Chapter 18

A s it was, last night had been really busy. So, by the time she'd gotten back to the dining room, it had been ten o'clock. And when she'd texted him to see if he was still awake and wanted to meet, he didn't answer. She frowned at that, but there wasn't any help for it. His last day was coming tomorrow whether she liked it or not, whether she was ready or not. And maybe that's the way it was supposed to be. She didn't know anymore. She was being dragged forward. Ready or not, here it was.

When she got up the next morning, it was hard for her to stay even a little bit sane, with so much going on. And by the time lunch came, she was beyond frazzled.

Dani suggested, "Go get lunch, take a break, go for a walk, spend some time with Xavier if you can."

Talia nodded and bolted to his room, but, of course, he wasn't there. And she remembered how he'd mentioned this would be a pretty busy day ahead of him, so she headed back to the nightmare that awaited her in her office. By the time she was done with all the pressing matters, it was already dinnertime. She sat here at her desk for a long moment, trying to catch her breath.

Dani checked in on her. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, just one of those days."

"It really was, wasn't it?" Dani noted, shaking her head. "How does this end up always happening?"

Talia laughed. "It doesn't always happen. It just happens enough that we never seem to really understand how to get out of it."

"I guess so," Dani conceded, shaking her head. "Still seems as if it always happens."

"Maybe it is," she admitted, "but we're getting much better at handling it."

And, with that, Talia headed to Xavier's room, wondering if he was ready for dinner. When she couldn't find any sign of him, she frowned and headed back to her place and had a quick shower, wanting to make the evening as nice and as friendly as possible. She didn't want it to be a night of tears, even though she knew that it would be rough on her. And it was foolish, and she knew that, blah, blah, blah . No matter what anybody told her, it still didn't make it any easier.

As she walked to the dining room, wearing a nice flowy dress, Dennis looked up and smiled approvingly.

"Hey, don't you look nice tonight."

She smiled. "No point in making this into a rough evening for him, so I figured I would dress up a little bit."

"I'm glad you did," he said, with an extrabright smile.

She wasn't sure what that meant. "Have you seen him yet?"

"Nope, not yet."

She frowned. "I'll go sit out on the deck and wait for him to show up."

"Do you want coffee?" Dennis asked. "Or maybe some southern lemonade?"

"Lemonade?" she asked.

"Yep, I made a big batch today," he replied. "It's in that big glass jug over there."

She saw a glass pitcher with a whole pile of fresh fruit in it. She poured herself a glass, tasted it, and filled up her glass again. "It's lovely," she said.

"Glad you like it," he called back. "Dinner is served, if you want to eat now."

"Nope, I'll wait. It's beautiful outside. I'll go sit out there." And, glass in her hand, she headed outside to enjoy the cooler evening.

It really was a beautiful evening. Something was so lovely about that whole fresh air aspect on the deck. Hathaway House was a beautiful place, a location that so many people would absolutely love to have available to them. Of course she had almost became dull to it because she was here all the time, focused too much on work and not enough on the blessings her days brought her. It was sad in a way. She wanted to appreciate things more, and she should appreciate more, but somehow it was easy to forget about all these good things.

When she heard a call behind her, she turned and waved. "Hey. I've been waiting for you."

"Good," Xavier said cheerfully. He was shaved and dressed and showered.

"Yeah, I went home and had a shower too. It was just one of those days."

"Mine was good," he shared. "It was exciting. It was busy. It was… it was just so many things."

There was a nervous edge to his tone that she wasn't used to. "Are you okay?" she asked curiously.

"Yep."

Talia thought his tone was a little too hearty.

He asked, "You want to eat now?"

She nodded. "Soon. I'm just having some lemonade. If you want some, it's over in that glass jar." She watched as he walked—so normal, so happy and healthy, that she felt tears again in her eyes.

When he saw her, he asked, "What's the matter?"

"I was just thinking about how far you've come," she whispered, "and you walk, as if it's nothing."

"Well, it's not nothing ," he clarified. "It's definitely something that I've been working on."

"You've come so far that it's lovely to see."

"It is, indeed," he agreed. "I've come so far, and yet, in some ways, I still haven't come far enough with some things."

"In what things?"

"Well, I'm not really good about expressing my feelings," he admitted. "I'm not really good with locking things down."

"Why do you have to lock anything down?" she asked curiously.

"Because sometimes other people need me to lock things down too," he replied.

"You're supposed to be doing stuff for you ," she stated, studying him. "That's what you're here for, to improve your life."

He smiled. "Yep, and things don't always work out the way we expect it to be."

She could see that. She looked at the drink in his hand. "Isn't that lemonade good?" she asked.

He nodded. "I've had it a couple times, and every time it always surprises me with just how both sweet and tart it is."

"I think it's supposed to be that way," she teased, "but what do I know?"

He chuckled. "I think you know a heck of a lot. And it's been such a lovely time getting to know you." At that comment, he saw her withdrawing. "And, no, this a not goodbye or anything else that your mind might dream up."

She relaxed slightly. "Good.… You can't get rid of me that easily."

"I'm kinda hoping that that's true," he said.

She looked at him in confusion.

He took a deep breath. "One of the things that I think we need to talk about is our future."

