Chapter 16
MAUVE
Mauve sat at her kitchen table with her mother, both with steaming mugs of coffee before them.
“I did it. I wrote my resignation letter last night,” Mauve said, sliding a piece of paper toward Cynthia. “What do you think?”
Her mother read it quickly, eyes widening. “So you’ve made your decision?”
“I have. I’m going to move with Jason to L.A. I know this messes with your plans to buy a place here, and I’m so sorry about that. I would have loved to spend more time with you, especially if we have a baby.” Her eyes filled. “But I can’t let him go, Mom.”
“Don’t worry about us. We’ll follow you wherever you go.”
“You will?” Mauve asked. “Really? What about David?”
“David knows how important it is that I stay connected with my girls. He’ll support whatever I want.
” Cynthia shook her head as she wrapped her hands around the coffee mug.
“Isn’t it something? I have a man who will support me?
I never in a million years thought I would have someone who loves me so much.
I know it feels like a big sacrifice right now, but you won’t regret choosing love. ”
“I hope you’re right. Because if I’m wrong about Jason, I’ll never recover.”
“You know deep down who he is, right?”
“I do. Yes.”
“It’s all going to be okay.”
“I feel scared,” Mauve said.
“Yes, but you’re choosing to be brave, even though giving your trust to Jason feels frightening.”
“Maybe I can get a job out in California.”
“Of course you can,” Cynthia said.
“Maybe I’ll like the beach. And make new friends.” She swiped at the corners of her eyes, thinking about Reese. “I’ll miss Reese terribly.”
“She’ll visit, and you’ll come here.”
“It all sounds so reasonable when you say it,” Mauve said, laughing despite new tears pricking at her eyes. “I’m going to wrap up the letter to give to Jason. As my promise to go with him, wherever he goes.”
Her mother simply nodded, an expression on her face that Mauve wasn’t sure how to interpret. It was almost as if she thought it was all a moot point, but that couldn’t be right. Jason wasn’t about to give up his movie career. She was the one who had to make the big changes.
“Have you sent this yet?” Cynthia asked, gesturing to the letter.
“No, I’m going to give it to Jason first. As a gift. I’m even wrapping it in a box.”
“That’s very romantic.” Cynthia patted her hand. “He’ll love it. It’ll be part of the story you tell your children.”
She’d written the letter on her laptop at one in the morning.
It is with regret that I am writing to inform you of my decision to resign from my position as a speech-language pathologist, effective at the end of the spring term.
I will transition all of my clients carefully and will be available to consult during the handoff.
It has been one of the great honors of my professional life to serve the children of Sugarville Grove,
When she’d finished, she’d printed it, signed it in pen and folded it into a clean white envelope with Jason’s name on the front.
She’d put the envelope into a gift box and wrapped it in red paper, tying it with a thin gold ribbon.
The whole thing was smaller than a paperback, yet held her whole life.
She truly hoped Jason understood what she was willing to give up for love.
Her mother took off a few minutes later, leaving her to get ready for her date with Jason. She showered and dressed warmly. Jason had texted earlier to wear boots. Whatever he had planned was outdoors.
Snow had fallen overnight and had a thin sheen of ice on top of it, making it almost blue.
A cardinal had landed on the holly bush by the back porch.
She stayed by the window for a moment, watching him, marveling at the color in his feathers.
A Christmas bird just like the one on her tree that her grandmother had chosen for Mauve all those years ago.
She thought about Ollie. She’d written detailed notes about his progress, about the signs they’d worked on, about how he was just starting to make sound. Whoever took him from her would need that. She owed it to him to make the handoff seamless.
I wish I didn’t have to do it, Ollie.
She’d just finished pulling on her boots when Jason pulled into her driveway. He got out of the truck, crossing the yard in long, sure strides, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, as if he had a secret. Well, she had one too. She put the box in her coat pocket and opened the door.
“You look beautiful,” Jason said.
“Thanks.” She tugged her knit cap from her other pocket. “I’m ready for whatever adventure you have planned.”
“Excellent. Shall we?” He offered her his hand, and the two of them set out side by side. Equals? Time would tell, she thought nervously.
