Saturday

The next morning, I awoke in Virgil’s arms to the sound of Cat Benetar meowing for her breakfast.

“Damn spoiled thing,” Virgil grumbled. 

“I can’t imagine how she got that way,” I murmured, pecking him lightly on the forehead with a kiss. “Ugh, I’m going to brush my teeth,” I said.

“That reminds me, I meant to tell you… I finished putting up the new shelves in the hall closet, so you won’t have to keep your extra stuff in those boxes anymore.” He yawned and sat up. “I put a new light in, too.”

“You’re so handy,” I said, sliding out of bed. I slipped to the bathroom, with Virgil at my heels. We brushed quickly and then indulged in a kiss – a real kiss. 

“See?” He said once we were back in the hall. He flipped the switch just outside the door, and then opened it up, showing me the shelves he put in.

“Very nice,” I said, admiring them.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get this done sooner,” he said.

“Its fine, I’ve been living out of suitcases for years,”

“You shouldn’t have to, this is your home. It should feel like home.

“It does,” I told him, and we kissed again. It was all I could do not to push him back to the bedroom right then.

“Breakfast?” he asked when we broke apart.

“Yes,” I said, knowing there would be plenty of time for the other stuff. Cat Benetar followed us down to the kitchen, and mewed impatiently, weaving her way between Virgil’s legs as he made his way to her food dish.

“There, you mouthy thing,” he said good naturedly. She purred as she crunched on her dry nuggets of food. “And for the other beautiful woman in my life, how about some eggs on toast?”

“Sounds divine, but I don’t know how I feel about being the other woman to Cat Benetar,” I teased.

“You could do worse.”

I laughed, taking my customary seat at the kitchen island. Virgil always refused offers of help, but I loved to watch him work. 

“What are you going to do today?” I asked him.

“I need to go down to the garage for a little while, because a parts truck is making a delivery around 11, and then there’s some stuff up in the attic I’ve been meaning to sort through and organize,” he said as he started collecting the things he would need to make breakfast. “What about you?”

“I might finally unpack the rest of my stuff.”

“Good,” he said. 

“Is it good?” I asked. I meant to be teasing and flirty, but he turned away from the stove and fixed me with a look so earnest it cut me to the bone.

“Yes. Because with your stuff all packed up, I was afraid you might leave again,” he said quietly. “You might decide it’s not worth it after all.” He lifted his shoulders in a weak shrug. “I’m sorry if it sounds like I don’t have faith in you… it’s not that exactly… it’s just… Sometimes I feel like this,” he gestured to me and then back to himself. “Must be a dream, because how could reality be this good, right? And I’m afraid that I’m going to wake up, or that the dream is actually a nightmare… I’m making a mess of explaining things, I’m sorry. I’m just glad you’re putting down roots, and I hope they grow deep.”

I smiled.

“I understand what you mean… When I came home the other day, and heard you in the bedroom talking to someone… my mind went right to the thought that you might be up there with someone else… not that you were on the phone… and I hated that my mind went there. I trust you. I do, but we’re still early days. Those feelings are going to take some time to fade, I think.”

He came around the side of the counter and crushed me close to him, embracing me tightly. I melted into him.

We ate breakfast together, and then he headed off to the garage, once again giving me a kiss that stoked a fire in me.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” he said.

“Okay,” I said and he went on his way.

I spent the rest of the morning unpacking my clothes . Virgil was right, I was living out of my suitcases, and I realized that I was doing it because I had one foot out the door still, ready to drop everything and run the second there was trouble. It wasn’t a conscious decision, but it was something I was going to stop doing that very minute.

Once my clothes were in order, I looked at the time. There were still some other boxes in the spare room, but it was nearly noon. Virgil would be finishing up with his parts delivery, and my stomach was rumbling again. I headed down to the diner and grabbed the usual from Aubrey, and then set off towards the garage.

“Miss James,” a voice called. I turned to see a man I didn’t recognize. He had a vague resemblance to Mr. Bowman, though.

“Yes?”

“You shouldn’t meddle in things that don’t concern you,” he said sharply. 

“I was just trying to help.”

“Keep your nose out of things you have no business sticking it in,”

“Hey, that’s enough,” Devola called from the porch of the general store. She had a garden hose in her hand, watering the plants out front I assumed. To emphasize her point, she splashed water at the man. It didn’t hit him, but he acted as if she’d flung molten lava at him.

“How dare you!” He fumed. He turned and went into the post office.

“Are you all right?” Devola asked me.

“I’m fine,” I said. “Thanks.”

“It’ll blow over soon,” she soothed. “Most of the town is really grateful for all you’ve done, don’t let them discourage you.”

