Professor Morris was interrupted by laughter as Eva and the players walked back into the apartment. He turned around and stepped to the side. Eva gave Timber a curious look. “Did you come over here to socialize or help me move?” she joked, playfully squeezing Timber’s arm.
“Help you move!” Timber insisted through forced laughter as she grabbed a couple of boxes. Eva did the same and followed her down to the truck.
“Are you okay?” Eva asked after they crammed the boxes in the back seat.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Timber lied, quickly turning around and heading back towards the building.
“Hey,” Eva called out. “We pledged together. We’re best friends. I know you. Now tell me what’s going on.”
Timber wanted to fess up. But she figured Eva wouldn’t understand. Plus she didn’t want them to part ways on bad terms. So she decided to keep her feelings for Professor Morris under wraps.
“I’m telling you, I’m fine,” Timber insisted as convincingly as possible. “In case you haven’t heard, my best friend is leaving town on me. So maybe that’s why I seem a little down.”
“Well cheer up, buttercup,” Eva smiled, putting her arm around Timber as they headed back upstairs. “Because I’m just a phone call, text message or car ride away!”
“I’m still going to miss you,” Timber said somberly.
“I know. I’m going to miss you, too.” Eva hugged Timber tightly then went into her bedroom. Professor Morris was sitting on the couch. He and Timber were in the room alone again. He turned and stared at her. She looked away and walked toward Eva’s bedroom.
“Do you have plans tonight?” he asked.
Timber stopped abruptly and turned around slowly. “Me? No…I don’t.”
“Would you like to have dinner with me?” he asked, getting up and walking towards her. “I’d love to catch up on everything that I’ve missed.”
“I, uh, I don’t—”
Before she could finish, Eva burst back into the room carrying a huge box. “It’s a shame I’m taking all of these stuffed animals with me. I’ll have the guys come and get the rest of my stuff. Be right back.”
As soon as she walked out, Professor Morris turned back to Timber. “Please, have dinner with me.”
Several moments of silent contemplation passed. Timber looked up at the professor. She melted underneath his impassioned expression. “Okay,” she finally agreed. Then when the guys came back in, she grabbed another box to carry down to the truck.
Once Eva was all set to leave, she had the group gather around outside for one final goodbye. “I’ll call you all as soon as I get settled. Hopefully it’ll be tomorrow.”
“I would like to be the first,” Professor Morris said. “And make it today, please. I want to be sure you made it into the city okay.”
“Stop worrying, Dad,” Eva said, hugging him tightly. “I’ll be fine, but I’ll call you when I get there.”
“Thank you.”
Eva said her goodbyes to the football players, who wished her luck and left. Then she handed her father her apartment keys.
“I’ll be sure to get these back to the landlord,” he told her. “And I’ll have the movers pick up the couch tomorrow.”
“Thank you for everything, Dad. Love you.”
“I love you, too,” he replied before walking back towards her building.
Eva turned to Timber and gave her a huge smile. “I can’t believe this. We actually graduated, and I’m finally heading off to pursue my dreams!”
“I know!” Timber agreed. “I’m so happy for you, but our hometown is really going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss it, too. So when are you coming to visit me?”
“It’s up to you. I’ll be free until my classes start, so just let me know.”
“I will,” Eva said. Then she hugged Timber tightly. “Love you, girlie.”
“Love you, too. Thank you for helping me get through this last impossible year of school!”
“Of course!” Eva said. “You did the same for me!”
Timber felt her eyes tearing up. “Get out of here. Now. Before I throw a fit and make you stay.”
“I’ll call you as soon as I can. Maybe you can come up sometime within the next few weeks.”
“That sounds good. I’m sure I won’t have anything else going on.”
“You never know,” Eva replied, glancing up towards her apartment and smiling.
“What are you talking about?” Timber asked as she followed Eva’s gaze and saw Professor Morris standing in the window.
“You know what I’m talking about.”
“Really I don’t,” Timber responded, looking down and fiddling with the zipper on her jacket nervously.
“Timber, you’re my girl. I know you,” Eva said as she climbed into her truck. “And I know my father, too.”
“Seriously. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Timber unzipped her jacket all the way and fanned her face as a sudden flash of heat washed over her.
“Timmy, I want nothing more than for you to be happy. And I want nothing more than for my father to be happy. My mother is remarried and has three other children with my stepdad. My father hasn’t had a serious relationship in I don’t know how long. I’ve known about your feelings for him since the day I met you. You talked about him incessantly. I just never told you he was my father because I didn’t want to interfere. And after he found out we were friends, he started talking about you incessantly, too. That’s when I knew the feelings were mutual. Now, you’re a grown woman, and I’m leaving town. So go ahead. When it’s all said and done, there’s absolutely nothing standing in your way.”
Timber was shocked. And relieved. And so glad that Eva had given her and Professor Morris her blessing. “Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“I’m positive,” Eva insisted, closing her door and rolling down the window. “Now let me get out of here. I’ll see you on the red carpet!”
