by Jeff High
I arrived at her farmhouse at the stroke of four. The day had been gloriously warm, and I drove with the top down on the Austin Healey. After parking the car, I began to make my way to the front door. When I reached the second step, Christine emerged onto the porch. She was wearing a sundress that was neatly molded to her warm and fluid curves. I stopped and gawked. She looked incredible.
The moment held me still. Her fresh and eager face and the sensuous flow of her every move was full of seductive grace. As I stood gaping, she dipped her chin, regarding me with luminous eyes and a smile touched with both tenderness and humor. In that moment, all my forebodings melted away. There was nothing but her, whole-hearted and beautiful. Christine brought clarity to all things. Suddenly, my world, my thoughts, my decisions seemed all black and white, not a jumble of finer shades. There fell between us a natural and casual intimacy.
“Wow, I’m stunned. You look like...I don’t know...like, dessert.”
She stepped toward me and took my arm, all the while wearing the mirthful smile of one who knew many secrets. “Come along, Bradford. We have to eat our vegetables first.”
We drove through an April-drowsy countryside of clear streams and rolling fields. The breeze of the open convertible playfully teased Christine’s long black hair away from her face. Consumed in a blissful air, she melted back against the headrest. With her slightly lifted chin, her dark sunglasses, and her seductive red lips, she seemed the very picture of grace and glamour.
She spoke with a flirtatious and entertained tartness. “Gee, this is big. We’re going to Moon Lake and you’re not taking the dogs along. What about you, Luke Bradford? Aren’t you the romantic devil?” Despite her teasing I could sense the affection in her voice.
“They weren’t too happy about not making the invite list. Besides, I haven’t talked about it, but lately Rhett’s been having a bit of a flatulence problem. I need to talk to the vet about his diet.”
“Thanks for the share,” Christine responded. “Did I just use your name and the word ‘romantic’ in the same sentence?”
“Scoff if you must. I’m only thinking of you.”
“You might need to explain that one.”
“Well, in case you’ve forgotten, brown eyes, in a couple of months, you’ll be the new roommate. A dog whose GI tract is akin to that of a neutron bomb might not compliment the nesting instincts.”
Christine laughed and spoke with genuine empathy. “Poor Rhett. Maybe Karen can figure something out.”
“By the way, have you talked to our friendly veterinarian lately?”
“Not really, why?”
“Just wondering how she and Hoot are getting along.”
“Don’t know. I like them together, though. They seem like a good match.”
“I think they’re more than just a good match.”
“In what way?”
“Are you kidding? Karen can field dress a deer, bait her own hook, and back a boat down a ramp. For Hoot, she’s practically the perfect woman.”
“I can do those things.”
“Should I let Hoot know?”
“Maybe. But I feel kind of bad about it. I mean, you did ask first.”
“Hey, I don’t want there to be any second guessing here. I couldn’t bear the thought of you seeing Hoot out on his tractor some day and thinking, ‘what if?’”
She smiled dismissively. “Not to worry, Bradford.”
By now we had reached Gallivants Crossing, the road to Moon Lake. I eased the car into a lower gear and turned down the tree-lined lane. In my head I was practicing the things I needed to say.
“You’ve turned awfully quiet. What are you thinking about?”
I evaded. “Oh, you know. Just wondering if everything was in order for the wedding.”
She lowered her chin. “Nice avoidance you big liar. But, yes, all the wedding plans are on track. Mom and I went to Nashville this morning to do the final fitting on the wedding dress.”
“And, how did that go?”
“Oh, it was wonderful, of course. How could it not be? I love the dress. It has a long train, almost eight feet.”
“With a caboose and everything?”
“Not funny, Bradford.”
“Well, I don’t know,” I said jokingly. “This wedding is starting to feel more like a coronation. Maybe you should wear a crown?”
“An actual crown?”
“Sure, like a princess.”
“I think not,” she said with dismissive politeness. And yet, there was a noted hesitation.
