Woodlands (23 page)

F
loating? No, that’s not it. Exhilarated? Maybe. Soaring? Yes, that’s it. Soaring
.

Leah was trying to describe to herself how she felt as she and Seth drove back to Franklin’s house. After Seth kissed her, he said he guessed she was changing her mind about always pulling away. Leah blushed, but she didn’t mind a bit. If Seth wanted to get to know her, this was part of her—the ever-blushing, candy apple cheeks.

They had lingered for a few more minutes in a warm hug before Seth uncurled his arms from her. Then he offered Leah his hand, and they began their hike back to the car. She could feel her bare legs itching from bug bites she had received while they sat on the log—bugs and mosquitoes seemed to like to nibble on her. She forced herself not to scratch the bites with a vengeance once she was seated in the passenger’s seat of Seth’s Subaru station wagon.

“If I still had my letterman’s jacket from high school, I’d give it to you,” Seth said. “Then we officially would be going together, wouldn’t we?”

“What did you letter in?”

“Track. The 440 was my specialty.”

A smile played across Leah’s lips. “I still have my letterman’s jacket. Should I give you my jacket?”

Seth laughed. “And what did you letter in?”

“You’re going to laugh,” Leah warned him.

“I’m already laughing.”

“Discus. But mind you, it wasn’t a very competitive event for our school or our state, for that matter. Especially for the women’s event.”

“Discus, huh? Remind me to keep my distance if you ever decide to throw things.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not the tantrum throwing sort.”

“Would you be interested in going out to dinner with my folks when we get back? I’d sure like for them to have some more time with you.”

“I’d be honored,” Leah said. “How long will your parents be here?”

“They fly out in the morning. I had hoped they would be able to stay for the reading of the will, but the lawyer is out of town until Friday.”

Leah wasn’t sure why, but she felt a little uncomfortable when Seth mentioned the will. She remembered Ida’s saying that Franklin had changed his will less than two weeks ago. It made Leah wonder if Franklin knew his life was coming to a close. She dismissed that thought when she remembered that he had planned for her to take him to the hot springs in three weeks.

A wash of remorse came over her again, the way it had at
the house when she said she wished she had brought the flowers by in the morning. Now she wished she had taken Franklin to the hot springs the very day he had asked her. Her argument to others all along was that she wanted to make an old man happy. Now it was too late. She wouldn’t take Franklin anywhere ever again.

“I wish I could have taken Franklin to the hot springs,” Leah said, as Seth pulled up in front of Franklin’s home. Only a few cars remained out front.

“It wasn’t meant to be,” Seth said. He took her hand as they walked up to the front door. “You were more considerate than I was. At least you were willing to take him. I knew he was frail, though.”

“And you were right. The trip would have been too much for him.”

“At least he knew you were willing to take him,” Seth said, opening the front door and letting go of Leah’s hand so she could go in first.

“Is that you, Leah?” Ida asked as they entered. She was busying herself around the living room with a feather duster, which Leah thought was comical. The company was all gone, and no one would live in this house for a while. How funny that Ida felt she was helping by dusting. Or was she finding a way to kill time until Seth and Leah returned?

“Are you all right, Leah?” Ida asked.

“I’m fine.”

Seth slipped his arm around her shoulders, as if offering a show of moral support.

Seth’s mom came into the living room from the kitchen and appeared slightly surprised to see her son with his arm around Leah. She smiled at Leah and said, “We’re almost finished up here. Jessica is helping Mavis put away the last of the
dishes. Seth, your father went on to the hotel in Edgefield. He asked us to meet him there at six for dinner. You will be able to take me, won’t you?”

“Of course. I invited Leah to come with us as well.”

“Good,” Mrs. Edwards said with a warm smile for Leah.

Jessica exited the kitchen with a dishtowel in her hand. “I think that’s everything. Oh, Leah, you’re back. Good. I’m about ready to head home. Ida, would you like me to drive you home?”

Ida looked at Leah, who had been her ride to the memorial service and then to Franklin’s house. With a snap of her eyelids, Ida turned to Jessica and said, “It looks as if I will be needing a ride, thank you.”

“Are you ready to go?” Jessica asked.

“I suppose.”

The two of them returned to the kitchen—Jessica to put the dish towel away and Ida to stow the feather duster. It all seemed so natural to Leah, being in Franklin’s house with her friends and feeling Seth’s arm around her shoulders while he made small talk with his mother. Yet, at the same time, it was all so unreal. Franklin was gone. A wonderful man was showering her with attention and affection. Leah felt as if she had stepped into a parallel reality and wondered how long the two worlds could overlap. Would the dream continue and take over? Or would the old reality return and leave her alone with Hula and a handful of flowers next May Day but no doorstep to leave them on?

Seth ushered his mom and Leah to the car. Out of respect, Leah opened the door to the backseat so Mrs. Edwards could sit in the front.

“Oh, no, please, Leah,” Mrs. Edwards said. “You sit in the front. I’ll be comfortable in the back.”

“I wouldn’t,” Leah said.

Seth and his mom stopped short and stared at Leah after her abrupt response.

“What I mean is, I wouldn’t feel comfortable in the front seat if you were in the back. Honest. You’re Seth’s mom. I was raised this way. Sorry I turned this into something awkward. I’d just feel better if you sat in the front, Mrs. Edwards.”

The generous smile and spontaneous hug that Seth’s mom gave Leah told her she was liked and had done the right thing, even though the remark had come out bumpy.

“Please, call me Bonnie.” Mrs. Edwards gave Seth a grin that reflected her definite approval of Leah. They got in the car, with Leah in the backseat and Bonnie Edwards in the front.

