Chapter 7 April
APRIL
“Is this too much of a date dress?” April asked Crystal, who was sitting at the foot of her bed, to help her choose an outfit for her next visit to Cal Nolen’s cabin.
She’d begged Crystal to help her choose something to wear because she had no idea what the event even was.
She wasn’t going in a professional capacity, so it seemed right to dress up a little.
At the same time, if she dressed up too much, would that come across wrong?
She didn’t want to overdress and make Cal think she was expecting a date.
Crystal sipped on a soda while she advised her friend. “Dress for the job you want,” she said with a wink and a smile.
“I’m not looking for a date,” April said.
But Crystal was clearly not buying it. “The dress is adorable,” she said after another quick sip. “It looks like exactly the sort of dress a sexy lumberjack would appreciate.”
April couldn’t help giggling. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t overthink it, girlfriend,” Crystal said. “You look amazing. I say wear that. It’s cute, not too formal, just nice enough to show you care.
April took one more look at herself in the mirror and decided to take her friend’s advice. “Thanks, Crys,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous all of a sudden.”
“Denial is not just a river in Egypt,” Crystal joked.
April said goodbye to her friend, grabbed her purse, and made a last-minute adjustment to her hair before walking out the door.
The drive to the cabin was as scenic as ever, but April couldn’t seem to get her mind off the upcoming social call.
It felt strange to be going there without an excuse, without a reason.
But she was also so excited. The visit felt like the beginning of something.
In earlier visits, she could always tell herself she was only doing her job, even though part of her knew her visits were not entirely necessary after the first one.
Something about being with Cal and Owen quieted her spirit.
She turned her radio off and continued the drive in silence. It wasn’t raining this time, so she was comfortable opening her window and letting a little fresh air into her car. The sounds of the forest were music enough to her.
The cabin itself looked like something out of a novelty painting, she thought. She wouldn’t change a thing about it. She stayed in her car a moment to stare at the scenery. Owen was running around behind the cabin, unaware that she had arrived.
When Cal walked around the cabin and toward her, she realized she could no longer sit and watch them live their lives without looking like a total weirdo. She stepped out of her car and waved. “Hi there!” she called to him. “Long time, no see.”
He shook his head with a smile. “It’s been three days.”
“Well,” she said, “it felt like years to me.”
“You’re too sweet,” he said. Then he called to his son. “Owen! You’re buddy’s here!”
The kid had been running in another direction, and April saw him run in a wide U-turn and make his way excitedly back toward her.
“You came!” he said, as though he didn’t already know she was going to be there that day.
He really was an adorable kid. When he came close enough, he held up something he had clutched tightly in one hand. “Look what I found!”
For a moment, April was convinced he was going to shove a frog at her, and she was going to have to pretend to be deeply impressed with it.
But once he got close enough that she could see what lay in his hands, it became clear it was just a rock.
She knelt down to see it better. “What’s that you’ve got there? ” she asked.
“It’s for you,” Owen said. “Do you want it?”
“Well, thank you, Owen. How thoughtful.” She took the rock from him and examined it. It was a shiny, reddish-brown color with white stripes going all the way around it. It really was pretty now that she looked at it. “I love it,” she said, and she put it in her purse. “I’ll keep it always.”
Owen’s eyes lit up with pride. “I knew it.” Then he shouted back to his father. “See, Dad? I told you she’d love it, didn’t I? I told you!”
Cal grinned and nodded. “And you were right.” He turned to April to add, “He’s very proud of the rocks he finds.
If you stick around, you’ll receive many, many more.
So many, in fact, that your purse will be too heavy to lift.
” He laughed again, and April thought she’d never heard a more infectious laugh than his.
“Come inside,” he said. “We have a surprise for you.”
She followed them into the cabin, Owen bouncing in excitement the whole way, and what she saw inside confused her at first. There were balloons and streamers everywhere.
Some had clearly been put up by Owen himself as they were clustered and very close to the ground.
In the center of the dining table was an obviously homemade cake with candles placed neatly around the edges.
In the center of the cake, written in a shaky hand in frosting, were the words, Happy Birthday, April!
“What’s all this?” she asked with a nervous laugh. “It’s not my birthday.”
Owen was the one who answered. “I know. But you had to work on yours. So, I thought I’d give you mine.”
Cal clarified. “He’s been insisting on it for days. I thought it best not to talk him out of a charitable donation he wanted to make out of the goodness of his heart.”
April arched an eyebrow. “Charitable donation?”
“It’s a birthday gift,” Cal said, pride lacing his words. “He noticed that you had to work on your birthday, so he insisted on giving you his.”
It took all her self-control for April to keep her eyes from welling up.
This was probably the sweetest thing any kid had ever done for her.
Any person, really. The level of thoughtfulness something like this required was so high for a kid his age.
She could hardly believe it. “Thank you so much.” She blinked back the tears before they fell and knelt down to accept a hug from Owen.
