Chapter 27
"I'm heading out to practice," Grace called to Aunt Vivian, who was still in the kitchen, as she put her coat on and wrapped her scarf around her neck.
"All right. Mrs. Tucker is bringing supper, so don't worry about it. And, if you'd like, go ahead and invite Noah and see if he wants to come too."
"I'll do that. I'm pretty sure he'll say yes. When he's been teaching all afternoon, he usually doesn't have time to make supper."
Grace smiled to herself. Whether he had supper prepared for himself or not, if she asked him, she was pretty sure he would say yes. Both of them jumped at any excuse to be able to see the other.
She was still smiling as she walked to the door and picked the mail up from where it had dropped in the slot. It was just one letter, and she was getting ready to set it on the small desk where her aunt kept the mail, when she saw that it was addressed to her.
She turned it over and looked at it a little closer and saw that it was from a prestigious music academy in the city. One she recognized. And one that she had tried to get a teaching position at, but had never been called back.
Maybe this was their formal rejection letter, and she felt like she was in the frame of mind where she could handle it. She wasn't sure what she was going to do after Christmas, but she did have confidence that God had been guiding her steps all along.
Where she and Noah fit into all of that, she wasn't sure.
Expecting a rejection, it took a little while—she was halfway through the letter before she realized that they were offering her a position. It was a faculty position, full benefits, prestigious students... Everything she'd wanted before the incident.
The deadline to accept was December 23rd, the same day as the concert in Mistletoe Meadows.
She looked again at the salary. Wow.
That was more than she'd ever hoped to make, and plenty to live on.
But she thought again of Aunt Vivian, and how she had said that she had made good money, had a great career, but wished she would've made different choices.
But that was Aunt Vivian. That wasn't her.
But... Would Noah be happy moving to the city?
She pursed her lips, stuffed the letter back in the envelope, and set it on the desk right side up so that Aunt Vivian would clearly see her name on the outside.
She would answer it later. Although, she wasn't sure what she was going to say.
Practice went well. The kids were enthusiastic, and even the high school kids seemed like they really enjoyed what they were doing. She supposed in order for them to come and put the time in, they had to really want to. Or else their parents were making them.
Regardless, she didn't care. She was just happy that she and Noah worked so well together, one picking up where the other left off, and both of them seeming to have different strengths and covering each other's weaknesses.
She loved working with him and enjoyed the happy smiles of the children.
The music wasn't bad either, and she was impressed at how the kids had been practicing and how good everything sounded.
"I'm exhausted, but wow, what great practices," she said as the last student left for the evening.
"Same. My goodness, that's a lot of work, but I'm still looking forward to this concert. I've seen the marketing committee's work, and they have drawn up some really great flyers and have some wonderful ads on social media. We just might end up with a big crowd after all."
"Oh I hope so. Thirty years is a big deal, and you should definitely be celebrating that."
"I agree. The town deserves it."
"And you're the perfect person to head it up. You definitely take your responsibilities seriously."
"Speaking of responsibilities, I have the composition finished. I thought maybe we could go over it tonight?"
"Yes, absolutely!" She paused for a moment and then said, "Oh. I forgot to ask. Aunt Vivian said that Mrs. Tucker was going to provide supper for us tonight. She didn't say why. I didn't really ask. Maybe she's going to eat with us. I don't know. But anyway, you're invited."
"That's awesome. I would've invited you to eat with me, but I have nothing ready, and I have no idea what I was going to cook."
"Well don't worry about it any longer. You can eat with me. Even though I'm not cooking."
They grinned together, took one last look around the room to make sure that it was as spic and span as they could make it, and then turned the lights off and walked out the door.
As was their custom, they held hands on the way home, chatting about this and that and nothing important.
On her mind the whole time, though, was the letter that sat on the desk.
She wanted to tell him about it, but she just didn't have a good opening.
She didn't know whether she wanted his advice or just wanted to know what he thought.
