Page 11 of Below the Far Horizon
They didn’t do more than say a few words to him about the weather, and he didn’t stop.
With this many unmarried women in Raspberry Ridge, he couldn’t believe his dad hadn’t been able to find someone.
Probably it was because of what Trevor had figured earlier, and that was that he was a one-woman man and would never love anyone but Trevor’s mother.
But none of that was what he really wanted to think about. He’d seen Grace. For the first time in more than a decade, he’d seen the woman he couldn’t forget. It was crazy, because he knew her as a teenager. She was different. She had to change, just as he had. He certainly wasn’t the boy that he used to be. Still, he hadn’t felt that soul-deep rightness in more than a decade, and it was all he could do to not ask his dad about her immediately when he walked in the door. But he was preoccupied and seemed to be tidying up.
Tidying up was something his mom had done. It was odd to see his dad with the broom and dustpan.
“I can help you with that,” he said, taking the dustpan and holding it so his dad could sweep the pile of dirt that he’d gathered up onto it.
“Thanks. Considering you made half of this, it’s only fitting that you should help clean it up.”
He had no idea when the last time his dad swept was, but he refrained from commenting.
Unfortunately, he didn’t refrain from saying the next thing. “You didn’t tell me that Grace Honea was back in town.”
“That’s not her last name anymore, and I didn’t know it.”
“You mean you didn’t hear it when you went to Bible study this morning?” That was where his dad got all of the juicy gossip.
He shouldn’t think that. He knew that they really did study the Bible, but they also shared what was going on in their lives, which was basically what was going on in Raspberry Ridge.
“Come to think of it, maybe I did,” his dad said, making Trevor want to strangle him. Surely his dad knew he would have been interestedin that information. Maybe he had, but it wasn’t exactly something that came up easily in conversation.
“Pastor Irving said something about it.” His dad scratched his head and then held his hand out for the dustpan. Trevor gave it over without thinking about it.
“I can’t believe you didn’t think to tell me.”
“Why would I do that?” his dad asked, and Trevor couldn’t tell whether he was playing innocent, or whether he really didn’t know. After all, how many people spent twelve years mooning over their high school girlfriend?
“I guess… Just… If you hear anything else about her, I’d like to know.” There. He might have shown his hand to his dad, but it wasn’t like he was confessing undying love for her or anything. He really was curious. Where had she been? What was she doing? Would she have to stay?
He shook his head at that last one. She was married. Most likely happily married and living in Indianapolis. That was why he hadn’t tried to contact her.
“Never mind. I don’t need to hear anything.”
Maybe it was his tone, or maybe it was his words, but his dad paused with the dustpan hovering over the garbage can.
“Why not? You just said you did. That’s an awful short span to be changing your mind.”
“She’s married. And I don’t need to know.”
“Actually, I’m not sure she is.” His dad stared down at the garbage can before dumping the contents of the dustpan in and tapping it gently on the edge. He allowed the lid to the can to fall back down and then walked over to put the broom behind the pantry door where he kept it.
“Wait. What? You don’t think she’s married?” Had he heard wrong? Had he been thinking she was married all these years when she actually wasn’t? He couldn’t believe it. Surely he hadn’t been that wrong. He was sure he had heard she was married. He’d seen her in Indianapolis with a ring on her finger laughing with a man at an outside table at some swanky restaurant.
Not that he had been stalking her or anything, he just…asked a few questions, made a few inquiries here and there, and then got a little lucky when he was in Indianapolis.
She’d looked so happy. So beautiful. So completely on top of the world, and that wasn’t the way she had been when she was with him. Or at least, maybe she had been happy, but she had seemed so…successful. Whatever. He couldn’t push into that world and didn’t want to. She was married; she was off limits. He had never tried to find her again.
“I don’t know. Just from what they were saying at Bible study today, I got the impression that she wasn’t.” His dad finally answered him after several minutes of silence.
“I see. I guess I could ask around.”
“I take it you’re interested?”
“No. I’m not.” That wasn’t a lie. He said it, feeling like he was telling the truth. What they had was long over. Sure, he carried a torch in his heart for his high school flame, but the woman that the girl had become was not someone he knew. And he definitely was not interested in someone who was married or someone who was separated. There needed to be a finality, and even then, he wasn’t necessarily interested in someone who got divorced just because she wasn’t happy in her marriage. The only reason God gave for divorce was adultery. Otherwise, it was wrong.