Instinctively she tensed. Then she slowly relaxed. "It would probably be a good thing," she noted cautiously. "Depending on what you're planning on saying."

He burst out laughing. "Right? As long as we don't do anything to hurt each other or to harm anyone."

"Right, that would be very ugly. But providing that we're not dealing with any issues like that, I'm more than happy to talk about our future and feelings or whatever it is that you want to bring up."

He looked over at her, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. "Are you though?" he asked.

She stared at him. "I think so, unless it's something that I'm not prepared for."

"I don't think we're ever prepared for this stuff. I know I'm definitely not," he said.

At that, she just looked confused again.

He chuckled. "I'm making a mess of this."

"I don't know what you're making a mess of because I don't understand anything at this moment."

"And that's because just so much is going on in my world right now that I'm not being terribly clear."

"Okay, so let's try for clarity then," she suggested, with a note of humor.

He burst out laughing, and then, in the most casual of tones, he began, "There is something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yep, what's that?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

He took a deep breath. "This." And he reached in his pocket and grabbed something. Then showed her a tiny little soda can pull tab.

She looked at it curiously. "Is that from a can of soda?"

"It's meant to be a substitute for a point in time when it's not a substitute."

She looked at him uncomprehendingly.

"This is yet another time when I'm just not very good with communication."

"Your doing fine so far. Explain it to me," she replied.

He grinned at her encouragement. "See? There you are again, always trying to help me do better."

"Not do better," she said. "Just to keep trying."

"Right. And that's what I'm trying to do. Just bear with me for a second."

She studied him for a moment, while he marshaled his thoughts.

"The question I have to ask is…" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Will you marry me?"

*

There, he'd done it. He got it out. He watched the expressions on her face—the shock, the awareness, the understanding now of the pop can ring in the palm of his hand. And, oh dear God, she wasn't answering.

Then she whispered, "Are you sure?" she asked. "No take-backs are allowed here."

He stared at her and then started to chuckle. "I don't want any take-backs, sweetheart. I love you. I always have."

Her eyes filled with tears, and he was afraid she would start to bawl on the spot. "But I really could use an answer." And he hated that such nervousness filled his tone that anybody close by would hear it.

Talia threw her arms around him, held him close, and whispered, "Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes."

He stood and picked her up in his arms and twirled her around. And then he stopped, looked down at her, and muttered, "Do you realize what I just did?"

She laughed. "Yes, I do. You picked me up, and you twirled me around, just like any healthy guy would do."

He picked her up again, hugged her tight, and whispered, "And thank God you gave the right answer."

And with a solemness that he hadn't expected to feel, he placed the pop can ring on her finger and vowed, "We will exchange this when we get to town, and you can buy whatever ring you would absolutely love to wear."

"Thank you," she whispered, "but we're also keeping this forever too."

His smile burst free. "Now, you want to try for that yes again?"

She threw her arms around his neck and proclaimed loudly, "Yes!"

He lowered his head, and he kissed her gently through the din and the noise. In the background, he heard caterwauling going on. He lifted his head to look around, and the entire kitchen staff, plus what seemed to be the entire population of Hathaway House, were all grinning and clapping and cheering. They wore party hats and had wrapped streamers around their necks. The element of creative surprise was at work here. He nudged her and said, "Look at this."

She turned and gasped in shock, her face turning adorably pink, as she realized everybody had watched and had heard. "Oh my God," she muttered, her hands on her cheeks. "Is Dennis responsible for the party decorations?"

"Of course," Dani said. "You think any of us would miss out on that?" She walked over and gave Talia a big hug. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," she whispered, tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much."

After that came Dennis and Shane, and it seemed as if the hugs just went on forever.

And finally Dennis announced, "And now we have champagne for the happy couple to have a proper celebration." He brought out bubbly for the two of them. "And dinner is ready."

With that, he served them a full three-course meal, wouldn't let them get up for anything, and explained, "It's your night. After this, you are on your own, as you've graduated, Xavier. Believe me that's a huge milestone you need to celebrate each and every day," he declared cheerfully. "But tonight, you get waited on. It's the least I can do."

And, with that, the two of them sat there marveling, as Dennis served them a meal that was better than any five-star restaurant anywhere.

Talia grabbed Xavier's hand and whispered, "Thank you."

He asked her, "For what?"

"For talking to me first, before you left," she said. "It was killing me to know you were leaving, and we hadn't had a relationship talk. I was planning on talking to you about it tonight, but I'm so relieved that you got there first."

He smiled. "I figured if we got the basics out of the way, everything else would fall into place."

"I think it did." She chuckled. "And I'm grateful that having you nearby means I get to stay here."

"Absolutely. The work done here is way too important not to have you still be a part of it. I also know it's where your heart is. I'll figure mine out as I go along," he added, "but not to worry. We won't be destitute."

"I'm not even worried about that," she said. "Some things are way more important."

"Like what?" he asked.

She smiled through her tears. " Love . Love trumps everything. And, in case I didn't tell you before, I really love you. And I am so looking forward to the rest of our life."

"I love you, Talia." Not a whole lot more he could say, choked with emotions, so he just squeezed her fingers, grateful that his healing had come in leaps and bounds and in directions that he'd had no inkling were even possible. Wait until he told Zander.