“I’ve never been gifted a whole birthday before. ”
When she let Owen go, she saw how proud he was. “I picked out the decorations,” he said.
“I love them,” April assured him.
Cal added, “We’re sorry we couldn’t ask what your favorite cake is, but we felt it would ruin the surprise if we did.”
“It’s chocolate,” Owen excitedly chimed in.
“Well, that’s lucky,” April said. “Chocolate is my favorite.”
Once again, Owen looked so proud of himself, and April decided that no matter what, she was going to enjoy and appreciate this day more than any other birthday she’d ever had, just to see that pride on little Owen’s face.
Cal was right. This sort of thoughtfulness should not just be rewarded but encouraged.
April was determined to encourage it, and what seemed to make the kid happiest was seeing how much April loved all the little things he had planned for her.
Cal leaned over the counter with one of those long-necked lighters. When he was finished, he and Owen stood back and sang “Happy Birthday” to April.
“Make a wish,” Owen said after the song was finished. “You have to blow all the candles out, or it won’t come true.”
April grinned back at him. “Oh, I’m not worried about that at all,” she said.
“My wish already came true today.” She blew out the candles and sat down with the Nolen family to eat the cake they’d made for her.
Most of the conversation was driven by Owen, who talked endlessly about rocks he’d found, plants he’d grown, and wildlife he’d befriended.
Feeling like she was part of a family was something April knew she could easily get addicted to.
There was something especially tempting about this one, though April couldn’t pinpoint it exactly.
It was the polar opposite of her life in the city, which was busy, full, and loud.
Time seemed to move more slowly here with these people.
It was such a relief. This was what April had been looking for when she moved away from the big city.
Summit Falls wasn’t quite this, but she still loved it.
It was a good middle ground, she thought.
After they finished eating cake, Owen went outside to look for more rocks. Cal began to clean up after their little party, and April offered to help him. “It’s your birthday,” Cal said. Then he added, “Sort of. Sit down and enjoy the day. I can handle the dishes.”
“You guys are so sweet,” she said, sitting back at the table. “I mean it.”
Cal turned back and smiled. “We get it from each other.”
“I believe that.” She watched him wash, dry, and put away each dish.
He worked slowly, like he didn’t have anywhere to be or anything else to do, and she realized that was because he didn’t.
This was his whole life. And, of course, that made this Owen’s life, too.
She couldn’t help wondering how much social interaction he got on average.
The boy seemed overly attached to April, an adult he only just met.
Was that because he didn’t see many other people?
“Do you guys get into town much?” she asked.
Cal didn’t look back as he answered. “Only when absolutely necessary.”
“Oh?” She couldn’t tell whether he was joking with her or dead serious. “Where do you usually go?”
“Typically, we go to the hardware store and the grocery store to get some of the things we can’t grow here.” He dried another dish and put it away before turning around to face her.
“No… um…” She hesitated. What she wanted to ask next was going to be a boundary push, and she knew it.
But they had made her so comfortable, and their home was so warm and peaceful that she couldn’t foresee this going so wrong that it wouldn’t be worth the question.
She cleared her throat and started over. “No children’s events or anything?”
Cal leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. “He’s gifted, as you’ve seen. He doesn’t enjoy the company of other children.”
April shrugged. “How could you know that if he never spends time with them?”
For a moment, she worried that Cal would be angry with her.
His eyes narrowed and he looked offended.
She felt terrible for having brought it up at all, but at the same time, the fact that a kid like Owen could go his whole life without having a friend his age made her so sad.
If she didn’t at least try to change Cal’s mind, she would hate herself for being a coward.
She was a nurse. Had they been in a clinic, she would have been more comfortable making recommendations about Owen’s mental health and development.
It was just her job. For some reason, it was harder to talk about this sort of thing on a social call, but she was determined to do her best.
Cal’s response was a lot more relaxed than she’d expected it to be. “What sort of kids’ events would you recommend for him?”
April thought a moment. She hadn’t expected to be asked her opinion so quickly.
She’d expected him to tell her it was none of her business.
“Um…” she began, racking her mind for something.
“I guess there’s a story time event at the local library every Thursday.
He could go to one of those.” She paused before continuing.
April had never been a shy person, but she did recognize she had come very close to crossing a line she could not uncross.
At the same time, she decided, offering advice without assistance was less than kind.
“I could take him one Thursday, if you were OK with that.”
Cal stood up straight and uncrossed his arms. “Look. I like you as a person, so don’t take this the wrong way. But there’s no chance in hell I’m letting you take my son anywhere without me joining you.”
She didn’t know quite how to take that, but she couldn’t blame him.
He didn’t know her that well. If it were her child, she supposed she would have felt the same way.
She decided to spin it into something positive.
“So you’re coming with us then?” She offered her most charming smile, and if she wasn’t imagining things, he did seem to melt at it a little.
“Fine,” he said. “What time is the event? We’ll be there.”