Chapter 25 #2
“If you ever need glasses, I can talk to you about it,” she offered.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said.
Jared hung out with the group for a few more minutes, then kept moving around the bazaar. He saw June and Levi holding hands and flipping through boxes of old records at the booth that was being hosted by the local music store, Benjamin standing beside them, trying on a giant pair of headphones.
Eventually, after purchasing a few more local baked goods to eat during the week, he reached the end of the exhibit. Instead of heading back toward his car, however, he found himself looping back around to Hope’s booth, which now looked a lot emptier than it had even half an hour before.
“Goodness!” he exclaimed. “They just about cleared you out, huh?”
“I just have this one quilt left,” she said, sounding pleased with herself.
She gestured toward the quilt that remained, which he recognized.
It was the project she had been working on that day in Riverstone Kitchen.
It was so strange to think that had only been a few weeks prior.
He felt as though he’d known Hope for an age.
“I can’t believe nobody snatched this up,” he said, touching the border lightly. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m actually kind of glad,” she admitted. “It’s my favorite one. I’m not terribly put out to get to keep it for myself, even if I could always make another.”
He looked up at her. The sunshine was making certain strands of her hair glint golden.
“You should definitely keep up with it,” he said. Then, he hesitated. He didn’t want to broach the next subject, but he should. He knew that. “When you go back to Boston, I mean.”
He’d seen Miriam strolling through town the other day by herself, looking like she was feeling pretty much all the way recovered from her illness.
He hadn’t been proud of how disappointed the sight made him.
Obviously, he’d been thrilled that Miriam was doing well, but he knew that this meant that Hope’s time in town was coming to a close, and that made him feel unbelievably sad.
“Oh, well,” Hope said, and something about her tone of voice made him look up suddenly. She was gazing down at the table, but from this angle, he could still see her shy smile. “About that…”
“Yeah?” he prompted, feeling a tentative warmth bloom inside him.
She came around the table and stood directly next to him.
They both leaned against the edge of the booth, looking out over the bazaar.
Everyone looked like they were having the time of their lives, but Jared was certain that nobody could be enjoying themselves as much as he was just standing here with Hope Landers at his side, close enough that he could feel the warmth coming off her body.
“I was talking to my grandmother,” she said after they had both just taken a moment to exist peacefully together. “And she made some good points about how happiness in life… it’s never guaranteed.”
“That’s true,” he acknowledged. Jared had been very lucky in his life. He had a career that he loved. He had a kind family, even if he only saw them a few times a year. He had a community that he loved. But he knew enough about life to know that he couldn’t take any of those things for granted.
“And she made this point that, when an unexpected chance at happiness comes along, you have two choices,” Hope continued.
“You can either take the conservative path, the one that keeps you going in the same direction that you’ve always been taking.
That’s not a bad path, per se. I mean, I liked my life before, you know? ”
He just hummed in agreement. He hoped he knew where this was going. He didn’t want to move away from her a single iota, not even to cross his fingers, so he did so mentally rather than in reality.
“What’s the other path?” he asked.
She let out a happy sigh. “The other path is one where you try something new. It’s scarier, but it can get you somewhere better.
It’s the path where you try to grab for the thing that makes you happy, even when you don’t know for certain that it will work out.
” She hesitated, then turned to look at him directly, fear and hope in her eyes.
“Even when you don’t know for certain if the other person would be interested in that same… kind of happiness.”
The eagerness that bubbled up inside Jared was so profound that he couldn’t do anything other than laugh. She laughed too, and he knew they looked really silly, just standing there laughing at one another, but it was very difficult to care at the moment.
“Who wouldn’t want you to try to pursue happiness with them?” he asked.
“Nobody in this town, I’m hoping,” she said, biting the side of her lip. “Because I was thinking that I might stick around Magnolia Shore for a while.”
Jared was smiling so broadly that his cheeks hurt.
“I think that’s a great idea,” he said.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “Me too.”
There was a period of silly smiling between them both. Again, Jared was having an utter blast.
Then, Hope blinked. “Sorry, I got distracted. What I meant to say was, would you consider keeping me on at Riverstone Kitchen a little longer? Since I’m going to be sticking around?”
Maybe it was the sunshine, or all the sugar he had consumed. Maybe it was that it had been such a perfect day. But, most likely, it was just Hope. He felt bold and bright.
He leaned in close and whispered in her ear.
“You know, I think that such a thing could be arranged… for a pretty snoop like you.”
A startled laugh burst out of her at this reminder of their awkward encounter in the restaurant. This time, though, they were comfortable with one another, not awkward at all.
And this time, she didn’t try to run away.
Instead, she reached out and squeezed his hand.
“Thank you,” she said. “I appreciate it.”
“Anything for you, Hope,” he said, meaning that too. There was a lot more to discuss between them, but he didn’t want to do it here, in front of everyone. “Congrats again on your success today. You really did amazing work. I’ll see you soon, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she agreed. She reached out and squeezed his hand one more time before he headed away. The sun felt dim compared to her smile as he headed out, as happy as he had been in ages.