He helped her into the car, making sure he had her seatbelt on before closing the door and sprinting around to his side.
They set out, taking Rabbit Run Road until they reached the Hayes farm.
“What are we doing here?” Mauve asked, feeling disappointed. As much as she loved Walter and Grace, she wasn’t in the mood to sit in their kitchen and endure small talk. Not with what she carried in her pocket.
“I have something to show you.”
He drove past Walter’s house and then, further down the driveway, past Reese and Roan’s. She’d never been to the back of the property, where the woods thinned and the land opened onto a long ridge at the edge of the Hayes family farm.
They arrived at the edge of a wide clearing. Jason killed the engine, drew in a deep breath, his hands still on the steering wheel. “You want to walk with me?”
“What are you up to?”
“You’ll see,” Jason said.
Cold air stung her cheeks, but she was warm in her parka and hat. He took her hand and led her up a small rise. When they reached the top, he halted.
“Here we are,” he said.
A quilt had been laid over a fallen log, with a thermos and picnic basket beside it.
Beyond the clearing, the land dropped away in a long, slow slope into the valley below.
Below the rise, a creek ran through a pasture, snow piled high along both banks, its water flowing under a thin lid of ice.
In the wintry light, the bare branches of the maples were the color of copper, striking against the pale blue sky.
And past all of that, the Green Mountains met the horizon in three long peaks of snow.
“Do you like the view?” Jason asked.
“It’s breathtaking.”
“Would you like to see it every day from your kitchen window?” He turned to face her, taking both her gloved hands. “This is part of the property my mom left Roan and me. It’s mine if I want it.”
“What do you mean?” Her heart seemed to beat between her ears.
“It’s zoned for a house.”
She couldn’t think straight, but, somewhere in the tumble of thoughts, she knew one thing.
Before he said anything further, he needed to know what she was willing to give up for him.
For them. “I have something for you.” She pulled the small box out of her pocket and handed it to him.
“Open it. Before you say anything else. Please.”
He took the ribbon off first, then tore open the paper and lifted the lid off the box, taking out the envelope and sliding his finger under the flap, then pulled the paper out.
He began to read, his gaze moving quickly over the words she’d written in the dead of night.
A muscle in his cheek flexed. His body went still.
She held her breath.
“Did you already send this?” Jason asked.
“Not yet. I wanted to give it to you first.”
“What does it mean?” Jason asked. “Exactly?”
“That I’m willing to go with you. Wherever you go. If you still want me.”
“I want you. Let’s get that straight,” Jason said. “But I’m not letting you give up your life here.”
“I love it here. I really do. But I love you more.”
He closed his eyes briefly, shaking his head.
When he opened them, his eyes shone with an intensity she hadn’t yet seen.
“I want you to know that, as long as I live, I’ll never forget what you’ve offered me.
Thank you for being willing to change your life for me.
But you don’t have to. I have another idea.
” He let go of her hand and strode to the car, opening the trunk and returning with a long cardboard tube.
With a theatrical flair, grinning at her, he uncapped it and pulled out a roll of papers.
“Come sit with me,” Jason said.
He led her over to the log and spread the papers out onto the quilt, weighting one corner with the thermos and the other with a stone.
“This is my idea,” Jason said, “for our lives together.”
The first sheet was a site plan. Hand-drawn over a printed survey of the family property.
There was a small rectangle at the top of the rise marked MAUVE’S HOUSE.
There was a circle around it labeled footprint approx.
3,300 sf. Below it was a topographic line marked driveway. Underneath was a floor plan.
“We could have a house built right here.” He gestured toward the land all around them. “This doesn’t have to be the exact architectural plan. We can do whatever you want, but I wanted a prop, so to speak, to prove how serious I am.”
She was stunned into speechlessness, which for someone in her profession didn’t often happen.
“You don’t have to give up your work,” Jason said. “This can be my home base whenever I’m not working. My home. With you. And our children. I’ll choose projects carefully, so that I can be with you as much as possible.”
“Are you sure?”
“This is my home. Anywhere you are is my home,” Jason said. “But being here with you has made everything clear. I love my work, but not as much as I love you.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand to silence her. “Before you say anything, I have a question.”