“Thanks Devola. Listen,” I said. “I’ve been meaning to ask you: Would you like to go down to Bell City with me sometime, maybe get a drink? Or see a movie?”

“I would like that, a lot.” She smiled wide.

I finished my trek to the garage just as Virgil was coming out the door.

“Hey you,” he said, surprised.

“Hey you,” I said. “I come bearing sandwich.”

“Fantastic, I’ll walk you home.”

As we walked, Virgil said “You’re quiet.”

“I bumped into one of my friends on my way through town,” I said flatly.

“One of the Bowmans?”

“Indeed.”

“Are you all right?”

“I think so,” I said. “More or less.”

“Look, the Bowman family has old roots here, but they haven’t lived here, not properly, in more than 40 years. They’re mad about not making money. It was never about the town for them, you know that right?”

“I do,” I said. We were nearly home, practically in the shade of the evergreens that grew along the driveway.

“Good, and I hope you won’t let them chase you off. I think I’m too old to get into any more fist fights,” he said. I smiled wanly.

“You’re not that old,” I teased. “You’ve got lots of life left.”

“I hope so, because I want to spend it with you.” He cupped my cheek in his hand. “I wish I’d met you sooner,” he said softly.

“Why’s that?” I said, feeling my wan smile become a little bit brighter.

“So I could have…” He paused, as if steeling himself. “The fact is that I love you, Ella. And I wish I could have loved you for longer. You… You don’t have to say it back, not till you’re ready. I’m content to wait, however long you need.”

I slid my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me. I kissed him softly, and for once, maybe for the first time ever, I let myself fall.

“I love you, too.” I said softly. Because of course I did.

He kissed me again, and again, and again.

Sunday

Saturday was a wash for both our plans: we spent the rest of the day in bed together, so after breakfast Sunday morning, Virgil headed up to the attic. The space was finished, but Virgil was using it for storage.

“It’s kind of out of hand,” he admitted. “This has been a long time coming, I doubt I’m ever going to need that Nokia phone again.” I chuckled. 

After he went up, I went to one of the spare rooms, where we were storing my extra stuff while we figured out the whole cohabitation thing. The contents from beneath my sink at my apartment were in one of the boxes. I located the one in question and shimmied it out to the linen closet before carefully slicing the packing tape and opening it. It was stuff I hadn’t needed since I came here, hot rollers, extra shampoo and…I paused, my hand on the pink and green box of tampons. I hadn’t needed tampons since I came to LaCera? I counted backwards. My last period… When was my last period?  April?  Yes, I remembered.  The last week of April, right before I came here for the first time… and it was nearly the end of June. 

I hadn’t bothered refilling my birth control prescription after Kyle and I broke up, and I wasn’t due back at my OBGYN until October, so my period was sometimes a little irregular… but Virgil and I always used condoms. My thoughts raced. I decided before I panicked, I would take a pregnancy test…And I hoped they had one at the general store… Would Ms Fiona gossip? I decided to risk it. I couldn’t think of a reason to go to Bell City without Virgil, and I didn’t want to tell him anything until I was sure. I didn’t want to worry about how he would take it until I was sure. I put a hand on my lower stomach. 

“Hey Virgil?” I called up to the attic.

“Yeah?” He called down.

“I’m gonna run down to the store, I just realized I need to pick up some…” My mind raced. “Girl stuff. Do you need anything?”

“I’m all right. Do you want me to come with you?”

“No, it’s fine, I won’t be long.”

“Okay, love you,” he called.

“Love you too,” I called back.

I practically ran to the store, and to my delight, Devola was behind the counter.

“Hey again, Ella,” she said, smiling warmly. “How’s it going?”

“Uh…” I was breathless. “Okay, thanks,” I said. “Is your grandmother around?”

“No, she went to Ms. Deb’s to play bridge. I can call her-”

“No, it’s fine.” I said. I was scanning the shelves in the personal care section, which boasted Alka-seltzer, Vaseline and –aha!– pregnancy tests. “Listen,” I said, grabbing a bottle of lotion, a pack of gum and some hairspray, just in case Virgil was downstairs when I got back. “Can you please, please, please keep this to yourself? I haven’t said anything to Virgil yet. I want to be sure before I do.” I put the items on the counter.

“Oh my gosh, Ella!” Her eyes were sparkling. “I hope, whatever the results are, it’s what you want,” she said supportively. “I won’t say a word.”

“Thanks,” I said. I paid and I ran back to the house. Virgil was still upstairs when I got back, so I called up that I was going to take a shower, and went into the bathroom, Cat Benetar at my heels. She sat on the edge of the tub, watching me as I awkwardly peed on the test strip, and then I set a timer on my phone and waited. While I sat there, minutes ticking by, she purred reassuringly. I gently patted her head until the timer on my phone went off. With shaking hands, I picked up the pregnancy test and looked at it.

