Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
“ D o you want me to pick you up? Or are you going to come to the church yourself?”
Fisher stood in his room and stared out the window, holding the phone to his ear. “I wasn’t going to go.” He didn’t exactly cringe, waiting on the response, but he figured his sister wasn’t going to like that a whole lot.
They were boxing up the supplies that had been donated during the Christmas gift drive for the last two months at the church in town, and his sister had decided that would be a nice thing for the family to do together the day before their wedding. They were having a Christmas cookie contest this evening, and then the marriage would be tomorrow morning at eleven.
After the wedding, he was leaving town.
He had hoped that if he skipped the gift packing, he might be able to spend a little bit more time with Tris.
“What? You mean I haven’t seen you in years, practically, and I’m going to get married one time in my life, and you are going to skip out on one of the things I have planned? It’s not like I have a whole week of stuff. It was two nights. Two days and a wedding. Fisher, you can do it. Put your business phone down, shut your computer, and be at the door so I can pick you up.”
“Whoa. Hold up. I didn’t realize it was going to cause such a ruckus. I’ll drive.” If he drove, he could probably leave early. Maybe Tris would be free for an early dinner, and he could grab a pack of Oreos on the way home to enter as his cookie for the competition.
He didn’t think there were any rules that said it had to be homemade.
“All right. But if you’re not there by ten after, I’m coming for you.” His sister’s words were not unkind, but they were very, very firm.
“All right. I’ll see you in a bit, sis,” he said before swiping off.
He’d seen Tris at breakfast, but there had been four other people there, and one of them had engaged her in a lengthy conversation about the keys and where they had gotten them and if they made other designs, etc.
He hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her.
Plus, her mom had been standing there, and he felt a little bit like she was standing over him staring at him. It made him nervous. He remembered what they had done and how upset her parents had been.
Not that they had really done anything terrible.
She’d just been his first kiss. That was all.
He wasn’t even sure she knew. Although he was pretty sure that he’d been hers as well.
Maybe he would get a chance to ask her before he left. But he’d better get a move on. It would take five minutes to get to the church, and it was already five ’til. Of course, if he left now, he’d end up being right on time, and someone might interpret that as him being very industrious and give him the most difficult job.
But they were packing toys, what could be so hard about that ?
He laughed at himself for being worried, but then, he figured he grew up in a small town, and he knew that his fear was legit.
Tris was nowhere in sight as he stepped down the hall and came out into the wide living room where the welcome desk sat at one end.
Her mother sat at the desk.
“Good morning, Mrs. McHenny,” he said. Belatedly, he wondered if she’d reverted to her maiden name when her husband left her for his girlfriend. It was too late; the word was out.
“Good morning, Fisher. I was hoping I would get to see you at some point. It’s been a long time, and I wanted to say hi,” she said.
“Yeah. It has been a long time. And I have an inauspicious history with your daughter. Also, I wasn’t sure whether it was deliberate on your part or not,” he said, although he had a feeling it wasn’t. He hadn’t talked to Mrs. McHenny too much, but she just oozed joy and peace. He wanted to spend more time with her. She was that kind of woman.
Her eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Don’t we all have those things in our past?”
“Not you, Mrs. McHenny,” he said, feeling a little bit like he was eighteen again.
She waved her hand. “I have them too.” She smiled, and he thought maybe he’d flattered her.
“I really am sorry. I didn’t have a chance to apologize, or… Maybe I had a chance, I just didn’t want to, was too afraid to, back when I was a kid. And I guess I didn’t really think about it any time I was back here. But I should have.”
“I always thought my husband flew off the handle a little bit, but I had to back him. I didn’t want to have a fight about it. It was true that Tris was usually a very responsible person. So, I think it was shocking for him more than anything that…th at it happened.”
“Yeah. I think my parents felt the same way, but it’s done and over with now. I’m just sorry for the drama and the way it played out.”
“I always had the feeling that you liked my daughter. A lot.”
Mrs. McHenny looked like she was ready to stand and talk about that for a while, but Fisher definitely didn’t want to get in on that subject, because he had liked her, quite a lot, back then. And… He found that he still liked her quite a lot now.
“I did. She was a good girl. Sweet and kind, different from the other girls, and… She had a backbone of steel. I knew that she wasn’t going to do anything bad, you know?”
“She was a good girl,” Mrs. McHenny agreed. Her fingers tapped on the desk, and then she said, “She liked you a lot too. I’ve wondered if that wasn’t the reason she never seemed to get interested in anyone else. You must have left quite an impression on her.”
“She left quite an impression on me,” he said sincerely.
“I noticed you didn’t go out with anyone,” she said, and he didn’t really think that was a leading question or that she expected any kind of admission. At least, he didn’t feel pressured. He actually found her easy to chat with.
“No. I never really stopped to wonder why, but Tris might be a reason. She certainly is a one-of-a-kind girl, and I don’t know anyone else who compares.”
That was absolutely true, and then he realized that he was going to end up being late and his sister was going to show up and embarrass him if he didn’t get moving.
“I better go. My sister’s expecting me to pack boxes at the church today.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Tell Tris hi if you see her. That’s where she is too.”
And all of a sudden, he couldn’t wait to get to the church.