Changing Us

by Brooklyn Taylor

  “Yes, sir.” He smiled and put his hand on my leg sweetly.

  “And Elise, love him no matter what he does wrong. He will always have the best of intentions.”

  “Yes, sir,” I responded and acknowledged that he was correct. Ford would always have the best of intentions. He always had.

  “To you, Mr. and Mrs. Kelly.” We all held up our glasses followed by a drink.

  Carol leaned over and put her hand on his neck, appreciative of his thoughtful words.

  “Let’s order,” Terry responded.

  I leaned over to my husband and whispered, “I think we can be them in thirty years. You?”

  “Absolutely,” he assured me with a kiss.

  Ford

  After the wedding, I had a message on my phone from my mother that insisted I call her back. She was the last person I wanted to deal with, but I knew I needed to. She had been there for me throughout my biopsy and had kept it to herself surprisingly. I had called her to inform her of the results, and she remained strong saying no matter what it was that she would help me beat it. I wish I had her optimistic attitude.

  I debated on not calling her back until after our “honeymoon,” but I knew she would only continue to call. It made me nervous honestly because she knew something that Elise didn’t, and I wasn’t sure how long she would keep it under wraps before perhaps accidentally slipping and saying something before I had the chance to tell Elise.

  “Ford, can we meet tomorrow at Beverly’s?”

  “Well … we were going to start our honeymoon.”

  “It won’t take long, and I need to see you. I can’t believe my only child is married.”

  “Yes, I am married to the love of my life. Can’t it wait until after we get finish our honeymoon?”

  “I won’t take no for an answer. Beverly’s at ten thirty.”

  “We will come, but you need to make it short. I don’t want to think about anything except being with my bride. And no comments about …”

  “Of course, son. See you then.”

  *****

  I had told Elise that my mother was upset about not being included in the wedding and she wanted to see us before we started our honeymoon. She understood and agreed to meet with her this morning. All I could think about was locking my wife in a hotel room for a couple of nights. I wanted every single part of her, I wanted to show her how much she meant to me, and I wanted to make her feel it.

  The secret I knew I should tell my wife still hadn’t left my lips, and I had hoped one day sooner rather than later I would be able to tell her. Or maybe I won’t have to.

  We walked into the restaurant that my mother had insisted on and found her sitting at a table overlooking the water. The weather was calm today, neither hot nor cold. A light breeze blew, reminding us that it was spring.

  Elise took my hand and led me with a smile to her.

  “Mom …”

  “Ford, Elise, so good to see you newlyweds. Congratulations! Let me look at you two!” Mom said as she glared at us. “Yep, yep … that is exactly what I thought. You look more in love than ever.”

  She hugged us both, complimenting Elise on how glowing she looked. I agreed.

  “We are,” Elise said while smiling. I hoped that I could always make her smile like she was now. That would forever be my goal.

  Sitting down at the round table, we immediately were asked about why we decided to just get married at the courthouse and about our service.

  “I’m not going to lie; I would have loved to see my only child getting married. I would have thrown you one hell of a wedding.”

  “No ma’am, we didn’t expect or want that. All we wanted is to make it official.” Elise spoke up.

  “You mean it wasn’t official before that?” I looked at her and smiled, getting the pretty grin that I was counting on.

  “You two are adorable … I remember when my husband used to look at me that way. I am just ecstatic that you two are as happy as you are. Weddings don’t make a marriage, that is for sure. I hope you two really know how truly happy I am that you found someone to love and get loved in return.” She smiled and paused for a split second as if she was thinking of the past. “Anyway, your dad couldn’t be here, but we both wanted to give you a little something.”

  “Mom, we don’t need anything. Things are good. I booked a couple day stay at a hotel, and we are going to have a honeymoon if you know …”

  “Stop there, Ford. There are some thing’s a mother doesn’t need to hear about.”

  I grinned, agreeing.

  “No, we want you to do this instead. We would be hurt if you didn’t, in fact.”

  She slid over an envelope with a travel agent’s name on the corner I didn’t recognize.

  I opened it, and Elise watched, waiting to see what it was, anxious like opening a Christmas present.

  “We can’t take this … It’s too much.” It was a honeymoon trip to Colorado paid in full.

  “No, it isn’t. We want you to have it, and especially since we weren’t able to be a part of …”

  “Stop, Mom.” I knew where she would take this, and I didn’t want to go through this when I’d just married my wife. Thinking about my future or lack thereof today was not what would happen.

  “Okay, son.” She reached for my hand and patted it sweetly.

  The waitress came up to the table, interrupting us, and I was thankful. This was a happy time for us.

  Before I could order, Mom spoke up and started.

  “If we can get just a few different things and share it. French toast, scrambled eggs and bacon, extra crispy, and wheat toast. Pancakes with fresh butter and maple syrup. I will pay extra for that. Three plates please.”

  I smiled, and Elise looked at my mother like she had lost her mind along with her offspring.

