That night we ended up having to sleep on the couch due to my sheets and mattress being soaked. Wished I would’ve thought ahead earlier, but with being so wrapped up in the moment who could blame me?
So Eden was tucked into my side with her head on my arm, using it as her own personal pillow once again. I could really picture us doing this for fifty years to come. Being that Sunday was coming closer each minute I didn’t want to think about the inevitable. I could tell that she was asleep by her even breaths but I knew that sleep wouldn’t come easy for me that night.
My mind began to wander, trying to picture how things would play out between the two of us. I didn’t want that week to be the end of us but I didn’t really know how to approach the subject. She had been very clear saying that she was under contract back in Nashville at her job, not to mention she had her whole life there. Would she make an effort to visit here more often? Would she be cool with the idea of Norah and me coming to Tennessee to visit? All these questions looming around in my head and I didn’t know the answer to a single one of them. I didn’t like not knowing how things would play out and I wasn’t patient enough to let things land as they may. I guessed my best option was to confront her about it and I made the decision to do so on Sunday morning when I took her to the airport. Although, I realized that she had never really acknowledged my request to be the one to drop her off, so perhaps I needed a plan B as well.
Eden wiggled a bit in her sleep and it caused me to stop playing things out in my head and focus on being in the moment with her, even if it was just watching her sleep. I smoothed back her chestnut hair out of her face and pressed the lightest of kisses on her cheek before laying back and trying to drift off to sleep.
Driving down the road on my way to pick up Eden for our fifteen year reunion, I felt like I was about to pick my date up for prom. My palms were sweaty and my hands were shaking, which could be attributed to the wrapped gift box that I had lying in the passenger seat.
I hadn’t even felt that nervous when I asked Kristina to marry me; we did it because it seemed like the logical next step in our relationship since she was pregnant with Norah at the time. Maybe the feeling didn’t materialize because in the back of my mind I knew she wasn’t the one for me. Man, if I had only listened to my gut.
Passing by all of the beautiful green trees that were lined on each side of the highway, I started to think back to the day before and how comfortable Eden was with my mom.
This time Eden picked me up from my house in her father’s car and we drove through the winding roads all the way to my childhood home. It surprised me that she remembered the exact way to go, even taking a few of the back roads. Sitting in the passenger seat, I was able to focus all of my attention on her as she drove. At one point she had her hand resting on the gear shift, just looking so enticing so I grasped it in my clutch and brought it to my lips. I took my time kissing the indentions between her knuckles and the entire area of the back of her hand. The blush that crept across her face was one that I would never grow tired of seeing. If I had to I would come up with new ways to make her feel cherished just so I could see the pink tinge on her cheeks.
Arriving at my house, Eden put the car in park and just sat unmoving behind the wheel while looking at the front door. I knew exactly what was going through her mind right then and I wished that there was something that I could do to change it. The last time she was here Kristina answered the door and dropped a huge bombshell on Eden, and as it turned out it was one that wasn’t even truthful. She very quickly replaced her mask of disappointment to one of excitement; even if it was all just a ploy I was thankful for the sudden mood change.
We walked hand in hand up the driveway and I opened the front door for her, allowing her to enter before me. “Ma, are you home?” Silly to say I know since her car was parked in the driveway, but it’d been something that I’ve said for as long as I could remember.
She came into the living room from the kitchen while wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “Of course I’m home, where else would I be?” My mother, Stella, looked from me to Eden and her eyes lit up like it was Christmastime and she had just gotten the present that she had always wanted. “Eden? Eden, is that you?” Mom pushed her glasses from the bridge of her nose back into her hair so she could get a better view without the hindrance of readers. Walking towards Eden she opened her arms to pull her in for a hug and Eden reciprocated without hesitation. Eden clung to my mother while Mom patted her on the back, “Eden, how are you, sweetheart? It has been far too long.”
“Oh, Mrs. Jenkins, I’m doing great, wonderful actually,” Eden replied while giving a little wink in my direction.
Mom pulled away from the hug but held onto Eden’s hands, “Well, let me take a look at ya,” she said while scoping out her appearance from head to toe. “Time has treated you well, Eden. More than I could say for that monster Kristina,” she huffed. If my mother and Eden had only one thing in common it would be their outright disgust for Kristina. That should’ve been my first clue all those years ago, anyone my momma didn’t like had to have been bad news.
“Baylor, I have a cobbler in the oven that needs to be pulled out, can you see to that for me?” she asked, not even looking in my direction as she dragged Eden to sit next to her on the couch. And just like that I was forgotten. Mom was always fond of Eden while we were growing up. She wouldn’t just let any girl up into my room, she had to be special and trustworthy. And although nothing scandalous ever happened between Eden and myself behind those closed doors, you don’t know how many times I had dreamed and even fantasized about it.
Once I took out the fresh peach cobbler from the oven I went back towards the living room and just leaned against the doorframe to watch the two of them interact. It was as if I wasn’t even there peering in on their conversation, and the way they easily chatted back and forth was almost as if no time had passed at all since their last encounter. Eden used to be the daughter my mother had always wanted. Between my brother and me and adding Dean into the mix, having Eden around was always a breath of fresh air for her. Mom would get the itch to go shopping and Eden would gladly volunteer or if she had a new recipe to try out Eden was always first in line. Now Mom had Norah to do those things with, but the smile that was overtaking my mother’s mouth made me realize just how much she had missed having Eden around as well.
I was brought out of my thoughts by arriving at Eden’s house. This time I was going to beat her to the door so I could use some of my gentlemanly charm. I got out of the Camaro and hustled up the drive and rang her doorbell. Several seconds passed before her dad answered the door. “Mr. Richardt,” I greeted him with a smile on my face expecting him to return the gesture but no such luck. His face remained stoic as he held the door open for me and waited for me to enter. I always remembered that Mr. Richardt was a man of few words but I didn’t ever remember the sourpuss expressions he gave. I assumed that any minute I would learn the reason for his troubled countenance.
“Baylor,” he acknowledged as he sat down on his La-Z-Boy recliner. “Boy, what are your intentions with my daughter?”
A real subtle cough escaped while I cleared my throat. How was it any of his business what my intentions were? Maybe I should tell him that if it were up to me I’d talk Eden into quitting her job and moving back to Oregon and in with me, but I would also make an honest woman out of her. Alas I didn’t, I took the easy way out and one that would keep all of my appendages in full functioning order. “Whatever Eden wants them to be, sir. I know she doesn’t live here anymore, I’m just thankful for the time I’m getting to spend with her. They have truly been some of the best days.” Ok, so I went for the sappy route, but it didn’t mean that it all wasn’t true. It was more than the truth, it was my feelings from deep inside my heart—my heart that Kristina had smashed when she walked out on our daughter, the same one that Eden could heal with just a single glance.