there, but I reckon I can go find him a flashlight.” Haven followed Willa into the house. “I’ll be right back. He better not lose this.” Willa waved the large red Maglite.
“Okay. I’ll be here.” Haven dropped herself into the couch.
“Good.”
Willa hadn’t been gone for longer than five minutes, but when she got back Haven had slipped off her boots and curled her feet up onto the couch. Her back was against the arm, and her head rested against the back cushion. Haven’s eyes were closed and she appeared to be sound asleep. Willa stood motionless for several minutes, content to watch her sleep. In that moment, she fit perfectly right there in Willa’s home and in her life.