  “Growing up, Mom and I would go out to eat a couple of weekends a month. I could never decide what I wanted, so Mom would order a little of everything until I figured it out. I figured out I loved those things, and so we share this every time we go to brunch.”

  “Yes, we do.” Mom smiled, and Elise observed the little bit of mother and son relationship that she hadn’t seen yet. Sure, she had seen the love between us, especially involving the football field, but in general, my mother wasn’t one who burst at the seams for being a mother. I knew she meant well, but it wasn’t worn on her sleeve.

  “How soon can we leave on our trip, Mrs. Kelly?”

  I spoke up for her. “Tomorrow.”

  “Really?” I asked shocked.

  “I agree.” I took a drink of my coffee.

  “Elise, a perfect couple complements each other and makes the other a better person. You, sweetie, definitely complement my Ford, just as he does you. He loves you, and the love is mutual. I hope you know how rare that is.”

  “I do.” She smiled and teared up.

  I was looking over the vacation rental that my mom had booked and began looking at the amenities. “Private hot tub on the back porch, can ski right out to the lifts, and breakfast served in bed every morning? Do you think you could handle making love in front of a fire?” I whispered.

  “We will never leave,” Elise said with a smile and a light laugh.

  “You could never handle that much cold weather.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I’m a Texas girl through and through.”

  “You got that right.”

  Chapter 5

  Elise

  The phone only rang twice before I heard her voice. I had no idea what her schedule was any longer, so it was a call with risks. Shay was the first girlfriend I met when I had moved to Humble and had become my best friend overnight. I loved her immediately—her spunk, her confidence, and her attitude—until I met Ford, and she asked that I not date him. She was convinced that he was for her and had me swear not to go near him.

  You can see how well that played out. And she had been dating his best friend, Luke, off and on ever since. She has put the poor guy thr
ough the wringer.

  She had moved four hours away for Northern Texas University. She definitely did more partying than learning, but that wasn’t a big shock.

  “Hey, Shay.”

  “Well, well, well,” she muttered.

  “You busy?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Just about to crawl my ass out of bed.” She always did sleep until noon.

  “Me too. I stayed in bed longer today since I don’t have anything going on today. Ford just got up to take a shower.”

  “Same man every day, huh? You’re not sick of it yet?” I could tell Shay was joking, but she also meant exactly the words she spoke.

  “Nope, and don’t think I ever will.”

  “You never know.” She smart mouthed back, and I rolled my eyes. She had been saying she didn’t want to settle down for as long as I could remember.

  “Yes, I do actually … and you could have the same thing too, if you …”

  “Spare me. You didn’t call me to lecture, did you?” Shay didn’t have much patience, similar to a first grader.

  “Hell, no. I just hadn’t talked to you since we got married and then the honeymoon. I just missed you.” And I did. There were times when both of our lives were so busy, but now that things were slowing down for me, I felt her void.

  “I miss you too, Elise. I thought I would love being away from Humble, but I hate it.”

  “Grass isn’t always greener on the other side.”

  “Sometimes, but I had to find out for myself.” I was frankly shocked that she was admitting this.

  “You always do.”

  “So tell me about your honeymoon …”

  “It was amazing. And when I say amazing I mean a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I couldn’t walk for a week when we got back.” I smiled as I thought about our time together, and how I didn’t want it to end.

  “Colorado, right?”

  “Yep. Can you believe his parents paid for it all?”

  “Why shouldn’t they? They are loaded.”

  “I don’t care about that.” Shay always did care about money.

  “You never have. I mean, shit you have money too thanks to Thad.”

  “Yes, I guess. Anyway, we had our own hot tub on the back porch. We sat in it for hours after skiing. It was just him and me the entire time. We had room service deliver most of our meals and did nothing but just be us. And it was the first time I had ever made love by a fire.” I paused for a minute.

  “I had never seen so much snow … I did pretty good skiing, but it’s not something I would want to do all the time. Ford never left my side to make sure I didn’t bust my ass.”

  “So he’s a good skier too?”

  “Yes. Good at everything.”

  “Figures … That’s great, Elise. So was it long enough?”

  “No, never. But he had to get back for work, and I had to get back for school and work.”

  “How much longer till you are done?”

  “Not long.”

  “And then are you packing up that day to move to Humble?” She stated knowing my plan.

  “I wish. I don’t know if we will live with Carol and Terry for a bit while we find a place or what. They have told us we are more than welcome, but I don’t want to invade their privacy. I mean, it was different when I was in high school.”

  “Yeah, I get that. Especially now since you can do it whenever you want, wherever and however.”

  “We have been able to do that for a long time, Shay. Always with the sex, aren’t you?”

  “Yes … well, it sounds like everything is perfect.” I wasn’t sure if I sensed sarcasm or true happiness for us.

  “Things aren’t perfect … but pretty damn close.”

  “I see perfection.”

  “I think it is more of knowing that no matter what happens, we will get through anything at anytime.”

