Page 28 of Below the Far Horizon
“We were for a while. Until I ran off. It was a mistake on my part. But enough of that,” Grace said, all in one breath, as though she didn’t want to have to talk about that any more than she had to.
And he didn’t blame her. He didn’t really like talking about it either, at least talking about the end, when she left him. He wouldn’t mind talking more about how they were together and the memories that they had.
He wondered if she remembered anything. Did she feel the same way he had when they had been talking by the gate? The feeling that it was perfectly right for them to be together? That she was the one for him and always had been? That’s what he felt. He always felt that way around her. The idea that Claire would say that she had stolen him made it even more ludicrous, considering that he never felt like he belonged to anyone but Grace.
“Oh. I almost forgot. Here I am holding this. I made this for you,” Grace said, pulling out the egg apron she carried and unfolding it on the table.
Mrs. Donegan turned around and put a hand to her chest. “My goodness. That’s for me?”
“I’d heard that you sold your cows not long ago, but you still have chickens, and I thought this might be something you could use. I got the idea for it online, so… I guess I don’t know if it’s practical or not.”
A cute little redness brightened her cheeks, and Trevor wanted to run a finger over one of them, to tease her a bit, to bring it out more, or just to make her smile. He resisted all of those urges. That wasn’t his right.
It used to be, but it wasn’t anymore.
“Oh my goodness. Isn’t this nice,” Mrs. Donegan said as she lifted the apron and held it up to her front.
“Happy birthday. I know it’s a day early, but I just wanted to give you something.”
“Wow. I haven’t seen you for years, and you remembered my birthday.”
It looked like Mrs. Donegan was close to tears. Trevor stepped in.
“And I made you this. It could use a little decoration, but it mightbe cute for you to hang somewhere. In fact, if you figure out where you want it, I’ll hang it for you.”
He hadn’t been planning on saying that last part, but the idea of Mrs. Donegan with a hammer was kind of ludicrous, although obviously the woman still went out and collected her own eggs, so she must be a lot more capable than what he was giving her credit for.
Still, she put a hand on her chest again, and her eyes really did fill with tears. He hadn’t said anything, and tears made him especially uncomfortable.
“My goodness. All of this bounty in one day. This is beautiful. Is it a real birdhouse? Could I put it outside and birds will nest in it?”
“I think so. I don’t see why they wouldn’t. It would have to be a bird of a certain size and type, obviously,” he said, indicating the size of the hole.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but I thank you both from the bottom of my heart. You…made a time of year that is sometimes difficult for me special.”
“We have a lot of great memories growing up here. Playing with Claire and the rest of our friends here. Of the treats that you made for us, and of the way you made our summers special. It was just something that I wanted to do.”
“Same. I guess I wasn’t as close to Claire as Grace was, but she said it perfectly. I have great memories here, and it makes me happy to see you smile.”
“My Benny died on my birthday five years ago. I was moping around the house this morning thinking about what a terrible birthday it was going to be, and then you two show up. Maybe Benny sent you.”
“Well, if he did, I would have been freaked out, so I’m glad that I wasn’t aware of it,” Grace said, and Trevor held his breath until Mrs. Donegan laughed. He had forgotten what a great sense of humor she had. But it was obvious that Grace had said just the right thing, and instead of crying, Mrs. Donegan was laughing.
Grace was so good at stuff like that. She complemented him beautifully, because he could make small talk, but she could turn the conversation and fit it to the person thatthey were with.
He loved that about her, the little things she remembered, the way she cared about people.
“Tell me about your parents,” Mrs. Donegan said as she poured Grace a cup of tea and then set a mug of coffee in front of him before pulling out a chair and sitting down with her own cup of steaming coffee.
He reached out to put a little cream in his while Grace spoke.
“We were just as surprised as you seem to be. I didn’t even know they were talking to each other. But… I’ve been out of town for a while.”
“And I don’t get off the farm as much as I should. I barely went to church at all this winter. I was afraid I was going to slip on a patch of ice and fall down and break my hip and then my kids would send me off to a nursing home. I’d love it if someone would come and live with me.” She said that last part softly, almost as though she didn’t really realize she was saying it out loud.
“I haven’t seen Claire in years. Where is she?” Grace asked, not responding to her comment directly but maybe wondering why Claire hadn’t come back.
“Oh, she’s happily married with kids and enjoying the life that she’s living in the city,” Mrs. Donegan said, waving her hand in the air as though it didn’t matter and wasn’t important and as though she hadn’t just said she wished someone would come live with her.
