Elsie
Chapter Fifty-Two
No one really cared about the fact that I decided to stay, I guess because no one ever really knew I’d been planning on leaving.
I gave up Mr. Briggs’s house, which was sort of sad because it felt like the first place I’d really come into myself, but also kind of a relief because there was way too much home improvement on that place to ever be worth the rent.
But I had to admit, it was nice waking up to the smell of coffee before my eyes even opened. That was definitely a perk of my new living situation. And certainly not the only one.
I don’t think Will had many complaints either, save for Creamsicle, but I knew they’d grow on each other. Eventually.
Other than that, life was quiet, easy, and completely and utterly blissful. I had shifts at the café, days off where I’d still be at the café, but to write. And night after night spent with Will. Or Ava, Theo, and Will. Or all of the Hughes at Friday night dinners.
I couldn’t imagine anything better.
Ava used some of her newfound free time to start a flower business. It turned out picking out arrangements really soothed her. And she had an undeniable knack for business that seemed to motivate rather than stress her out.
I was proud of her. Really, I was. And we’d gotten a lot closer lately. She was even helping me organize my writing corner at the cabin.
It wasn’t until a few weeks after I’d decided to stay that the women I’d met on my first day in town approached me again.
“Deb. Cathy. Hi.”
“Hi, dear. It’s been a while,” Cathy said.
“Sorry, we haven’t checked in on you,” Deb apologized. “But looks like Will took care of you, just like we said he would, didn’t he?”
I laughed, remembering that first encounter. How they’d given me his phone number, encouraged me to call him for anything I needed.
“He sure did.” I nodded, staring off to where he poured a cup of coffee. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Of course, it all worked out just perfectly, didn’t it?” Deb asked, more to Cathy than to me.
“Just like we knew it would.” Cathy nodded her agreement.
“What do you mean?” I frowned, lowering my laptop screen.
“Well, the two of you are just what we hoped for, of course. Why do you think we gave you his number?”
“You planned it? But how could you have known?”
“Oh, he’s been so alone for years.” Deb nodded sadly. “He didn’t even realize he needed someone. And you? Well, you were just perfect. We knew that right away.”
“He always had a thing for redheads, you know,” Cathy added. “He had a crush on the Disney mermaid when he was a boy.”
“And then that voluptuous rabbit after her.”
“And then the Spider-Man girl when he got a little older.” They both laughed in unison as I watched on in bewilderment.
“Anyway, we won’t bore you with all that,” Deb waved a hand. “We just wanted to tell you how thrilled everyone in town is about you two.”
“We should put the two of them on the front page of the paper, shouldn’t we?” Cathy laughed.
“Oh, no. You really don’t have to do that.”
My blushing only made them laugh harder.
“Oh, sweet girl, we’re just teasing. Colbridge doesn’t even have a paper anymore.”
“Used to,” Deb added. “But those things are wildly outdated, even for a little town like this.”
The gears in my head started turning, a feeling of bitter nostalgia at the dying industry I’d built my first career around.
“You guys don’t have a newspaper? But this is the quaintest town in New England, and local papers are essential to maintaining that old-fashioned integrity!”
“We have the old Gazette building in pretty decent shape, but we don’t have any staff willing to run it.”
“I can write,” I said quickly, a plan formulating in my mind faster than I could speak. “I can find others, too. It might not be anything crazy, but wouldn’t it be nice if the town had a little something personal and local to read once a week?”
“Oh, it would be lovely. No argument there.” Cathy nodded.
“And then at least there’d be somewhere to post the wedding announcement when it comes around.” Deb looked at her with wide-eyed enthusiasm.
They lost me there.
“What wedding announcement?”
“Yours and Will’s, of course.”
If I’d been drinking my coffee, it would’ve been a waste, because I would’ve spit it all out when I heard that outrageous comment.
I blushed, hoping desperately that Will was out of earshot and didn’t catch the comment.
Nothing scared a man off from a new relationship more than the mention of marriage.
“Oh, we’re not. I mean, we’ve only been together a little while. So, uh—”
They stared at me expectantly.
“So, at present we have no plans for matrimony.”
“Not now.” Cathy laughed.
“No, of course not,” Deb added. “But someday, right?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the warm feeling of a hand on my back made the words catch in my throat.
I looked up to find Will standing behind my chair, smiling down at me before turning his attention to the gossiping women in front of us.
“Yes,” Will said with the security of a man who had his entire future on lock. “Someday.”
For once, I couldn’t wait for the future.