Page 99 of Born to Make You Smile

“Being with you makes me so happy. Every day, I wake up with a smile, knowing you’re in my life. Knowing you’re all mine.”

I wrapped my arms around him with a smile, inhaling every delicious molecule of him. However, my brain began to wander, and questions about our future stirred. “Can I ask you something?”

He nodded. “Anything, love.”

I took a deep breath. “Do you see yourself ever, you know, going through it all again? Marriage. Kids. Or are you done with that phase of your life?”

He frowned. “At my age, the idea of having more children...it’s quite complicated.”

I nodded, pressing my lips together, my chest deflating. “I understand. I had a feeling that was the case.”

“However,” he said with an inhale, “if someone had asked me a year ago, I’d have said that I’m absolutely done. Withoutquestion. But now, with you, I can picture it, Grace. Clearly in fact. And I want that for us. If it’s something you desire.”

My chest swelled, so pleased that it was a possibility for us. “Yes.” My lips turned up into a smile. “In time of course.”

He pulled me close, planting a kiss on my head, then gazed at me. The sparkle in his eyes was so heavenly, it filled me with bliss.

***

About a half hour later, Eddie messaged me to tell me he wanted to talk.

When I entered my foyer, the coldness of the house struck my body like a hammer. I knew right away there was going to be bad news. Perhaps a part that needed fixing. I’d have to order the part, pray it wouldn’t cost me my life, and that it would come in soon so I didn’t have to sleep bundled up in sweaters and blankets for much longer.

“Ms. Mayer,” said Eddie, his face sunken.

“By the way, you can call me Grace.”

“Grace. Um, so I had a look at your furnace. It was working overtime with the cold and drafts so it couldn’t keep up. And it’s really old. If it was newer, I’d consider fixing it, but you really need to replace the unit.”

“Replace?” My ears rang so loud I could barely hear him.

“Yeah.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“How much is a new unit?”

“I could probably source one for around four grand.”

“Four grand?” I shouted, then took a deep breath to calm down.

“Plus installation. So it’ll be five grand total. I won’t charge you for today.”

I squeezed my eyes together, praying this was a bad dream. “Shit.”

“Sorry, Grace, that’s the best I can do. If we order the unit by today, it should come in a week. I’ll have it ready to go for Monday. And you can pay me then.”

I let out a bleak sigh. Where was I going to get five grand by Monday?

“Okay, Eddie,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “Order it.”

“Sure?”

“Yes. One hundred percent. I’ll have your money for Monday. Cash.”

***

“I can give you six grand for this,” said Marcelo, holding the bracelet up against his loops. “You have maybe three carats of diamonds here. Good quality diamonds, good color and clarity. The band. Fourteen karat white gold. This is a very nice piece, Grace. Sure you want to sell?”

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