“Huh, your words say no but your eyes say yes. And why not? You’re kind of Watervalley royalty.”
She spoke instructionally. “Every girl wants to be a princess on her wedding day, Bradford. But Watervalley would see it as pretentious and so would I. Of course, that doesn’t apply to you.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, to you, I am a princess with a crown. So, whenever you look at me, just pretend I’m wearing one.” Quite pleased with herself, she did her best to suppress a gleeful smile. Her gaze rolled to the passing countryside and an amused silence followed.
We sped along under the spell of the warm day and the mesmerizing drone of the engine. The sunlight dappling through the trees flickered across Christine’s face, illuminating her silhouette in a soft, almost ethereal radiance, like the kaleidoscopic frames of an old film. The effect was surreal, magical. In that very moment, I was once again reminded that she was the most beautiful woman I had ever known. I suspect every man felt that way about the woman he loved. But I feared my well-rehearsed lines were becoming a blur.
We reached the entrance to the property. I unlocked the gate, pulled through, and then locked it behind us. We rolled through the tall grass to the side of the lake. The warm breath of spring floated in the air and a golden light bathed the entire area, offering a hazy luster that shimmered across the water. We were in the deep green heart of April and the afternoon brooded with a lazy, drowsy enchantment, like a day from an unfallen world.
I came to a stop alongside the table and flowers. Christine immediately gushed into a gape mouthed astonishment and with both hands she pulled herself above the windshield to attain a better view. “Look at this! Luke, this is so wonderful!” She absorbed everything for a few seconds before collapsing back into her seat. Wrapped in a pleasant euphoria, she looked at me and seemed to pass into a deeper reverie. “Wow, now I really do feel like royalty.”
“Well...there’s wine and roses in it for you but no tiara I’m afraid.”
She turned and hit me on my shoulder, an act of delighted admonishment. “I love it. What’s gotten into you?” She was radiant and looked at me with willing lips and adoring eyes as if I were the answer to every prayer she had ever offered. The moment was powerful and delightful, and I couldn’t help but linger in it, letting the earth rotate just a little bit farther.
“Come on, gorgeous. Let’s go smell the roses.”
We settled into the chairs and talked casually for a time. But all the while, I began to feel a baffling torture of doubt. A strained unease crept over me. Despite the churning in my stomach, my heart was packed with its burden for confession. For a long moment, I vacantly stared out over the lake and into the middle distance.
“Christine, there are some things I need to tell you, things that I’ve kept to myself for, well...for a variety of reasons.”
Her lively expression tempered. With strained uncertainty she made a low noise of acknowledgement. Yet even then she looked at me with eyes that were patient and undemanding.
I need to clear the air about something.” She nodded softly, saying nothing. A wispy breeze carried the faint scent of early honeysuckle. I took a deep breath and began.
I told her everything...about receiving the research offer, about my anguish during that time regarding her medical condition, and about how my decision to keep the matter quiet was driven by my desire to protect her. Then I told her about the letter from the estate attorn
ey and how the money could be used to pay off my debt to the town, allowing me to pursue the research opportunity. I told her that I had thought about it, seriously. But I finally decided that what I wanted more than anything was for us to be happy, for us to live in Watervalley. I would use the money to buy the Moon Lake property and we would use it for building a house.
During the entire time I was speaking, Christine sat silently. She simply listened, heard, breathed. I finished by saying, “I’m sorry. I should have told you all of this sooner. I just wanted to be certain of my own mind first.”
I awaited her response and a knotty silence ensued. When she finally did speak, her words were soft, almost fragile.
“Luke, I have something that I need to confess to you.”
I stared at her blankly. This was not the reply I was expecting. My mind churned, and it occurred to me that the only logical confession regarded some previous boyfriend or tryst that she wanted to reveal. My words grew quick with expectation.
“Look, Christine. It’s okay. If there’s something about a previous boyfriend, don’t worry about it. We all misplace our hearts a few times before we find the right place to put it.”
