Page 54 of Lovingly Restored

“Hold these.” She dumps everything into my arms.

She joins Mummo at an impressive display of a backyard pond. They ooh and aah at the huge koi, laughing together when a golden yellow one jumps to snag a bug from the surface and splashes them. Aren’t they two peas in a pod? Ashlyn and I could work together on the yard. I imagine us toiling away, lovingly restoring the space into its former glory. Enjoying the shade of the trees that have grown on the property for a hundred years. I turn away from the women, a tightness in my throat as I swallow the unexpected wave of emotion.

When our supplies are tucked into the truck bed, we take a meandering drive home. Mummo snores softly behind us, the vibration of the truck having lulled her to sleep. We pass organic farms and entrances to vineyards. Tractors and groups of road cyclists. I divide my attention between the road and the happy woman next to me. She’s beaming out the windshield, and if she asked me to take her on a road trip that solely consisted of visits to garden centres, I’d gladly do it. In a heartbeat.

“I loved that place, Isaac. Thank you.”

I shrug, “No problem, babe.”

“I want to tell you something.”

I glance over at her as swallow hard, “Okay…”

“The night we met. I told you I was…” a nervous laugh erupts from her mouth, “a horticulturist.”

She dissolves into a fit of laughter. It starts out loud but turns into a wheeze, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

She draws a breath. “What was I thinking? Why would I say that?”

I’m laughing with her now. Even though it’s not funny, it’s contagious and damn endearing. All I can do is struggle to breathe and keep my eyes on the road.

“Ash,” I say, sides aching, “did you think I forgot that?”

She looks horrified, sobering for a second. “Oh my god! You must have thought I was so weird. I’m so embarrassed!”

I reach over and rustle her hair. “I remembered it the day after I moved in. Why’d did you say it?”

She puffs out her cheeks and exhales. “I don’t want to be a nurse anymore,” she blurts, covering her mouth with her hands.

Ashlyn is amazing at her job, but her admission doesn’t completely surprise me. There’s no rule you have to stay in the same career your whole life, especially one as complex as nursing. Hell, I’m going from commercial construction to running my own small business.

“Ashlyn. Gardening, horticulture, plants. That’s obviously your passion. You lit up like a Christmas tree in there.”

“My family doesn’t get it. They think it’s a bad move to leave a secure job for something so…changeable.”

I empathize with her so hard. When it comes to restoration work, there’s no guarantee of the next job. My gut clenches. Does she want to leave? To quit now? I want her to be happy…but I don’t want her to go. I can’t bring myself to ask.

“When I was a boy, Pappa had an old truck with a full bench seat. I used to sit between him and Mummo on drives.”

Ashlyn smiles over at me.

“I’m thinking it’s too bad they did away with that style of seating, wish you could slide over here with me so I could put my arm around you.”

“You old softie,” she says.

“Maybe an old soul. I don’t think very many people get as lucky in love as they did.”

I didn’t mean to turn the conversation so deep, but the thought of Ashlyn leaving has me feeling nostalgic. The whole outing awakened a spot in my soul that was dormant.

“You don’t think so?” Ashlyn asks.

“You never hear people say, ‘my marriage was average’. It’s either amazing, like Mummo and Pappa, or total shit, like my parents.” I rub the back of my neck.

“Do you remember anything from the time they split up?”

I shake my head. “No, I was way too little.”

“Do you want to know what I think?”

---