Timber watched as Eva blew her a kiss and drove off. She glanced back up at the apartment. Professor Morris was still standing in the window, staring down at her. She stared back up at him, this time in a whole new light. Now she couldn’t wait for tonight’s dinner. For her, it would be a confessional of sorts. A chance to explain her behavior. And an opportunity to finally tell him how she’d felt about him for the past year.
Chapter Two
The sound of Timber’s ringing cell phone snapped her out of her thoughts of college memories. She steered her car down her block with one hand and dug into her purse with the other.
“Timber speaking,” she said, grabbing the call right before it went to voicemail.
“Timmyyy!” It was Eva.
“Hey,” Timber smiled. “I was just thinking about you.”
“Were you? See, I’ve always told you that we’re psychically connected.”
“Yes you have,” Timber laughed. “I was actually reminiscing about our college days.”
“So in other words, you were thinking about my father,” Eva said quietly. “How are you holding up?”
“I guess I’m okay. I just left Naomi’s salon, and she bought several boxes of my massage oils and facial treatments, so I’m happy about that.”
“That is fantastic!” Eva exclaimed. “I’m so glad your business is doing well. But you don’t sound like you’re doing well. Which means you really need come to that movie premiere with me tomorrow night.”
“I don’t know, Eva. I really don’t feel up to it.”
“But you need to get out, hun. Put on some fancy clothes. Meet some new people. I know you’re going through a tough time right now, but you’ve got to shake it off. At least for the weekend. Please come? Pleeease?” Eva begged.
“Let me think about it,” Timber said. “I’m pulling into my driveway now. I’ll call you back when I get inside.”
“Okay. Call me back as soon as you get inside. Don’t make me stalk you!”
“I won’t.” Timbe
r laughed. “I’ll talk to you in a minute.”
Timber approached her quaint three-bedroom cottage style house, grabbed the mail, and unlocked the heavy wooden door. When she walked inside, her mind was somewhat eased by the scent of eucalyptus and lavender that was lingering in the air. She’d been experimenting with the new oils in hopes of creating a stress-relieving deep tissue massage treatment. Timber wished she had someone to massage the stress out of her shoulders right now as she kicked off her shoes and let the cool terra-cotta Spanish tiles soothe the bottoms of her feet.
Her cell phone rang, but she let the call go to voicemail. She’d been running around all day delivering samples of her tranquility products to several stores and salons. So she was ready for a much-needed break. After strolling into the kitchen, filling a teapot with water and putting it on the stove, Timber went back into the living room and stretched out on her plush suede sofa.
As she began shuffling through the mail, Timber caught sight of Brian’s boots that he’d left in the hallway. His chemistry lab books were strewn across her coffee table. One of his jackets was still hanging in the closet. There were signs of him everywhere. But Timber hadn’t had the time nor the energy to straighten up. And Brian had been too distraught to come over and get his things.
Timber rested her head against the arm of the couch and thought about that night their relationship transitioned from academic to personal. After Eva had left for the city, Timber went back up to the apartment to tell Professor Morris that she was leaving. When she walked inside, he was sitting down on the couch. He asked her to join him. She did. He was sitting on one end. She sat down on the other. The space in the middle was empty. He appeared miles away. Timber felt the tears coming on again. But this time they weren’t tears of grief. They were tears of joy. And nervousness. Because she knew that she needed to explain why she’d shunned him over the past several months, and tell him how she really felt about him. So Timber took a deep breath and turned towards him, ready to start confessing.
“I love you,” Professor Morris said quietly. He looked directly into her eyes. His hands were folded in his lap. He sat perfectly still and his expression was very sincere.
Timber leaned back and stared at him in disbelief. She wanted to say something, but couldn’t because his statement had paralyzed her vocal chords. Her mouth hung open in shock. She struggled to speak. But before she could, the professor slid into that empty middle seat and wrapped his arms around her passionately. Timber embraced him, closing her eyes and finally allowing the tears to fall.
The professor pulled away from her. “Why are you crying?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, smiling through the tears. “I guess I’m just…happy. And relieved.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. So am I. Are we still on for dinner tonight?”
“Yes we are,” she replied happily.
“Great. I’ll pick you up at seven. We have a lot to talk about, and a lot to figure out. But I think we should take things slowly so not to ruin something that we both seem to have wanted for quite some time.”
“I agree,” Timber said as they both got up from the couch and left the apartment together.
“By the way, you know you can call me Brian now,” he said amusingly.
“That may be somewhat difficult considering I’ve been calling you Professor Morris all this time, but I’ll try,” Timber laughed.
“I’ll see you at seven,” he said, walking Timber to her car then heading to his.
“Hey,” Timber called out.
“Yes?”
“I love you, too.”
“Good. I was waiting for that.”
* * * *
That afternoon, Timber rushed home and began the countdown. This evening would require her to look better than ever. So she used every minute to get as glammed up as possible. She started by soaking in the bathtub, applying a facial mask, and deep conditioning her hair. Then she blow dried her silky hair straight, glossed her lips, and dusted her eyelids and cheeks with sparkling pale bronzer. After that she painted her nails a sheer shade of silver, slipped into a soft pale pink suede dress, and slid her feet inside a pair of matching pink suede pumps.