Leah had never been one to carry a makeup bag in her purse, but she wished she had one now. After the tromp through the forest, she felt she could use a little freshening up before meeting Seth’s dad for dinner. But all she had was a comb, which she used on her hair. What she really wanted was some eye drops. The pollen in the air had gotten to her. She would love to pop out her contacts, rinse them and her eyes, and then put the contacts back in. As it was, she kept blinking in hopes of cleaning them enough to see clearly.

The conversation on the way to Edgefield was light. Mrs. Edwards was curious to learn about Leah’s family and her long history in Glenbrooke. Seth glanced at Leah several times in the rearview mirror, and each time, his eyes smiled at her.

Dinner with the Edwardses turned out to be a casual affair, for which Leah was grateful. They dined in the hotel coffee shop, and she rinsed out her contacts in the restroom. She also applied a cold paper towel to the red bites on her bare legs. The beauty regime was simple, but it was enough to make her feel more comfortable with Seth’s parents.

The conversation flowed easily, and Leah enjoyed Seth’s parents. They both indicated they approved of her for their
son, and Seth seemed proud of her.

It wasn’t until the drive home with just her and Seth that she allowed herself to believe all this was really happening. She was curious about so many things, and as soon as Seth stopped talking about how much his parents liked her, Leah asked her first question. “Did you take many of your girlfriends home to meet your parents?”

“What makes you think I had a lot of girlfriends?”

“Oh, come on! I’m not that naive. Do you want me to guess which number I am? Maybe girlfriend number thirty-two? No, more like forty-seven, right?”

Seth shook his head. “How about maybe three and a half.”

Leah studied his profile. “Three and a half? Am I the half?”

“No, the half was Tiffany Andrews. She was my date to the junior prom, but she asked me, and we never went out again so I’d say she was a half.”

“And the other two?”

Seth extended his arm on the top of the steering wheel and casually responded, “There was Fiona in Sweden my senior year. We were together for all of three weeks before her previous boyfriend came home from the university. She told me she was getting back together with him because they ‘spoke the same language,’ which was, of course, true in more ways than one.”

“That must have been a heartbreaker,” Leah said.

“Better than a bone breaker.” A sly grin crept up the edge of Seth’s mouth. “Her boyfriend was huge! He could have snapped me like a dog biscuit and tossed me off some fiord. I still think Fiona made the wrong choice getting back together with him. He dominated her life, and she was this free-spirited, creative woman. I have no idea what happened to her. I always hoped she met some musician. She could have written lyrics for him.”

Leah liked the way Seth spoke of this woman with such respect. “And number two?” she asked.

“Ah, number two. That would be Tessa. She’s the one who broke my heart.” Seth paused.

Leah didn’t know if she had the right to probe. The sad truth was that she had no comparable stories to tell him. She had never had a guy return her interest in him.

“You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to,” Leah said.

“No, I don’t mind. It’s funny how it still hurts a little. I really fell for Tessa my senior year at college in Boulder. I thought she was the one. She had long, blond hair and was homecoming queen that year. It took me two weeks to work up the courage to ask her out. I couldn’t believe it when she said yes. We went to dinner and seemed to hit it off. So I asked her out again. We went out six times. No, actually seven times. Then one of the guys I played racquetball with took me aside and told me she had spent the night in his dorm room and had slept with his roommate the night before.”

Seth shook his head. “Here I’d just taken her to a movie and kissed her good night at her door. As soon as I left, she went to be with this other guy. I asked her about it, and she said I was the kind of guy she wanted to marry. But since she wasn’t ready to get serious yet, she still wanted to have some fun.”

“I can imagine how much that must have hurt,” Leah said.

“Hurt me enough to make me boycott women for several years.”

“And now? You’ve obviously ended your boycott.”

“I settled my heart with God the last few years in Costa Rica. I knew what I wanted in a woman, in a relationship with an equal partner. That’s why I was so amazed when I saw you the first time at the Little League game. It was as if God took
my wish list for the perfect woman and put it all together, and there you were.”

“Your wish list, huh?” Leah asked with a smile.

“You don’t have a wish list?”

“Not really. But I have been known to wish upon Pluto.”

“And what exactly happens when you wish upon Pluto?”

Leah turned to Seth and with a grin said, “You, I guess.”

M
e, huh?” Seth said, as he stopped the car in front of Leah’s house. “You wished upon Pluto, and you got me, huh? What would have happened if you wished upon Neptune?”

Leah shrugged playfully and said, “A guy who carries around a forked spear and likes seafood?”

Seth let out a deep laugh. “I hope that doesn’t mean my being connected with your wish on Pluto is your way of telling me I’m a dog?” Seth got out of his side of the car and motioned for Leah to stay where she was so he could come around and open the door for her.

As he offered her a hand out, Leah answered him with, “No, but I noticed you came with a dog, or at least you got a dog the first time we did something together.”

“Yes, and by the way, how was Bungee the night you had him?”

“Oh, he was great during the night,” Leah said carefully, as
she unlocked her front door and led Seth into the kitchen. “I took him for a long walk around the block, and he was good and tired when he went to bed.”

“He sure needs a lot more attention than I’ve been able to give him. I’ve felt bad about leaving him alone in the apartment so much. And he needs a yard to run in.”

“That’s for sure,” Leah said.

Seth went to the cupboard and pulled out Leah’s coffee beans and filters as if they already had discussed his staying for coffee. They hadn’t, but Leah had hoped he would come in. And here he was, in her kitchen, making coffee.

“Did I detect a hint of sarcasm there?” Seth asked. “Where does that come from?”

“I might as well tell you, your little Bungee Boy tore down the barricade I left up in the mudroom and had a free-for-all in my house.”

Seth glanced around. “Anything broken?”

“No.”

“Looks like you managed to clean it all up.”