Page 110 of Finding Home

“When did you get this?”

“The Friday after the wedding. It made me think of you. I know how special the train trellis is for you and that you go there to be with Evan. I guess I just wanted you to have it, so that you could visit him anytime even if you couldn't be there.” She left out the other reason she gave it to him. So he could have a piece of her, even if he wasn’t aware.

The climb they made that day was so much more than just a walk. That night she would open her body to him, fully, but that morning under the canopy of lush green leaves as they climbed each stone step, she’d opened her heart to him entirely. This little piece of them would remain with him. He may not know it, but she did and that was good enough for Elle.

“If this is goodbye…” he said, placing the photo on the counter turning to face her. His grey eyes capturing her. “…I don’t want my last me…me…me….memory of you to be the Greenway. I want it to be this. I wa…wa…want it to be to…to…to…touching you….ki…ki…kissing you. I wa…wa…wa…want it to be of us being us.”

“Ok.”

“Ok.” he said, undressing. The normally devious lift of his lips was replaced with sorrowful want.

She should have said no. That would have been the kinder thing to do. She couldn’t deny herself this last memory, which would painfully and sweetly idle in her heart.

His strong hands cupped her face as those eyes, shaded darker with sadness, drank her in. Those playful and ravenous kisses were replaced with savoring ones, as if she was the last drop of food he’d ever have. He took her lower lip, the one she bit so often, claiming it as his own. His hands explored her, their tender touch mapping every inch of her as if committing to memory her peaks, valleys, and paths so he would never forget how to traverse the terrain of her body.

Their eyes never left one another the entire time. The sex was an achingly slow, neither seeming to want the moment to end but the quickening of their breaths signaled that their bodies were coming to their climax, to their end. As they finished, Elle pressed against the tiled wall and Clayton holding her tight, she burrowed her head into his neck, allowing a few tears to sneak out.

“Thank you, for everything,” he murmured, pressing his lips to her neck.

“Thank you for everything,” Elle croaked.

Later Elle stood, Fitz in her arms, staring at the farmhouse as Clayton and Viet loaded the luggage in the trunk of her rental. Willa stood beside Elle, gently squeezing her shoulder. Athunkof the trunk closing and murmured “Nice meeting you. Safe travels” between Clayton and Viet made Elle squeeze Fitz just a little harder. Shoes crunched on gravel until those eyes that Elle could swim in for days were staring at her. There was a pat on her shoulder as Willa told her she’d wait in the car.

Elle swallowed the choking lump and with a final kiss to Fitz’s head, handed him over. “Goodbye, Clayton.”

He accepted the pug with a sad smile. “Goodbye, Elle.”

She turned but stopped at the touch of his hand.

“I will miss you.” Clayton placed a trembling kiss on her forehead.

With a matching sad smile, Elle pivoted and walked to her rental, got in, and drove away.

After a short drive in uncomfortable silence, they pulled into Janet and Pete’s driveway.

“Lady Elle!” Jerome waved from the front porch as Elle stepped out of the car. “Viscount Viet and Queen Willa!” A reckless smile was sketched on his face as he jumped down the stairs. He swung Elle up in a bear hug.

The yellow cottage’s living room was once again transformed into their celebratory dining room. A glass vase with purple carnations sat in the center of the temporary table, surrounded by tiny purple starfish shaped confetti thrown around the table. A large banner hung from the ceiling sayingSee You Soon, Elle.

Her heart stuttered at that message. It wasn’t “Goodbye,” it was “See You Soon.” She had told her uncle that it wouldn’t be like before. This time when she left Perry, she would come back. She’d come back home to them. This banner told her that they believed her.

Elle sat at the table between her uncle and cousin. Nobody asked about Clayton. There had been a hushed conversation between Viet and Tobey when they first arrived and some stolen glances between Pete and Viet as they sat. Elle had only toldher friends that Clayton wouldn’t be joining them for breakfast, leaving it at that.

Breakfast wasn’t a sad event. There was lots of laughter, wistful chatter about Elle’s trip, discussion of plans for Christmas, and asking what Elle would do when she got back home.

“I’ll unpack,” she said flatly, shifting in her seat.

“Nothing you’re itching to do when you get back?” A quizzical frown pulled at the corner of Janet’s lips.

She said nothing.

“Brunch.” Willa interjected. “The brunch game in the LBC is tight. We go a few times a month.”

“Yoga at the Bluff and running along the beach path,” Viet added, squeezing her shoulder.

She wasn’t sure if her friends filled in the blanks for her aunt or to remind Elle of what she enjoyed from her life there.

“All those things,” Elle confirmed, then took a long drink of her tea, allowing the hot liquid to push that lump back down.

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