Timber gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror then heard her bell ring. When she opened the door, Brian’s eyes widened and he took a step back. The dozen roses he was holding fell down by his side. She laughed and took the flowers from him then invited him in.
“Wow. You look absolutely stunning,” he told her. “I couldn’t even speak when you opened the door.”
“Yeah, I noticed!” Timber laughed, walking towards the kitchen to put the flowers in water. “Thank you. You look very nice, too.” And he did in his crisp blue shirt and perfectly tailored navy suit. His hair was freshly cut and he smelled divine. Timber couldn’t have been happier that this night was finally happening.
“I was thinking that we could do Italian tonight,” Brian suggested when Timber walked back into the living room and placed her flowers on the coffee table. “By the way,” he continued, “Did I tell you how beautiful you look?”
“I believe you did,” Timber blushed, grabbing her clutch. “Shall we go?”
“Yes, we shall,” Brian said.
On the way to the restaurant, music and movies were the topics of conversation. After they ordered, they chatted about Eva. Throughout dinner, Timber caught Brian up on everything he’d missed over the past several months. During dessert, they discussed how Brian had married Eva’s mother at a very young age and had no idea what he was getting himself into. But he was glad that they’d remained great friends after their divorce, and they were both so proud of the way they’d co-parented with Eva.
After dessert, Timber and Brian sipped espresso and discussed her graduate school plans.
“I’m still trying to figure out the specifics,” she said. “I’m contemplating focusing on pharmaceutical chemistry, which would enable me make an impact in the healthcare industry by designing and developing better drugs.”
“I could definitely see you working as a pharmaceutical chemist,” Brian assured her, a proud smile spread across his face. “It would combine your love of medical technology with your desire to make a difference in the world.”
“Exactly,” Timber replied, nodding her head as she realized Brian knew her quite well. “But on the other hand, I also have an interest in organic chemistry, which focuses on more natural medicinal products and drugs, and would be healthier for the human body. So I’ve got some things to think about.”
“Yes you do. But whatever you decide, just know that you’ll always have a place in my classroom as my mentee, or a teaching assistant. Then once you graduate I’ll do all that I can to help you land a job. You have such a bright future ahead of you, Timber. I’m extremely proud.”
“Thank you, Brian. That means a lot coming from you. And you certainly had a hand in my academic success so far.”
“You’re quite welcome,” he replied, staring at her intently.
By the time the pair was done talking, over three hours had passed. The evening had flown by and Timber didn’t want it to end. She felt so comfortable being with Brian, as if she could tell him anything. Considering her strong attraction toward him, she chalked the night up as being the best date she’d ever had.
The lively conversation continued on the drive back to Timber’s house. When Brian pulled into her driveway and walked her to the door, it was obvious that neither of them wanted the evening to end. And while they hadn’t discussed what the future held for them as a couple, it certainly seemed as if they both wanted to be together.
“I had a wonderful time tonight,” Brian said.
“So did I,” Timber smiled. “It was the best date ever.”
“Was it really? Well I’m glad to hear that. And thank you. That’s quite the compliment.”
“It’s the truth,” Timber said. “Great food, great conversation…it was as if we’d never lost touch.”
“I would love to,” Timber responded, intertwining her fingers with his.
“Good. I’m looking forward to it. And just so you know, I’ve wanted to be with you since the first day you walked into my classroom.”
Timber stared at Brian, shocked by what he’d just said. So it was official. He had in fact been just as interested in her as she’d been in him from the very beginning.
“But I honestly never thought this would happen,” he continued, “Especially after every day that went by that I wasn’t able to talk to you. After you graduated, I didn’t think I would ever see you again. So now that I have you here, I don’t ever want to let you go.”
Brian leaned in and kissed Timber softly. She closed her eyes and relished the moment, absorbing every single word that he had just spoken. She was so taken aback by his admission as well as this kiss that she felt as though she was floating on air.
Timber had hoped that their relationship would last forever. After almost six years of inseparability, she was confident that it would. When Brian slipped a diamond and platinum engagement ring on her finger one day late last year, she was convinced that it would….
* * * *
When Timber heard the faint ringing of her cell phone, she opened her eyes and realized that she was still lying on the couch in her living room, mulling over the past. Unbeknownst to her, tears were trickling down the sides of her face. She patted her temples dry, got up and grabbed her phone.
“Timber speaking,” she sniffed after clearing her throat. She hoped that it didn’t sound as though she’d been crying.
“Why didn’t you call me back?” Eva insisted. “I was worried about you! This is my third time calling you!”
“I’m sorry,” Timber mumbled. She walked into the kitchen and removed her teapot from the stove.
“Are you crying?” Eva asked frantically. “That’s it. I’m coming to see you. I can be there in two hours if I drive fast enough and—”
The Road To Bliss Page 2
