Chapter 29
THE SUN ROSE AGAIN the following morning, but it didn’t bring any answers with it.
The same questions that had ricocheted in my mind the night before greeted me as I groggily opened my eyes.
My heart was still divided, still uncertain not just about what the next year of my life might look like but what the following week would hold.
After having breakfast with my parents, I launched into work on the one thing that was for sure: Liv’s book, which would be due in a couple of months. I hunkered down for the rest of the morning, outlining the next few chapters, until a text from Noah appeared.
Hey, you.
I grinned and typed out a response. Hey yourself.
Noah replied instantly. I’ve got a question for you.
Text bubbles popped up as Noah wrote a second message: What would you say if I asked you to meet me at the bookstore in ten minutes?
What for? I asked, intrigued.
Telling you now would spoil it :)
My brows knitted together. I was half taken aback and half excited. There was something to spoil? Curiosity propelled me out of my chair like a motor. I flew to my closet to grab a simple sweater and a pair of jeans before striding out of my room.
I pushed open the door to And Then There Were Books, the bell jingling merrily in greeting. Two familiar faces welcomed me: Noah stood by the desk and Edith sat in a wheelchair, both smiling. One unfamiliar face stood by Edith’s side, a young nurse. I dashed over to Edith.
“Oh, Edith. You have no idea how good it is to see you in this bookstore,” I murmured, bending over to give her a hug. Her little body was still delicate, but nowhere near as frail as when she had lain in the hospital bed four days ago.
“It’s good to be back, my dear. Under supervision now, of course,” she said with a smile, throwing a look over to the sweet-faced nurse. I nodded to her with gratitude.
“Thank you for taking care of her,” I said. “She’s very special to me.”
“Of course,” the nurse replied.
I backed up and looked over at Noah, unsure of how to greet him in Edith’s presence.
“Hi,” he said, a distinct twinkle in his eye.
“Hi,” I replied. My cheeks warmed. We both laughed awkwardly and embraced for a quick moment before breaking away. Edith grinned knowingly.
“The last time we were all in here, things turned out a bit differently, didn’t they?” Noah chuckled. My eyes flashed over to Edith, who looked bashful and amused all at once.
“I suppose they did,” she agreed. I smirked in acknowledgment.
“You were right,” I said to him, nodding in Edith’s direction. “Telling me beforehand would’ve spoiled the surprise.”
Edith and Noah exchanged a look, as if they shared a secret I wasn’t in on.
“What?” My eyes darted between them, searching for an explanation.
“That wasn’t the surprise,” Edith said.
“Well, not the main surprise, at least,” Noah added. They both grinned. I tilted my head questioningly. Edith dug a ring of keys out of her cardigan pocket and held them in the palm of her hand. She looked up at me with a hopeful smile.
“What are these?” I asked.
“They’re the keys to the store.”
My mind short-circuited for a few moments. I grasped for words. “I . . . I don’t understand.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” she started. “You were right. I can’t close the store down.
I couldn’t ever do that. I don’t want to.
But if I’m going to keep it open, I need someone else to run it.
And I want it to be in the hands of the right person.
Someone who’d love it with the same heart that I have.
And, well, I just can’t think of anyone I’d rather give it to than you. ”
She peered at me through teary eyes. She was serious. She was offering me the keys to And Then There Were Books.
“Edith—” I began.
“Now, you don’t have to take them,” she interjected. “I know you have a whole life back in New York. But if you want the store, it’s yours.”
I snuck a glance at Noah, who offered an encouraging smile. Before my brain could approve of what I said next, it slipped out of my mouth: “I’ll take them.” I nodded more resolutely than I felt inside. Edith’s eyes brightened.
“You want them?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do.” Thoughts swirled through my mind, mixing into a confusing cacophony of worry and disbelief and excitement and anxiety.
I hadn’t taken the time to think through accepting Edith’s offer, hadn’t carefully considered each variable and weighed each matter.
I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d made the right decision—or even one that I could follow through on.
Before I could rescind my agreement, Edith took my hand, gingerly placed the keys in my palm, and clasped my hand shut. “Then they’re yours,” she said. I looked down at my hand, unfurling my fingers. Two gold keys, worn and aged, looked back up at me.
“It’s a beautiful day out. Why don’t you two kids go enjoy it?”
“Will you be—” I started.
“I’ll be okay,” she insisted. “I’ve got a helping hand with me.”
“I won’t let her out of my sight,” the nurse said reassuringly.
Noah guided me out of the store. I was still in a daze over what had just transpired. Before I knew it, he’d driven us up into the mountains. Where we were going, I still didn’t know.
“Let’s go. I want to show you something,” he said. We got out of the car, ambling through the half-melted snow that covered the pathway. After a short and gentle ascent through a crowd of soaring pines, we reached a collection of boulders sitting just up ahead.
“We’re here,” he said. He took my hand to keep me steady as he led me up to the top, revealing a lookout, grand and breathtaking and peaceful.
A sea of ivory and olive forest stood beneath us, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Distant mountains rose up beyond the thickets.
I smiled to myself. No matter what might or might not happen, these peaks would remain, steadfast and impressive. Always the same.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“I thought you might like it up here.” We settled down on a dry boulder. The sun cast its sparkling rays across the cloudless sky, offering just enough warmth to sit outside. For a few moments, we each sat inside our own worlds, drinking in the view. Noah broke the silence first.
“I bet you’re pretty confused right about now.”
“What gave it away?” I said with a hint of goodhearted sarcasm. My eyes met his.
“Just a hunch.” He shrugged and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear with a smile. “What are you thinking you might do?”
“Honestly? I don’t know.” I tore my eyes away and looked out over the vista, hoping the answers to all my burning questions might be written in the sky. Alas, they weren’t.
I turned the keys over in my hand, running my fingers along the ridges. Was I holding the literal keys to my future? A sigh seeped out of my nose.
“The thought of leaving New York terrifies me. It’s where I’ve been my entire adult life, where I always saw myself living.
It’s where I felt like my life could matter.
But . . . I don’t know. Sometimes I question whether it has the answers I’m looking for and whether that’s where I’m really supposed to be, or if that place is here.
I just don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Noah nodded understandingly as my confession dangled between us, suspended in place by the wind. I snuck a peek at him as he scratched his beard in thought.
“At the risk of making things even more complicated,” he finally said, “can I tell you something?”
“Yeah,” I said inquisitively.
“I’m going to selfishly tell you that . . . I don’t want you to leave.” He looked directly at me, the crystal clear sky that hung above us making his ocean eyes even more piercing. My heart stopped as every ounce—every atom—of breath escaped my lungs.
“I want you to stay, Jane,” he said.
“You do?” I whispered.
“I do . . . What do you say?”
We kept our eyes fixed on one another. A stray piece of hair danced across my face.
He lifted his hand and pushed my hair behind my ear.
He traced his fingers down my jaw and lingered on my chin, turning it up ever so slightly.
We both leaned in until our faces were mere inches apart.
There was a brief pause before Noah closed the gap, pressing his lips against mine.
After a few moments we parted, slowly opening our eyes. I looked at him and suddenly, it all became clear. I knew exactly what I was going to do.