Page 28 of Other Side Of Never
“So, where are you taking me?”
He quirked a brow.“Do you have a time limit?There are two properties.One is a bit more out of the way.I can drop you off before I head out to that one—”
I cut him off with a slice of my hand through the space between us.“Nope.I’m yours for the day.”
“Well, alrighty then,” he muttered.Palming the steering wheel, he turned us out onto the main road taking us out of Sage Ridge.
“How far is it?”
He wagged his head.“30 minutes?”
“That’s not far,” I commented.
“No,” he paused, “but we’ll be there a while.I need to do a thorough walk-through, check the attic and the basement, then drive around the area to check out the environment.”
“No problem.”I shrugged happily, humming along to the radio, feeling like a kid set free into the wild for summer vacation.
We talked about his family back home in Mapleville.He spoke of his brothers and their crazy antics and how much he loved his sisters.His words quickly revealed the near reverence with which he held his father, and the fierce love that burned inside him for his mother.
I told him about my parents, what it was like growing up as an only child, and how much my sweet, saucy aunt meant to me.
Once we got to the house, I tripped along after him like a puppy as he pointed out the various features and how he saw it coming together.
He stood at the entrance to the family room with his hands on his hips.“That fireplace will be the center gathering place of the whole home.”
Continuing into the dining room, he pointed up at the chandelier.“The vaulted ceiling in here can handle a much larger light fixture.Something gritty, though.Not fancy.This is not a fancy house,” he petered off.
Finally, in the dormer inside an upstairs bedroom, he nodded.“See this nook?Perfect for a reading corner.”
I saw a different side to him as he worked.
One that filled me with happiness.
Here, there was no sign of the beaten-down, guilt-ridden, self-isolating man I’d practically dragged out of Susie Q’s kicking and screaming and forced to be my friend.
This man walked with confidence.Focussed intently on the task at hand, he allotted no energy to worrying about what anyone else was thinking or feeling or doing.He had a job to do, knew how to do it well, and was thoroughly invested.
He was free from worry.
Free from regret, remorse, and repentance if only temporarily.
This was the man I wanted to see more of no matter where he was.
He’d made a mistake.
Granted, it was a big one.
But it wasn’t malicious.
And he’d made no excuse for his actions.
Instead, he leaned in.
Hard.
Turning his life upside down to mitigate the damage of his wrong.
He deserved forgiveness.
