Come Alive Read Free Page B

apartment another year or so, but . . . I just can’t stand
to see you this way anymore. I want you to be happy, and if this is what it
takes, then we’ll do it.” His voice was laced with sadness. I’d been punishing
both of us for my crime, but it was the first time I realized just how much he
was hurting.
    I loved what he’d done for me, so I took his
hand. “Let’s go see the inside.”
    The interior was almost empty with the exception
of some covered pieces of furniture and an antique grandfather clock as tall as
Bill. The main room’s greatest feature was a toss-up between the expansive,
central fireplace and a ribbon of windows that made up the back wall.
    The sprawling wood floor creaked with each step,
and it was cold inside, but I could tell it must have been very warm once. Dust
caked the surfaces and dead insects were scattered on the floor. I stepped into
a decent-sized backyard that was overrun with weeds and in dire need of some
attention. But it was large enough for outdoor entertaining, and I envisioned strung
Chinese paper lanterns, a concrete and rock bar, rose bushes, a small fountain
. . . .
    When I reentered the house, Bill was standing
with his hands in his pockets. I watched as he inspected the stairway railing and
kicked at a loose floorboard. The corners of his mouth tugged, suggesting a
frown. I scanned the room around him. Honey-colored flooring would complement
the warm light that flooded from antique lamps. Heavy, earthy furniture made of
oak and aged leather would fill the open floor plan.
    And, yet . . . something felt off, though I
wasn’t sure what. The house had potential, and I was already wondering what it
looked like in the early morning when the light was just starting to filter in.
Still, I struggled to complete the picture.
    “What do you think?” he asked.
    I froze, and seconds passed; I could hear the soft
ticking of the grandfather clock. Maybe it was my imagination. Maybe once we’d
overhauled it and made it into the beautiful place I knew it could be, things
would be different. They had to be. Bill had been right all along. It wasn’t
going to be perfect right away or maybe ever. It would take time for it to feel
like home. I took a step backward and pointed to the second floor. “Upstairs?”
    I followed as he carefully climbed the noisy
steps. The master bedroom, located at one end of the hall, was spacious –
bigger than any others we had seen, which I knew would appeal to Bill. It had a
large, unobstructed view of the backyard and a corner window on the opposite
wall that faced the street.
    He reported that there were two more rooms down
the hall. I nodded, taking his words in but still studying him. “Can we afford
it, really?”
    “No,” he said honestly. “The house, yes. But I
have no idea about the remodel. It’s outside our budget, I’m sure. It would
mean cutting back on some things for a while.”
    “Is this what you want?”
    He squinted his eyes and his tongue ran over his
front teeth. “I don’t know how I feel about taking on a project like this when
we’re both so busy. But I really want to get out of the city, and I want you to
love your new home.”
    It was undoubtedly the nicest thing he’d ever
done for me. I shifted, and a floorboard groaned beneath me. The bedroom was
growing dark, and I blinked at his disappearing silhouette. “Okay,” I said.
“Yes. Let’s do it.” I crossed the room and hugged him close for an overdue
moment of intimacy. We walked to the stairs arm in arm before separating to
descend.
    ~
    “Open mine next.”
    Lucy squealed with delight as she accepted the overstuffed party bag from
Bethany, who had a playful gleam in her eye.
    “Oh, my,” she groaned as she pulled out a pink, feathered tiara with the
word ‘Bachelorette’ branded across the front. We were ten girls at a noisy
restaurant downtown, egging Lucy on as she unwrapped gifts between sips of her
pink Cosmo.
    “You’re wearing that now, and