“No. No, Luke. It’s nothing like that.” There was a naked pleading in her eyes.
I was dumbfounded. “It’s not?”
“No.”
“So, no skeletons in the closet, no mad moment of weakness at a fraternity party, no ‘Girls Gone Wild,’ video appearances?”
“No, no, and no.” My failed assumption had eased her trepidation. Her gaze grew tender and the light of higher purpose seemed to flicker in her eyes.
“Then...what? What could you possibly need to confess?”
“It’s about everything you just told me, about the research letter and the money.”
“What about it?”
“I already knew.”
Chapter 33
SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS
I DON’T UNDERSTAND? What do you mean you already knew?”
“Don’t be upset with me, Luke. Please.” She said the last word as if it was a sentence unto itself.
I starred at her, searching, dumbfounded. “Well, no, I’m not upset. A little baffled, maybe. I mean, how could you have possibly known? John knew about the research offer. But I’ve told no one about the attorney letter.”
Before speaking she reached over to hold my hand, a gesture of needed assurance. “Do you remember last November, after the Veteran’s Day ceremony, when we drove to the concert in Nashville?”
“Sure.”
“Well, for several days following that, I couldn’t find my sunglasses. So, after school I stopped by the clinic to look for them in your car. I didn’t see them, but I thought maybe you had put them in the glove box. And that’s when I found the letter from Vanderbilt. I know I shouldn’t have read it, but I did.”
Her words brought back the events of that day. Before leaving town, I had checked my mailbox on the way to the car. After reading the letter I had wadded it up to throw away. But after a moment, I thought better of that idea and tucked it in the glove compartment. That’s where it had remained, even to this moment. Christine continued.
“I guess I thought you would eventually say something about it. But when you never did, I wondered why...why you wouldn’t pursue your dream. That’s when I realized it was because of me. Because you thought I would be unhappy to leave Watervalley.”
I nodded solemnly. “That would be correct.”
“I guess at the time your assumption was true. But as the weeks passed I began to grasp what you were giving up and I came to realize how much you truly loved me. My roots are in Watervalley, Luke, and I draw a lot of strength from being here. But you’ve changed that. You had your dream job within reach and you never said a word. You put your love for me before everything else. I’m amazed at it, really, and I’m not sure I deserve it. But being with you is where my world is now. I had always assumed that being loved would bring me happiness. But I never realized how much courage it would also give me. I love Watervalley, Luke. But it’s just a place. My home is with you, wherever that may be. That’s why we came up with the plan about the money.”
“We? What we?”
“My grandmother Chambers is a wealthy woman and quite a while back she set up a trust fund of $100,000 to be given to me the day after my wedding. She’s old fashioned and I guess it’s kind of a dowry thing. Or, I don’t know, maybe she thought I was going to be an old maid and was using it as a bribe. In any case, mom and grandmother and I came up with the idea of contacting your attorney and offering $75,000 so you could pay off your debts and take the research offer. It seemed like such a simple plan. I never dreamed you would think of using the money to buy the Moon Lake property.”
“So, you’re saying that the $75,000 is your grandmother’s?”
“Yes.”
“And she agreed to this?”
“Yes.”
“How did you even know how to contact my attorney?”
“It was during the Christmas Eve party, when mom and I were upstairs in your room. She stood guard while I went through your filing cabinet. That’s how we got the name and address. On her way back home to Florida after Christmas, Grandmother Chambers stopped in Atlanta to see the estate attorney. She can be very persuasive.”
“This we know.”
“That’s why the letter said the money would be distributed in July. Grandmother wanted to hedge her bets a little just in case the wedding didn’t happen. Her idea, not mine...just so you know.”
“I’m shocked she consented to any of this. Look, Christine. I know you love your grandmother. But every time I’ve been around her, she acted like she wanted to debone me. I’ve never thought she liked me. And listen...I’m just going to say it. I think she’s mental. I don’t believe she limits her madness to March.”
