Page 36 of Memories of the Past

I watched as she wiped the counter and then hid the cloth. “Hi, Thomas. What are you doing here?”

I slowly approached the small wooden counter and set the bag of food down. “I brought you some food. Before you protest, I will say it isn’t funeral food. I stopped over at The Crispy Biscuit and ordered you some lunch. Brooke and Melinda offered some suggestions, so I ordered everything,” I said, pushing the bag forward. “I wasn’t sure what you would feel like.”

Trinity gave me a partial smile, then let out a breath as she reached for the bag and pulled it closer to her. She pulled it open and looked inside, pulling out three different containers and one box and setting them on the counter. At first, she didn’t say anything. She just looked down at all the food in front of her and shook her head a small smile on her face. “Is this payback for the chicken and dumplings?” she questioned, looking at all the food.

“No. They said you liked all this.” I shrugged, pulling the containers closer to me to look.

“Well, they sure got you good,” she said, a smile on her lips as she removed the last container. “

“What do you mean?” I questioned.

“Eggplant lasagna, liver and onions, hot sausage, and pasta, quite the selection. Oh, and strawberry tarts, shortbread cookies, and lemon pound cake.”

I laughed. They had at least given him one thing that I loved, and that was the lemon pound cake.

“Thomas, those girls pretty much picked every item on the menu that I have never and would never order in my life. You’d have been better off coming over here with a stack of waffles.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Waffles had always been her favorite; I should have known. “I guess they did get me good. I will mention that to the pair of them when I go back there and ask for a refund.”

I watched as Trinity picked up a fork and opened the container that held the lemon pound cake, sliding her fork into the cake and taking a bite. “Well, the least you can do is pay for the cake, because it is delicious.”

“Well, their joke may not have given me the food you liked, but it did give me a chance to get you to hopefully hear me,” I said, grabbing a shortbread cookie and shoving it into my mouth. “Perhaps I’ll also pay for the shortbread. They are good too,” I said, grabbing another one.

“Thomas, I think we said all there was to say last night,” Trinity said as she slid her fork back into the cake.

I shook my head. “No, you left before I had the chance to be able to talk to you. I know you think that I didn’t want you with me all those years ago. But, Trin, you were wrong. I was in such a bad place back then, but you have to know that you were and have always been loved and wanted. In fact, if only you knew how long it took me to get over you, or at least over you enough to live some sort of a life without you, you’d know the truth.”

“What are you trying to say, Thomas?” Trinity said, dropping the fork into the plastic container and placing it down on the counter.

“You may not believe me, Trinity, but you still are wanted. From the moment I walked back in here, into this store and saw you standing there, I knew my heart still belonged to you.”

Trinity turned to look at me, a look of annoyance on her face. “Please, Thomas, I really don’t have time for this nonsense today. I have to do some planning for the fall festival, and I need to put up this small shelf for additional space.”

“I’ll make sure you have time to get all that done. Hell, I’ll even put the shelf up myself if you’d like. But before you kick me out, just please give me a chance to prove how I feel to you.”

“Thomas, please…I don’t…”

“No, please, just one chance. That is all I ask, just one,” I begged, not wanting to hear the word no.

I looked into Trinity’s eyes. There was a softness there, one that hadn’t been there before, and I was almost sure I could see the walls she’d put up finally maybe beginning to come down. She looked down to the ground, then she stopped, thinking for a moment, then she looked up at me. “Fine, Thomas, one chance. You can take me out tonight.”

I almost couldn’t believe my ears. In all her stubbornness, she’d agreed. I was thrilled, and I nodded my head. “Okay, I’ll see you at say seven. I’ll pick you up.”

“All right, fine, seven. Now, please, I need to get some work done.”

* * *

It had been three hours since I’d left Trinity. Since then, I’d returned to the ranch and had welcomed Serenity, showing her around and allowing her to take some pictures of the property. She’d left about an hour later, and I now sat in the dining room trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do about tonight.

“Me and my big mouth,” I mumbled while surfing through a list of things to do in Willow Valley on a Friday night. One thing was for sure: not much had changed over the past twenty or so years since I’d left. There was nothing to do then, and it appeared there was nothing to do now.

“I see the lady from the real estate agency was here today?” I heard from behind me and turned to see Lyle shuffle in from the barn.

I nodded. “Yep, I finally made my decision. The ranch is officially up for sale.”

“I see. What does that mean for you?” Lyle asked, pulling out a chair across the way from me.

“Not sure yet.”

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