Page 75 of Authentically, Izzy
From: Izzy Edgewood
To: Penelope Edgewood
Date: May2
Subject: Brodie is here and Josie is insane
I can’t believe he’s here, but he is. I only just now got back to my apartment after leaving him with Luke. Oh, Penelope! He’s... well, he’s just as I imagined and even more. Once we worked through some of our initial awkwardness, everything clicked into place as it has done in our online conversations and video chats. Brodie Sutherland. My wonderful friend! And I’m trying very hard not to worry about all the what-ifs. You know? Like once he really gets to know me, he won’t want a future with me. Or what if he DOES want me but a future is IMPOSSIBLE? I am opening myself up to heartbreak of the acutest kind, and yet, when we met, every worry and possible disaster feels worth it. He is exactly the friend he’s been for three months, only now within touching and smelling distance. (I know you understand what I mean. Luke would be gagging right now.)
Okay, okay, I’m getting ahead of myself. I told you I’d give you an accounting, so here we go:
I waited in the arrivals area and tried really hard not to second-guess EVERYTHING. My hairstyle, my clothes, my perfume . . . the choice to bring an “almost” complete stranger into my life for two weeks of “life with Izzy.” I mean, online relationships are totally different than in-person ones. Virtual friendships mean bringing out my best for limited and controlled moments in aday. Carefully planning my words in charming and witty emails. But . . . now Brodie was going to see therealIsabelle Edgewood, tennis shoes and all?
You know what it’s been like for me. Most of my previous boyfriends left because they wanted something else besides me, because I wasn’t enough. What if I wasn’t enough for Brodie too? (So much for all that “brave” talk, right?)
And then I started reminding myself of what Grandma Edgewood used to say:
“The anxious heart is filled with thousands of what-ifs that never happen, but the peaceful soul whispers hope-filled truth.”
So I started listing truths I knew in no particular order:
1. Brodie was traveling from across the ocean to meetme,an ideahe’dinitiated.
2. He knows how to engage in excellent conversation (or at least my kind of excellent conversations).
3. He adores books and his family, from all I can ascertain so far.
4. He has an excellent command of the English language. (I mean, truly, my heart flutters a little with the wonderful way he can weave words together.)
He is funny, kind, and part-owner of a franchise of bookstores. A trifecta of perfection for my introspective, book-loving heart.
And he really seems to care about ME. Knowing me. Encouraging me.
I was getting ready to add a few more “truths” to my list when I saw a light-brown swell of erratic curls emerge among the crowd. My throat squeezed my breath to a stop as his familiar face cameinto view. Oh, Penelope, he was more handsome in person, especially with the way his hair bounced in total confusion in time with his walk. It really was adorable in a nerdish sort of way, which . . . as you know . . . is my favorite sort of way.
He searched the crowd and I almost ducked behind the man to my right just to give myself a few more seconds to prepare, but then I shook off the idea. After all, if he’d been brave enough to come all this way, I would certainly try to be as brave as him. So I lifted my chin and hoped my smile looked more welcoming than slightly terrified. (You know the one I mean. Josephine calls it my Joker smile. If I show less teeth, I think it’s less scary.)
And then his eyes finally met mine. His eyes look even more aqua in person! You know that quote fromThe Princess Bridewhen Buttercup says, “like the sea after a storm”? Well, all thoughts of not giving the Joker smile went right out of my mind when he looked at me. As recognition dawned his smile spread across his face, complete with the teeniest dimple in one cheek, and my knees nearly buckled from the instant connection a screen and words had only hinted at. His grin grew, disappearing into his close-trimmed beard. Oh heavens! He never broke eye contact as he drew closer to me and all of a sudden my vision started getting blurry... because I hadn’t taken a breath yet. So I gulped in a breath as he stopped in front of me and dropped his bag to his side.
Penelope! I know we’d always talked about the perfect man-height being about six foot two, but Brodie is maybe an inch or two taller than me, and I didn’t mind it at all. I barely have to tilt my head to stare into his eyes, so just imagine how easy a kiss might be! And then (you’re going to love this part. I’m getting wonderful tingles down my neck at the memory) he settled his palm against my waist and slowly leaned forward to place akiss against my cheek. I sucked in plenty of air at that moment. Enough to get a wonderful dose of his spruce and mint cologne, and then my mind went foggy for a whole new reason. Whew. I wanted to cry and laugh and hug him all at once. But I didn’t. (Well, not at that moment. Though I did later when he gave meThe Blue CastleAND he’s an excellent hugger.) However, at the moment I maintained some semblance of composure... after I drew in a few more breaths of his cologne. Then he looked down into my face, and with that wonderfully warm and enchanting accent of his, he said, “Isabelle Louisa Edgewood. It’s a sincere pleasure to finally meet you.”
Let me just say that video calls are NO comparison to the real thing. At all. Oh. MY. WORD! His scent, his smile, his eyes, and the way his accent curls around those vowels and consonants. I’m a goner! If this flops, I may never recover.
It took me a good five minutes to remember how to talk and especially how to talk to this wonderful man I’d been communicating with for three months, but once I found my rhythm, the conversation moved as if we’d just had a video call the day before! Easy. Sweet.
Until... (Insert the Jaws theme here.)
Josie!
She had driven all the way to Charlotte Douglas International Airport and perched herself behind a pillar in the arrivals area in order to spy on me! She’s a horrible spy. I recognized her protruding stomach long before I ever saw her face. I attempted to give her a little tongue lashing before pulling her from behind the pillar to meet Brodie. Oh my word! I almost expected him to turn around and go back to Skymar as quick as the plane wouldtake him, but as Josie waddled off in a huff (it’s an odd sort of waddle when she’s mad), his grin twitched and then . . . he laughed! A wonderfully real, deep, sigh-inducing laugh, which gave me all sorts of hope that if he could handle Josie’s insanity, then maybe he could handle mine too.
I’m so happy he’s here! I hope you can come in on the weekend to meet him, but if not, we’ll try to have a video call with you. Though he wears sweater-vests really well, he wears his smile even better.
Hope to talk to you soon, and wish me luck.
Izzy
PS: And pray. Pray with the same ferocity as Mother Superior sings “Climb Every Mountain”! (I knew you’d appreciate that reference.)
