Page 57 of Overdue

“You too,” she adds, looking at me. “And wipe that ‘I’m having sex on the regular’ smirk off your face.” She uses air quotes. I roll my eyes for the second time before nine in the morning.

We’re dressed and back downstairs in ten minutes. Eliot hands us both a coffee before ushering us out of the house. She marches in front of us toward downtown. So I guess a leisurely drive is out. Reed is arguing with her about what we're doing to no avail.

“For all that’s holy, Eliot, where are we going?” Reed says as we round the corner at the end of the block.

“Look,” she answers, pointing. Reed and I stop in shock.

His crew finished the new town square park yesterday. It’s part of why he so desperately wanted to sleep in. They’ve worked long hours into the night trying to finish ahead of the deadline. They made it with one week to spare.

The official dedication will be in a month, but that doesn’t seem to matter. The park is packed full.

Reed takes a couple more steps before pulling up again. I watch him as his eyes take in the scene. Kids hang upside down from the jungle gym he had made to look like one of the train engines that ran through town in years past. Toddlers are being pushed in swings while grandparents sit in lawn chairs under the little shade the new tree currently offers.

There is a group of middle school girls sitting near the stage reading. Middle school boys on skateboards show off in front of them to no avail. There’s an IcedIn shaved ice stand set up on the corner with a long line to the counter. Yes, we even eat snow cones for breakfast in Texas. Don’t judge.

I can already envision the park on Founder’s Day. I make a mental note to order tents for the front of the library. We’ll set up the sale books right by the doors.

The flags in front of the courthouse happily sway in the breeze. People I grew up with stroll around the block as stores open for the day. It’s almost a Norman Rockwell picture in real life.

“Wow,” slips out of my mouth. Because it is just so… wow.

“I told you y’all’d want to see this. I’ve never seen downtown this busy on a Saturday morning,” Eliot says.

I watch a young couple wander through the small garden hand-in-hand. A young mother reads to her kids on one of the benches. Reed takes my hand as we take it all in.

“Pretty amazing what you can achieve when you finally stop squabbling, isn’t it?” Eliot asks. “Well, you can stand here all you want, but I have snow cone money burning a hole in my pocket.” She strides purposely into the park, heading for the IcedIn line.

“She’s right,” Reed says. “We are much better as lovers than enemies.”

I laugh and pull him into a kiss. What can I add? When he’s right, he’s right.

* * *

REED

You didn’t think I’d let Austen have the last word, did you? If I let that go, I’d never get any peace. I’m kidding. I can’t remember when there was ever a time my world didn’t revolve around her.

When she finally lets me come up for air, I take her hand. We walk into the park hand-in-hand. Not to sound like a total douche, but it’s a pretty badass park, even if it was my idea.

People keep coming up to us to tell me how happy they are with how it turned out. Most of them, anyway. There’s always that one that wants to inform you of how it could be better.

Eliot hands me a snow cone. I take it and flick some ice at her. She gives me her patented death glare. She really needs to get laid. There has to be some guy around here worthy of her. He’ll have to be vetted by me first, of course.

I finished our book last night. The one Austen wrote about us, her family, and our small town. She’s right, our story isn’t over yet. As a matter of fact, it’s just beginning. There’s a quote by Douglas Adams that states, “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I’ve ended up where I needed to be.” I understand exactly what he means.

Looking over, I find Austen happily chatting with a young woman I’ve seen in the library. Her hands are animatedly moving the way they always do when she’s excited about something. Her eyes shine, and her smile could light up the park. Hair the color of chocolate lifts slightly with the breeze. And I fall in love with Austen Caraway all over again.

It’s true, my life might not have gone where I had planned. But I’m so glad it didn’t. Because this is exactly where I want to be. I want that happily ever after. I’ve dreamed about it since I was fourteen, and I’m just patient enough to wait for the ending.

epilogue

REED

Somewhere in this crowd of people is the woman I came here with. Surprisingly, that woman is still Austen Caraway. Crazy, right?

Somehow, we’re still together. It helps that I’ve learned to keep all those inappropriate things I want to say to her inside the bedroom. She doesn’t even scold me when I call her brat in there. Maybe because I always add a firm smack to her naked ass when I say it.

I should probably focus before my imagination gets me in trouble. You wouldn’t think it would be hard to find her in the town square in a town as small as ours. But the dedication of the square on Founder’s Day has swollen the town to twice its size. Even though the community has been enjoying it for a month now, today is special.

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