Page 56 of Saving Her

I giggled. “You should.”

I fell asleep in his arms a few minutes later, listening to his heart and his hand stroking my hair.

***

I sat on the new porch swing, my legs curled underneath me, and a coffee mug cradled in my hands. Down the front lawn and across the street lay the expanse of Eagleville Lake, and in the distance, Eagleville Manor. I gazed at it, remembering the first time Andy had taken me there and smiling to myself. I had never thought for once that my life would turn out like this.

Andy came out a few minutes later, holding his own coffee and wearing his sweatpants and a shirt. He sat down beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “it looks beautiful from here, doesn’t it?”

“The lake or the Manor?”

“Both,” he said, kissing my head and rubbing my arm softly.

I couldn’t agree more. The sun had begun to set, and the hues of orange, purple and dark blue painted the skies. The colors reflected off the surface of the lake, making it seem surreal, if not more beautiful than it already was. I could imagine myself growing old here, with a couple of kids playing in the front yard while Andy and I sat in the same swing, watching them and gazing out at the lake.

“Do you think we can make this work?” I asked.

“That’s a strange question to ask,” Andy replied with a chuckle.

“I’m serious, though,” I said. “I love our life together, and I love you. I love this house. But sometimes I get this feeling that it’s all just a dream. That I’d wake up and realize that none of this is real.”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure that you don’t wake up,” Andy joked.

“Andy.”

He kissed my head again and squeezed me closer. “I think we’ll do the best we can. I know I will. I love our life together, too, and I definitely love you. Whatever happens, I’m going to make sure we keep this up for as long as possible.”

“I want to grow old with you.”

“I don’t age very well,” Andy teased.

“Then I’m pretty much screwed, aren’t I?”

He laughed at that. “Maybe a face lift or something?” he suggested. “I know I’ll probably go bald somewhere around fifty.”

I laughed along with him, and we sat there until the sun set and the cold forced us back inside.

***

By the weekend, we were fully unpacked and having dinner on a real table instead of on a board balanced on four boxes. Bobby had come by, helping us with the final few touches and graciously accepting to be my second pair of hands in the kitchen. Especially when I told him that he really didn’t want Andy helping me out.

“So, California? Really?”

Bobby looked up from his steak and shrugged. “Hey, they want me there, I’m not one to say no. The Chief says it’s a step up for me.”

Bobby had received a call a few months before, a job offer to join a fire department in Los Angeles, station no. 4 or 9, or some other number I couldn’t remember. I didn’t like it, but at the end of the day, I supported his decision to take the offer. Still, I couldn’t wrap my head around Bobby fighting fires in a big city. Not to mention the constant California wildfires I kept hearing about in the news.

“Finally joining the big leagues,” Andy smiled.

“Don’t encourage this,” I said, shooting him a look.

“Hey, come on, you said you were on board with this,” Bobby pointed at me with his fork.

“I am,” I sighed. “Doesn’t mean I like it. I mean, what’s wrong with Mansfield?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Bobby said. “Especially now that you’re here.”

“Yet you want to move across the country.”

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