  “That’s a big commitment.”

  “Something neither of us takes lightly.”

  “I’m not sure I want to venture into that territory.”

  “Come on over to the dark side.” I giggled. Ford came walking over to me with just a towel on that barely hung from his waist. I couldn’t believe he was all mine.

  “Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?”

  “I’m not …”

  “Ford must be out of the shower …”

  “Don’t you dare think about it. He’s my husband, and that is completely off-limits.”

  “I’d better go.”

  “I mean it, Shay!!!” I started to laugh as we hung up, knowing she might have been thinking of him, but I really had no right to be jealous. He was mine. All mine.

  Elise

  The knock on the door threw me completely off. We didn’t get guests often and especially not in the evening. Terry and Carol always came earlier in the day, and Ford’s parents had only been to our place three times.

  The knocking continued until I stomped to the door.

  “What in the hell took you so long to answer the door?” Shay stands before me looking pissed all to hell.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  “I thought I would come to town for a bit and stopped here on the way to Humble.”

  We hugged each other like it had been ages and didn’t let go.

  Ford had heard that she had called things off with Luke, her high school boyfriend, again. But this time, he thought it would stick. They were in college and still playing the same games as in high school. Well, Shay anyway. Luke worshipped her, and that had never changed not even for a split second.

  The timer went off in the kitchen for the microwave. I had forgotten to thaw the meat last night for the meal tonight, so I had to do it quickly.

  She followed me into the kitchen with a smirk. “Look at you … Miss housewife … that sounds so odd. I don’t know if I will ever get used to saying that.”

  “Well, you have to because, believe it or not, I am married.”

  “Blah, blah, blah. I’ve never seen you so happy,” Shay said sweetly smiling.

  “I’ve never been so happy. You want something to drink? Wine, beer, water, soda?”

  “Beer is good.” She made her way to the couch and plopped down like she had been traveling for days.

  “So fill me on what’s new?” I took a seat beside her, picking up a throw pillow the shape of Texas that had home written across it.

  “Things are good, busy … I’m ready to be done with school. In fact, I’ve thought about just saying to hell with it and get the hell out.”

  “Don’t do that. You have already gone so far …”

  “Nah, I don’t really care anymore. I just wanted to party, and party I have done.”

  “Of course, you did. You have always been good at that!”

  “And I miss someone more than I ever thought I could.”

  I didn’t say anything, letting her talk her way out of this conversation.

  “So tell me about you, Elise … I need to hear what has been going… I miss you so much. I mean, I know you got married without me here … And you had a sex-tastic honeymoon.”

  “You just want to hear the details about my husband.”

  “Okay …” She smiled evilly.

  “Things are good. I honestly am ready to be back in Humble because I’m over the college scene, not that I was ever in it. One thing has me a bit worried, but I don’t want to bring it up to Ford. Did Luke tell you what happened at the last game?”

  “Yeah, he did. I can only imagine how you must have felt. Why didn’t you call me?”

  “I didn’t do anything but sit beside him. I was worried about him … I didn’t call anyone.” And I didn’t other than his parents and Terry and Carol.

  “Anyway, Ford has been acting off lately. I need to just bring it up to him, but I fear it is only going to piss him off. He doesn’t like to be babied.”

  “Who the hell cares? You are his wife, so if you are concerned, you should ask him.”

  “Now that I think about
it, when we had brunch with his mom the day after the wedding, she was looking at him completely differently. Like she knew something.”

  “I very seriously doubt she knows something you don’t. That isn’t like Ford at all.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Maybe I am just looking into things too much.

  “Possibly, but you should ask. Put your mind at ease.”

  She leaned in to give me a quick hug.

  “I’m still upset about not being at the wedding. I don’t know if I will ever get over that!”

  “We only wanted us,” I explained and probably should have felt guilty but didn’t.

  “I’m half the reason y’all are together, so I should have at least been able to come to the wedding.”

  “Bullshit, Shay. That is a good one, and I wish Ford was here so he could have heard that. He would have laughed his ass off.”

  We both laughed for a minute and then hugged again.

  “I really hope that one day I have what you have.”

  “You will, Shay.”

  “I’m not sure … you know you always seemed like you were different when you moved to Humble, and even when you tried not to be, you were. You already knew what was important in life.”

  “Because I didn’t have it … not in the way I should have.”

  “I did have it, but look at me. Look at you.”

  “So we wanted different things in life. There isn’t anything wrong with that,” I reasoned with her.

  “Elise, you got it all because you were smart about it.”

  “I just happened to have had the right guy come in my life and make me fall in love.”

  Shay rolled her eyes and laid her head back on the couch. “Make it stop … I should have never bent on letting you date him!”

  “And that would have never worked, and you know that.” I looked at her like I was calling her bluff.

  “I know it.”

  “Y’all looked so pathetic; I knew that it would last.” She smirked.

  “What? I liked him instantly. He was different, and I could tell.”