Page 17 of Wishes at Water's Edge
“I know!”
Dean and Hazel began to wander the store, looking intently at all of the beautiful rings. Many of them were big and flashy, but when he saw those, Dean realized that Hazel had been right. He could see that those didn’t match Noelle’s more delicate style, and he found himself looking for simpler rings.
He was soon completely lost in the process, becoming excited and a little overwhelmed by all of the options. After staring for a few moments at a ring that alternated diamonds and sapphires, he called to Hazel.
“Hey! What do you think of?—”
His voice trailed off when he saw Hazel’s expression. She wasn’t looking down at any of the rings, and instead she was staring into space with a troubled frown. It was clear that she was lost in her own world, and that something in her world wasn’t right.
“Hazel, what’s wrong?”
She turned to him, looking startled, as if she’d just noticed him speaking to her. “Nothing’s the matter.” Her expression quickly shifted into a cheerful one. “Which one did you want to show me?”
“Oh no.” He shook his head. “You don’t get to use those mom skills on me, I know you too well. Something’s the matter. Come on, tell me what it is.”
Hazel hesitated and then shook her head. “Now isn’t the time, Dean. I don’t want to spoil your moment.”
“Nonsense. You’re not spoiling my moment at all. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Hazel sighed. “It’s just—I mean, I’m sure none of it is a big deal at all and I’m just overthinking, but Jacob has been acting oddly lately.”
“Yeah?” Dean leaned against the wall, waiting for her to say more. “How has he been acting weird?”
She pressed her lips together, staring into space. “Well, it’s not important, but?—”
“Sure it’s important. If it’s important to you, it’s important. What happened?”
She smiled gratefully at him. “Well, Jacob was acting strangely resistant toward my ideas for remodeling my house—I mean, it’ll be our house. Usually, he gets really excited about things with me, but he seemed kind of—I don’t know, almost like he didn’t want me to do any of it. He kept saying that I should wait and think about it, things like that.”
“Hmm. And you weren’t proposing anything totally off the rails like pink pony wallpaper in the upstairs hallway?”
She laughed. “Hey, I think a tasteful, vintage-y pink pony wallpaper would look great. But no, it was nothing like that. Mom and Sally both loved my ideas, and they have great taste. I mean, I guess Sally’s is a little more on the whimsical side, but you know that if I’d wanted to do anything that wasn’t just generally tasteful, Mom wouldn’t be afraid to say something to me.”
“Yeah, I know—and I’m just joking, anyway. You have great taste—your whole house is very cute. And I know Jacob loves it. So you’re right that it doesn’t make sense that he wouldn’t be excited about your ideas. That doesn’t seem like him—but maybe he was just having a bad day or something. I can’t manage muchenthusiasm for anything if I’m really fatigued or achy. Maybe he had a headache or something like that.”
She scrunched her lips up as she thought. “Maybe—but he usually tells me if he’s got a headache or something like that. I’m just thinking that maybe he thinks it’s some kind of frivolous endeavor or something. Like maybe he thinks I’m wasting too much time on unimportant things when I should be doing more necessary work. I don’t know, that kind of attitude doesn’t seem like him either.” She sighed. “He’s just been acting different, and I have no idea why. If it had just been that one incident, I’m sure I would have forgotten all about it by now, but it wasn’t.”
“Something else happened?”
“Yeah. I dropped lunch off at his place the other day, and he went around behind his desk and shut his laptop so I wouldn’t see the screen. It was really weird.”
“Maybe it was about to die or something.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. He’d just gotten back, so I don’t think he would have known if it was dying or not. And he just seemed generally flustered by me being there, which he’s never been before when I’ve showed up unexpectedly.”
“He was probably just looking for a Christmas gift for you or Sam on his laptop and he didn’t want you to see it,” Dean said reassuringly. “And besides, I don’t think that’s connected to his home remodeling reaction in any way. I don’t see any reason why he’d be opposed to you redecorating the house.”
“Maybe he feels differently now that he’s going to move in with me.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. And if that’s true, it’s up to him to tell you how he feels. But I wouldn’t worry about it, Hazel. I have a feeling they’re just a couple of random incidents that don’t really mean anything.” He gave his sister a sideways hug. “I’m always here to talk if you want, but I think you have no reason to worry about anything. I don’t think Jacob wouldn’twant you to decorate your house the way you want to. He loves you, and I’m sure he wants you to decorate in a way that makes you feel happy.”
I would let Noelle do anything she wanted to in most instances, he thought, feeling a glow of love for his girlfriend.Even if it was putting up pink pony wallpaper. I love her so much, and I want her to be able to do the things that make her happy. I know Jacob feels the same way about Hazel. I think that’s just how it is when you’re in love with someone.
“Okay.” She smiled at him. “Thanks, Dean. I’ll do my best to put it out of my mind. What was that ring you wanted to show me?”
He grinned and pointed into the display case. “That one right there. With the sapphires and the diamonds alternating. Isn’t it nice?”
“So pretty. Do you think that’s the one?”