She didn't really know where their relationship was going.
And while she hoped that he had meant what she thought he meant when he said what he did at the McBride's house about them having children and a family of their own someday, she didn't know how serious he was.
Maybe he meant someday way off in the future, twenty years from now.
Of course, both of them would be too old for a family and kids at that point.
Gracious, she tried not to let the slight cloud of that thought infringe upon their happy chatter as they made it to the Victorian house on the corner.
He had opened the gate and she'd walked in, when the door opened and Aunt Vivian came out on the porch.
"You look like you're dressed to go out," Grace said, and she tried not to sound disappointed. She was starving and it was already later than what they usually ate. She had been hoping that they would eat as soon as they got there.
"Oh. I forgot that I had a ladies' meeting tonight.
You two go ahead and enjoy the delicious meal that Mrs. Tucker made.
It's all sitting on the table ready for you.
All you have to do is take your coats off and sit down.
" Aunt Vivian started down the steps, and she patted their arms as she went by.
"You two enjoy. Behave yourselves too," she said, giving them a look.
Grace laughed, but Noah seemed to take her words very seriously.
She wondered what was up with that.
Regardless, they stepped up on the porch, and Noah opened the door for her. She walked in, saw the letter on the desk, and remembered once more that she wanted to talk to him about it.
"I think we're on our own tonight," Noah said.
"I think that's what she meant."
"That's probably a good thing. I... I have something I need to talk to you about."
"All right. That sounds serious," she said, not liking the way his tone was more somber than normal.
Usually, he teased her, or flirted with her, or they laughed and joked together.
Even when they talked about the music festival and the business side of things, his tone was still gentle and kind.
But there was a note in it now, a serious note that almost sounded ominous.
It gave her a shiver, but she tried to hide it.
"Do you want to talk before we eat?" she asked, and tried to pretend her stomach wasn't growling.
She didn't fool Noah, and he laughed.
"I think we better eat and talk, because it sounds to me like someone is starving."
"Oh my goodness. I am. Is that terrible?"
"It's been a big day. And we had great practices, but they do take a lot of energy."
They got everything together and sat down to a delicious meal of meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
The aroma of the food drifted up. The house was warm and cozy, and Christmas lights twinkled on the tree and mantle.
They ate at the dining room table, which somehow Aunt Vivian had magically cleared of all traces of her gingerbread houses.
"This is kind of romantic," Noah said, looking around.
Grace had to chuckle just a bit. "I think we've been set up."
"Really?" Noah asked, glancing around again as though clues lay somewhere that he hadn't seen yet. "Do you think the town is setting us up?"
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, Aunt Vivian did not have a ladies' meeting tonight. At least, it came up really suddenly, since I left earlier this afternoon."
"Yeah, that does seem a little suspect. And why wouldn't she eat before she left?" He sighed. "I guess I should just say that I got a phone call from my siblings today."
"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked, wondering whether she needed to brace herself or not.
"Kind of. I guess... What I really wanted to talk to you about was my intentions and ask you about yours, but the phone call was basically my siblings reminding me that I had brought them up to not kiss before they were married, unless they were sure that they were getting married, because if you kiss someone that you're not planning on marrying, then you're basically kissing someone you know is going to be someone else's spouse, and isn't it just better to not do that? "
"I can't argue with that logic. Was that your rule?"
He nodded. "And my parents' before that as they were raising me.
That, and also kissing leads to other things that the Bible says you're not supposed to do before you're married, so it's just a very good idea to not engage in that type of activity unless you have solid plans towards marriage. And even then to proceed with caution, because until you’re actually married, a lot can happen. "
"I see," she said. She wasn't exactly sure where this was going, and she was a little afraid that he was going to tell her that he wasn't ready to get married. Or didn't want to.
She tried not to hold her breath.
"So I guess that is why I felt like I needed to declare my intentions and ask you what yours are."