Chapter Twenty-Four
T he dining room table would accommodate fifteen people, and every seat was full when we all sat down for supper. Maybe Mama had been right about ghosts being in the house, because I could feel Aunt Gracie hovering around. In my imagination she had a big smile on her face when she looked at Gina Lou’s parents—Rachel and John—and her six siblings. At one time I swear I saw her even wink at me and give me a nod of approval.
Connor nudged me with his shoulder. “What are you thinking about?”
“How nice it is to have a full table,” I whispered.
“Connor tells me that you are thinking about running the strawberry farm when my lease is up,” Everett said.
“Yes, I am, and maybe even making strawberry wine.” I noticed that John had finished the last of his hot roll, so I passed them around the table.
“I can’t ever remember a time when this table has been full,” Mama said. “It feels good.”
“Amen,” I agreed. “And Gina Lou has an announcement to make while we are here together, but before she does ...” I raised a glass. “To many more times like this.”
Connor clicked his glass against mine. “Hear, hear!”
Jasper touched his to Everett’s and then John’s. “I hope that folks in heaven can look down on us, because if they can, Gracie will be so proud to see this.”
Gina Lou pushed back her chair and stood up. “I can’t do this without crying, so, Lila, you’re going to have to tell them.”
I got to my feet. “I’m not sure I can, but I’ll give it my best try. Mama says that Aunt Gracie was an early proponent of women empowering other women, and I want to keep that legacy alive. She gave several young women scholarships to go to college. She helped others open a small business or helped them be productive in many other ways. So I am giving Gina Lou and Stephanie both scholarships to the college of their choice. The funds will go toward books and tuition, also for dorm and meal fees—or if Gina Lou and Stephanie would rather share an apartment and cook their own food, that’s an option.”
The only sound in the whole room was the rustle of my dress on the wooden chair seat when I sat back down. Stephanie’s eyes were as big as saucers. Tears dripped off Gina Lou’s and Rachel’s cheeks.
John cleared his throat twice and then said, “You’ve done so much for Gina Lou, giving her a job and letting her live here and”—he paused and wiped his eyes with his napkin—“and even letting her borrow your vehicle. We can’t accept something this big.”
“It’s Gracie’s money that is doing this,” Jasper said. “So I guess you’ll have to argue with her, and that’s going to be a tough job.”
“I still think I’m dreaming,” Gina Lou said.
“Thank you,” Stephanie whispered.
“ Thank you is hardly enough,” Rachel said. “What can we do to repay you?”
“Well ...” I paused. “I’ve given this a lot of thought, and maybe y’all won’t even be interested in what I’ve got in mind. I sure don’t want to make Brenda at the Dairy Queen mad at me for poaching her help, but when Gina Lou leaves, I could use someone to clean house and cook. And, John, I don’t know what you’re doing now, but I’m going to need someone to oversee the strawberry crops. I’m learning how they regrow in the fall and spring, but someone who understands all the business would be great.”
Grow. That word stuck in my head. Just a short while ago, I had met Connor, and look how much our relationship had grown.
“Gina Lou tells me that y’all grow some for your own use, so I reckon you’ll know what to do, even if it is a bigger operation,” I went on. “And, Rachel, I plan to use a lot of my strawberries for making wine, so you could also help Annie and Mama in the winery I’m going to build. They haven’t agreed to help me, either, but none of you have to decide today. You’ve got all summer to think about it.”
“We’ll talk it over,” John said. “And I’ll add my thanks to the girls’. Like Gina Lou said, this is a dream come true for them.”
“And like Jasper said, you can thank Aunt Gracie.” I smiled.
“Speaking of possible and definite changes ...,” Everett said. “Connor?”
“Now?” he asked.
Everett smiled. “No time like the present.”
“You deliver the news,” Connor said.
“Okay, then,” Everett said with a nod. “I’m retiring and moving to one of my rental properties here in Ditto—the little house next to Sarah’s place. I’m not waiting around for Connor to hear my will read. He’s young and more than able to take over my businesses. Except for the strawberries. I’m breaking my lease, Lila, and turning that over to you as of right now.”
“What are you going to do? Take up knitting?” Jasper asked.
“No, I’m taking a page from Sarah’s book,” Everett said. “I’ve always wanted to travel, but my wife was a homebody. The first thing on my agenda is that I’m going on an Alaskan cruise for senior citizens at the end of May. Then I’m going to fly down to the Bahamas and spend a few days with my son. If I like the cruise thing, I may do a long one to see more of the world. You want to go with me, Jasper?”
“No, sir!” he declared and shook his head. “I’m a homebody, too, and them cruises probably wouldn’t let me bring Sassy with me. I’ll just stay right here in Ditto, and you can tell me all about your adventures when you come home.”
I leaned over toward Connor and laid my head on his shoulder. “Change is good, right?”
“We’re fixin’ to find out!”
Everyone had left after the party except for Gina Lou and Stephanie. In my mind I pictured them in Gina Lou’s bedroom with their phones out and their thumbs working overtime to find what beginning classes they would take in the fall at the University of Texas in San Antonio.
Connor and I finally had a minute to ourselves, and took a couple of cold beers to the front porch. We sat down on the porch swing, and he cupped my face in his hands. “I’ve been wanting to do this all evening.” His lips closed on mine, and once again we were in our own little bubble. When he pulled away, I laid my head on his shoulder and my hand on his chest.
“I love to feel your heartbeat,” I said.
He kissed me on the top of my head. “If it ever quits beating, you’ll have to take the blame for breaking it.”
“I would never, ever . . . ,” I promised.
“Then you aren’t upset that I didn’t tell you earlier that Grandpa was retiring and I was stepping into his shoes?” he asked.
I leaned back so I could see his eyes. “Darlin’, we’ve both been testing each other to be sure that we’re ready to commit.”
The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. “You really do speak your mind.”
“You’ve known that from the beginning. Look!” I pointed to the sky.
“What?”
“A falling star,” I said.
“Then we get to make a wish, right?” he asked. “I’ll go first. I wish that when Gina Lou leaves in August, we could move in together. You can choose which house we live in.”
I snuggled in closer to him. “I thought we were taking things slow.”
“We are,” he assured me with a kiss on the forehead. “I love you, and I’m ready to commit, but there have been so many changes in our lives to get used to that we don’t need to try to live together with someone else in the house. How about September 1?”
“Why that date?” I asked.
“Because that’s six months from the day we met.” His thumb made little circles on my arm and turned up my internal heat to the scalding-hot level. “And then maybe we’ll have a Christmas wedding? We can’t get married in October because we’ll be knee deep in your first harvest. November won’t work, since we’ll be planning Jasper’s birthday party.”
“I’m not easy to live with. I speak my mind and I don’t like to cook,” I whispered, and then gasped. “Did you just ask me to marry you?”
“No, ma’am, I did not,” he answered. “When I do, you won’t have to wonder about whether I did or not. I just said that maybe we would have a December wedding.”
“Can you tell me two reasons why you want to marry me or even live with me?” I asked.
He held up one finger. “Because I’ve fallen in love with you.” Another finger joined the first one. “And two, because I’ve fallen in love with you, Lila Matthews. Now, you tell me two reasons why you would say yes to living with me or marrying me.”
“One, because you make me happy, and two, because I love you.”