Chapter 16
Vera
E very time Vera passed the old farmhouse on the outskirts of town, she imagined what it would be like to raise a family there. To her, it was the perfect house. It had a large backyard that backed up to the woods and a front porch that was big enough for any family gathering she could imagine. If Vera owned it, she would paint the cream-colored siding blue and put rocking chairs and a swing up on the porch.
Vera had arranged a tour of the house a few months ago with the real estate agent. The inside needed updating and a fresh coat of paint, but Vera could see beyond that. She saw her family making the house a home. Christmas mornings by the big bay window in the front of the house. Kids helping her bake in the large kitchen. Summer nights spent watching fireflies as the creaky porch swing filled the night sky.
It was a beautiful image. And recently, she saw the future with Isla.
She hadn’t shared her dream with anyone. Not her mother or her sisters or even Cameron. Hell, she hadn’t even told them that as of noon, the farmhouse now officially belonged to her. Vera had scrimped and saved every penny she could over the years in preparation of one day buying a house. And now, that dream was a reality.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
Isla was sitting in the passenger seat of Vera’s SUV wearing a red bandana as a blindfold. They had gone to dinner earlier and Vera wanted to show her the farmhouse. However, she wanted to keep it a surprise until they got there. She parked the car in the gravel driveway.
“We’re here.”
“Great, but I still don’t know where here is,” Isla laughed. “You’re not secretly one of those killers that lures me into loving you only to take me out to the woods and shoot me, are you?”
“Babe, you have to stop reading Stephen King.” Unbuckling her seatbelt, Vera placed a hand on Isla’s arm. “I’m going to open the door for you, then you can see where we’re at.”
“As long as you don’t kill me.”
“Oh, hush,” Vera teased and placed a kiss on Isla’s cheek. “I’d miss you if you were dead.”
“Mmm, that might be sweet if I weren’t blindfolded with no idea where I am.”
“Fair enough.”
Chuckling, Vera got out of the car and jogged around to Isla’s door. The snow-covered gravel crunched under her boots as she helped Isla out of the vehicle. She put her hand on her waist as she led her a few steps toward the house.
A few hours prior, Vera had come out to the house and strung a single strand of Christmas lights around the off-white railing that wrapped around the porch. They twinkled in the evening sky, adding a soft glow to the house. Vera could hardly wait to spend her first Christmas inside the house, and nearly burst with excitement over the idea of Mason and Isla spending it with her.
“Okay. Voilà.”
Taking a deep breath, Vera took the blindfold off Isla. She watched Isla’s face as her emotions played across it. Confusion, wonder, curiosity. They all fought for top billing on Isla’s face. Vera took her hand and squeezed it.
“What do you think?”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“Whose is it?”
Vera felt her smile spread wide across her face. “Mine.”
“Yours?” Isla’s brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at Vera. “What about your house now?”
“I’m selling it.”
Nodding her head, Vera tried to remember the eloquent speech she had planned out in her head to tell Isla.
“I’ve had my eye on this house since I was a little kid. The family that used to live here really took care of us and always had it decorated for Christmas and every holiday. I always told myself that’s the house I want one day. I want to raise my family in a house like that.”
Isla nodded, smiling. “I love that.”
“I contacted a real estate agent a few months ago, right before I met you, and viewed the house. I fell even more in love with it when I saw it from the inside. It’s the perfect family house. Lots of room to build a life filled with love.”
Vera reached out and twirled a stand of Isla’s hair around her finger.
“I told my real estate agent that I wanted to buy it for my family. She asked about my family, and I said, ‘I don’t have one yet.’ But do you know what happened less than a week later?”
“What’s that?”
“You and Mason walked into my life.”
“Vera,” Isla whispered as understanding filled her eyes.
“I know everything with us has happened so fast, but it also feels so right.”
“I know.” Isla nodded her head. “I feel the same way. Everything in my life,” her lower lip quivered as she laced her fingers with Vera’s, “I think has led me to this moment.”
Pulling Isla into a hug, Vera held on tight to her. “I love you, Isla.”
“I love you, too, Vera.”
“And I know this might sound crazy, and maybe I am crazy, but I think you’re the person I’m supposed to share this house with. The person I’m supposed to share my life with.”
“You’re not crazy.” Isla kissed her quickly before taking a step back to see her eyes. “Because if you’re crazy, then I’m crazy. Because from the second my eyes saw this house, it felt like home.”
Unable to contain her happiness, Vera bear-hugged Isla as she spun her around in circles. They were both giggling like children, and the sound was wonderful to Vera’s ears. She hoped there would be many, many more happy memories made at the farmhouse with Isla.
“So, what now?” Isla breathlessly asked as Vera set her feet back on the ground.
“I don’t know,” Vera laughed, then shrugged. “We can move as fast or as slow as we want from here. I don’t want to rush things, especially for Mason.”
“I appreciate that.” Taking a few steps toward the house, Isla crossed her arms over her chest as she seemed to study it. “I think Mason will love it here.”
“I think she will, too.” Vera joined Isla, putting a hand on her lower back. “And over there,” she pointed to the detached garage on the other side of the driveway, “is the garage with a spare room over it. I can see Mason and her friends hanging out up there. Having sleepovers, watching movies. It could be the perfect kid hangout space.”
“I love that you’ve thought of this.”
“There’s five bedrooms inside, so Blake will have a place to stay when she comes here.”
“Thank you for that.”
Isla walked up the steps of the farmhouse slowly, still seeming to be processing everything. Vera stayed a few feet back to give her space. She watched Isla run her hands over the railing as she leaned against it to look at Vera on the steps.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Just thinking about how I never thought this would happen when we moved here. It’s overwhelming, but in a good way. I think this is the start of our forever. Me, you, and Mason.” Isla smiled. “I need to talk with Mason, if that’s okay.”
“Absolutely, Isla.” Vera joined her on the porch. “Take all the time you two need. Like I said, we can take this slow. I’m not suggesting we need to move in together right now. Just maybe, eventually. If we both still want this when I get this house painted and fixed up.”
Isla ran her hand over the siding that was in definite need of a fresh coat of paint.
“What color do you want to paint it?”
“I was thinking blue.”
“Blue?” Isla laughed. “Okay, yes, you need me in your life to prevent you from painting the house a ridiculous blue color.”
“Hey, I’m pretty good at picking out paint, if I do say so myself.” Vera leaned up against the railing, her eyes still on Isla. “And it won’t be an obnoxious blue. It will be a pretty blue. Like a robin’s egg.”
“That might work.”
“I think it will.”
“I love this house.”
“I do too.”
“And I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Walking over to the front door, Isla put her hand on the knob as she turned to face Vera.
“Do you have plans for tonight?”
Vera shook her head.
She watched as Isla turned the doorknob and pushed the creaky door open with her hip. Isla nodded her head inside the house as a playful smile spread wide across her face. Vera couldn’t stop her own smile from spreading at the sight.
“Want to show me where our bedroom will be?”