Christine laughed, placing her hand over her mouth. “Oh, dear Luke! I haven’t been very fair to you. Grandmother Chambers adores you. She truly does. But she’s a prankster and was a drama major in college. Around you she’s acted out this tough farmwoman persona, but she’s really not like that. I shouldn’t have let her little ruse go on this long, but you see her so rarely.”
“You mean it’s all been a game with her?”
“Mostly. I’ll agree, she’s a bit eccentric. But she really does have a heart of gold.”
I stiffened my neck, unconvinced. “I’ll take your word for it.”
The conversation came to a lull. It seemed that we had allowed the discussion to follow tangents and had avoided the larger subject. I was searching, still trying to grasp everything Christine had told me. I stared at her curiously.
“So, question? Why all the charade? Why not just tell me about the money?”
“And would you have felt good about saying ‘Oh, by the way. I’ve gotten this research offer so let’s use the money to leave Watervalley?’”
“Probably not. I would have felt guilty for not having already told you about the job.”
“And besides, I’ve already said it was wrong for me to read the letter. I felt guilty, but I couldn’t change what I knew. Now it sounds like a whole lot of silliness. I wanted you to be free to choose. I never expected this.” Christine made a glancing gesture toward the lake. “I never expected you to use the money to buy the property and stay here.”
“I want you to be happy.”
“And I want you to be happy.”
“So, what does that look like?”
“I think you know what that looks like, Luke. It looks like a research position at Vanderbilt. It looks like living in an overpriced apartment in the West End, me teaching at a private school, and us loving every minute of it.”
A grand, deeply born euphoria began to well within me. “You think so, really?”
“Yes, I do,” Christine said emphatically. She fell silent and dropped her gaze, pondering. Ever so carefully, she placed both her hands on top of mine. Her voice was low, deliberate
, penetrating. “And I’ll tell you what else it looks like. It looks like you going to work each day and doing fertility research and then coming home each night and us spending some delightful hours putting those theories into practice.”
There was no missing her intent and her modest but resolute message sent my primal instincts soaring. After a time, she looked up at me with a soft and inquisitive regard. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, couldn’t be better.” I gushed a short laugh and looked across the lake. “Sorry. For a moment there I lost the power of speech.”
Christine smiled wistfully, no doubt aware of the incredible gravity she held over me. “Luke, listen. Yes, one day I would love to come back to Watervalley. And part of me would like to think that you feel the same way. But this research opportunity is the future you want.”
“But it will take months for Watervalley to find a new doctor. I would be leaving them in the lurch. After everything this town has done for me, it doesn’t seem very fair.”
“All of that can be worked out. You know it can. Watervalley went without a local doctor for years. Arrangements can be made to cover a few months until another physician can be settled.”
I searched her face. “You’re willing to do this?”
“Absolutely.”
“Are you sure? I thought this was the only place on earth you could be happy?”
Christine looked away for a moment. “Luke, to climb the same hills, to walk the same meadows, to breath the same air my parents and grandparents did for almost a century before me is unaccountably rich in satisfaction. It’s a gift, a strength, a sense of belonging that I carry with me. It’s hard to explain. I can’t show it to anyone and they can’t see it. My roots here define me, and I like who that person is. But they don’t bind me. They don’t limit my happiness to this one place on earth.”
I collapsed back into my chair and once again stared at the lake, speechless. My thoughts and emotions were muddled. Exhilaration, apprehension, and guilt all converged upon me. It was an incredible business. I had not allowed myself to entertain the possibility of taking the research position. But Christine’s assured endorsement swept all doubts away. The elation I had felt months ago when I first opened the attorney letter and dreamed the possibility of taking the Vanderbilt job now returned. It seemed I had been sleepwalking the last half year, living under a veil of a self-induced melancholy. Christine’s voice broke through my temporary muddle.