A short time later, Virgil came down out of the attic and found me sitting in the living room.

“I thought you were going to take a shower?” He asked, confused.

“Can you come sit down? I wanna tell you something.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Depends on how you feel about being a dad.” I said softly, pulling the test out of my pocket and showing it to him.

“Are you serious?” He whispered, his eyes were wide.

“Yup.”

“But how? We always-”

“Always use condoms, yeah, I know… but here we are.” I said. 

“Ella, I…” He looked up at me, his deep brown eyes were wet with tears. “I…” He couldn’t speak.

“Hey, if you’re not up for this, it’s okay, we don’t have to. I can-”

“No, I…” He took a deep breath. “Ella, I’m elated. But what do you want? It’s your body.”

I bit my lip.

“I dunno, I never thought I’d be in this position.” I admitted. “But… I want to have a family with you,” I said slowly, the realization spreading through me.

He wrapped me up in a bear hug, kissing my face and my neck. I’d have to figure out my job, the future, telling my parents and everything else, but at that moment, it didn’t matter.

“One second,” Virgil said, pulling away from me. 

I was perplexed but he was fast. He ran upstairs, and was back in a flash. 

“I wanted to do this properly, and maybe a few more months down the road, but…” He held out the black ring box. “Would you do me the honor of being my wife?” He opened it. The ring was a beautiful opal set in a delicate gold band that was wrought to look like tree branches.

“Oh Virgil,” I whispered. Suddenly, everything clicked into place, and I knew this was right. “Yes… Yes I will.”

He slipped the opal ring on my finger then, and he scooped me up and carried me upstairs to the bedroom as I laughed joyfully.

Afterwards, he held me tightly.

“Are you sure?” he asked me in a soft, tender voice. “It’s your body,” he repeated.

“I’m sure,” I said. I was sure. I decided to finally stop fighting with myself, and let myself love him. “I want a life with you. A home. A Family.”

He kissed my forehead.

“I am a little excited to start making plans,” he said softly. “But you let me know what you’re comfortable with.”

I held up my left hand and looked at the opal ring, its pearlescent sheen glimmering in the dim bedroom light.

“When did you buy this?”

“About two weeks ago… I was gonna wait until maybe Christmas or after the new year… Maybe even Valentine’s Day, but I saw it in the jeweler’s shop in Bell City and bought it that day.” He pulled me closer to him. “A friend of mine told me once, when you know… you just know.” I smiled at that.

“Tell me your plans,” I said softly.

“Well, the third bedroom down the hall, next to your office… It would make a nice nursery. A crib under the window, so the baby could see the sunrise, and the stars at night. There’s a rocking chair up in the attic that belonged to my grandmother… We could put it in the far corner, or in your office if you wanted… And our wedding… if you wanted to have a wedding -we could do the court house if you wanted to, but if not, maybe here in LaCera.”

I felt my smile widen, pulling at my cheeks so much it almost hurt.

“If we have it here, we’ll have to invite the whole town,” I teased. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“I wouldn’t mind making Will Bowman have to buy us a gift out of social niceties, but I see your point,” he chuckled. “New Oxford then? Or Rose Hollow?”

“Blue Falls? That’s where your mom and sister are, right?”

We talked late into the night, making plans for the future. As I drifted off to sleep, I could hear the rain drumming on the roof, and I thought back to my first night with Virgil. I don’t think I could have ever imagined things turning out as they did… but now that I was looking at the future -one with him by my side- I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Sunday

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Virgil and I were sitting on the couch talking about our plans when I said:

“I need to make some calls.”

“I should, too.”

My first call was to Zaira.  

“I have news.”

“If this is about your sheriff again-”

“No,” I laughed. “Uh…I’m pregnant.”

“Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“Fuck,” Zaira said softly.  “Are you happy?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I am… I really am.”

“Then I’m happy for you,” she said warmly. “But I’m not changing any diapers.”

“I would expect nothing less,” I chuckled.  “There’s more, though.”

“Oh?”

“Virgil asked me to marry him.”

“Of course he did,” she said.  “And you said yes?”

“I did.”

“Then congratulations! I’m still happy for you, but I’m not wearing an ugly bridesmaid dress.”

“And I would still expect nothing less,”  I laughed.  We talked for a while and after we hung up, I scrolled through my contacts to my mother’s entry, but my thumb hovered over Mary’s instead. I tapped her name.

“Hey,” she answered.

“Hey,” I said. “Uh… I have something to tell you. A couple of things, actually.”