We stay connected that way for a long minute. Then two. Breathing into each other until we both pull back in the same instant.
“What did you see?” He looks at me, blinking, and I know it’s hope I see looking back at me.
“I see us. We’re old. We’re holding hands. There’s a room full of our grown children, our grandchildren running and climbing everywhere. I see us fifty years from today and it’s our anniversary.”
Tears break over his bottom lids and he drops his head. His hands come down to find mine and he brings them to his lips. I see his shoulders shake and I lean forward, pressing my forehead to his.
“That’s what I saw, Teah. I see it all. My wife. My love. I see us.”
“Then I guess.” I take a deep breath as he pulls back, meeting my eyes. “I guess it’s time to let go and see what happens. I’ll trust you Lock. I’ll trust us.”
12
Lachlan
Epilogue One – One Month Later
“I’m not ready.” Beverly sits at the breakfast table in the new house I bought in rural Kentucky the week Teah and I returned from Chaplain.
We picked Kentucky the same way we’ve been doing everything. When we closed our eyes and held hands, it came to us. When we both said the state name together after opening our eyes, we knew it was where our life would continue.
Teah is rattling around in the cabinets of the massive kitchen in the hundred-year-old farmhouse, knocking pots and pans together and singing ‘Staying Alive’ as Beverly tugs at her fingers and I rest my hand on her wrist. Teah’s taken over all the cooking, since if I was in charge we would starve or probably die of food poisoning.
She’s doing well, but I’ve eaten my share of burned casseroles while making sure I always ask for seconds, wiping the tears from her eyes.
I look at Beverly and lean back in my chair. “I’ll still be here for you. Shit, Bev, you’ve practically run everything about me for years anyway. Now it’s just time to make some of it official.”
There’s a stack of papers in front of us, waiting for her signature. I’ve divested much of my business to others but the things that mean the most to me I’m handing over to Beverly.
“It’s too much money.” She fusses and Teah stands up from behind the kitchen island and leans her hands on the counter.
“Take the money. He has too much still.” Teah winks at me and I take a breath through my nose and squeeze Beverly’s wrist.
“If you don’t take it, Teah will just make me give it away.” I wink back at my wife and she crinkles her nose at me. She’s been making charitable donations as well as just finding people and families in need for the last two weeks. She’s barely made a dent in my net worth and watching the joy it brings her helping other people is more than worth the dollars she spends.
“Okay.” Beverly straightens her back. Her dark hair is neat as always, tied into a bun at the base of her neck. She’s wearing a peach silk shirt with black trousers and a silver cross hangs around her neck. “But you have to promise me you’ll always take my calls. The investors and other board members aren’t that happy about all this. About me. I’ve been getting some pretty nasty e-mails—”
“From who? Send them to me I’ll make sure they understand who’s in charge here. I have zero problem setting anyone straight who doesn’t like my decision. They can get the fuck out for all I care.”
“Lock.” Teah chastises me. “You don’t have to save her. Just be there for her. Right, Beverly?”
“Right.” She nods at Teah, then looks at me. “I can do this. It’s just going to take some time before I earn everyone’s respect.”
Since we left Chaplain, our lives have fallen into place with such ease. This place I bought is in the middle of nowhere. Eight hundred acres in Kentucky. We have all the privacy we need and honestly, in the closest small town to where we live, no one seems to care all that much who I am.
Teah’s parents are coming our way as well. They wouldn’t commit to a specific date, but at least they are open to visiting and giving me a chance, thanks to Teah’s help. I’m sure I’ll be suspect in their eyes for a certain amount of time, but all I can do is try to stay true to what feels right to me and hope they in time will see I am not the enemy.
Beverly sets her signature on the papers and Teah takes her out back with a bottle of wine to play with the dogs and look out at the small lake behind the house. They’ve become fast friends, almost sisters.