22. Devon #2
She smiles. “What did you wish for?”
I decide to only tell her about the first wish since like with the story of the young girl, I’m not exactly sure how the well is making my second wish come true, only that it feels like it has. “When I was young, I wished to be a pro hockey player.”
Her eyes flash. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“And you were, in fact, a pro hockey player.”
I gesture with my hands as if to say, obviously.
“You know, I looked up a few clips of you playing hockey the other night. You were really good.”
“Do you know anything about hockey?”
She shakes her head quickly with a laugh. “No, but I know talent when I see it. Plus, you looked so happy.”
I put my arm around her. “It used to hurt that I only played for a short amount of time. I’m pretty sure I ran the gamut of emotions.
Everything from pure anger to confusion to acceptance.
But honestly, not everyone can say they ever stepped foot in a pro hockey arena and played, and I can.
It didn’t turn out the way I expected or even wanted, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a better plan for me. ”
From where I’m standing, now that I’ve only even gotten a glimpse of what a life with love would feel like, I think I would give up hockey for it.
I saw love every day in the way my grandparents loved each other, and of course, the Lewises.
My mother never got that great love, so maybe I decided it wasn’t for me either, but the feelings coming up for me involving Ember say differently.
“And the other wish?”
“I’m keeping that to myself for now.”
She eyes me, but she must decide not to push it because she doesn’t ask any follow-up questions.
She peers down at the well, and I follow her gaze.
More moss has taken the inside rock hostage.
I used to try to guess how deep it goes, but you can’t even see the water right now.
“Any advice for what to wish for or how to do it?”
I move her in front of me and hug her from behind before whispering. “Just close your eyes and speak from the heart.”
“Do I have to tell you what I wished for afterward?”
“Never. It can be just yours.”
I imagine rather than see her close her eyes after she takes a deep breath.
She’s still for a while. So long in fact that I wonder if something has gone wrong, but just when I’m about to ask her if she’s okay, she holds her hand out and drops the gray coin into the well.
We both wait to see what we can hear, and before long, the sound of a tiny splash reaches us.
She turns in my arms. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
I lean down, giving her a chaste kiss. “I don’t know what you wished for, but I know it’s going to work out.”
“I certainly hope so.” She chews over her lip. “So, it’s the well, isn’t it?”
“Hmm?”
“The well. I remember back when you were being a jerk that you used to specify that it was the property you wanted, not necessarily the house. I thought it was a weird way to word things, but I chalked it up to being from up north, or maybe even from a small town, but things are clicking into place for me?” She asks the last bit like it’s a question she’s not sure she has the correct answer for.
“I used to think it was just the well, but then when you bought the house, I lost it. There are a lot of memories with my grandfather tied up in the entire property.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“A myriad of reasons. I’m a grown man who wants a well. In the beginning, I even thought maybe if you didn’t know it existed, you’d be willing to give up this parcel.”
“You must trust me now,” she notes, and there’s a hint of a tease in her voice. “What do you want to do with it?”
I shrug, peering over at the structure. Suddenly, it sounds like I’m a little kid again and she won’t take me seriously. These are the kind of stories you believe in when you’re little, but at some point, you’re supposed to grow out of them.
“Come on,” she says, needling me in the side.
“I want the well to become a Harvest Falls attraction, I guess. I think it’s another landmark to be shared with everyone.
I’d like for it to be frequented again. It’s a shame no one comes here anymore, and I’m not even sure anyone actually remembers it exists, which is sad.
The magic should be shared with everyone. ”
She doesn’t balk at my statement, even though I feel stupid saying it. She only smiles. “I like that idea.” Backing away, she surveys how we got here. “This is on the manor property, right?”
I nod.
“We could make a trail. The trailhead can either be at the road or somewhere off the manor property. We can ask your mom to get a plaque erected, explaining about the well. I suppose we’ll have to play nice with Nichols because he’s the one who will have to make it a historic landmark, if it isn’t already. ”
“You would do that?”
“We,” she clarifies.
I like the sound of that. I like the sound of that so much that I don’t want to even put it into words.
She seems to guess that I’m too emotional to talk.
“You’re lucky you know the owner now. Let’s make it happen, Devon.
I love the idea of making the well a tourist stop.
Imagine everyone coming here and throwing their coins into the well every year, like a tradition.
Maybe if we ever have a little village tour or walking tour, we could add it as a stop by itself. ”
“Maybe next year we can actually do our skit at the well itself. We’ll have to come up with something different to do at the manor.”
“Yes!” she says. “I love it. We can add a few permanent benches, maybe even have the pathway circle around the well. I don’t want anything too big that will interfere with the natural beauty of the forest here, but I don’t think a path could hurt that much.
Not concrete, but maybe mulch or stone, and we should make it wide enough so that anyone with mobility issues can access it too. ”
I pull her close and kiss her, almost like an exaggerated peck you see in old-timey movies. “You’re perfect.”
She has to catch her breath when I let her go, but she blushes anyway. “We got this, Devon.”
I believe her. I don’t know how, but I do, and at least one good thing happened.
She must believe in the well, too, because she doesn’t talk about having to pay the fine again.
The whole way back to the house, she asks about my grandfather and the well.
She asks if I know of anyone else who has wished on the well and had it come true.
Then the first thing she does when we get back is try to look it up on her laptop.
That doesn’t last very long though. She shuts it. “Nothing. I’ll have to try the library.”
This woman is nothing short of amazing.