Off the Grid

A series of knocks came at the door.

“Come on in, Mother.”

Mrs. Fehr walked in with slices of pound cake, a black carafe of coffee, sugar, and creamer on a tray. She set the spread out on the desk between them.

“Thank you, Mrs. Fehr.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“You boys are welcome.”

She left the room with a cheery grin.

“I like that you came to me to ask my permission. I’ve never heard much bad about you. But your ways seem odd to me. Why come home and seclude yourself?”

“Because I needed time to discover who

I was going to be. The military changes a man, and while I love our town, I couldn’t be the small-town boy they once knew. I had to forge a new way and heal from the taxing job I’d been doing for ten years. It was something I needed solitude to do.”

“Fair enough, my boy. And now?”

“I’m not secluded, I’m running a business. One that’s doing well, and in order for that trend to continue I had to be willing to put in hard work. My home might be off the grid, but it has everything needed to keep her comfortable. The only throwback is the outhouse, and that could be changed if she wished. I’m willing to compromise as long as it means having her in my life.”

“I want you to remember that I’m an old man. My life has been lived, and I have three strapping boys to take care of their mother if need be. I have no problems killing you should you hurt my flower. Cream and sugar?”

Thorn gulped. “Black is fine, thank you.” He knew from experience the men who talked of things casually were the ones who could pull them off. “I understand, sir. I never want to hurt her.”

“I believe you, son. That’s why I’m going to give you my blessing. I want to see my Lilac happy, and we both want grandbabies. Lord knows we’d die waiting for the boys to give us any. “

Thorn laughed and took a sip of his coffee.

“One more thing, son. Does my daughter know you’re here right now?”

“No. I felt this was something that needed to happen between us.”

Mr. Fehr nodded. “I agree. I’m old-fashioned, but there’s nothing wrong with that. It worked just fine for my generation.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they drank their coffees and he got the feeling he was really going to enjoy having him for a father-in-law.

***

He felt almost silly as he lit the candles in the middle of the fancy white tablecloth covered table. His mom assured him Lilac would love it, but he was so far out of his depth it wasn’t funny. They’d slowly integrated one another in with their family members. His brothers couldn’t stop giving him shit, and neither could hers for that matter, but she was adored by the Finches. They’d kept the number of people who knew about their relationship small as they awaited the upcoming article. Today was a huge milestone. He’d be free to speak about her.

It was painful not yelling from the rooftops Lilac Fehr was his. Especially when Alexa continued to walk around under the misconception that she’d ended what they had. She also thought she’d keep her position. Every time he heard about her smirks, comments, and glares it buttered his toast. But today his baby would have the last laugh. Popping the bottle of wine, he poured a healthy glass of red in both of their glasses. The lasagna was almost ready to serve, the salad was chilling in the fridge, and the garlic bread was sliced into small pieces and resting in a basket.

The lock turned and he grabbed a noise maker off the counter. The door swung open.

“Congratulations.” He blew into the noise maker. Her bubbling laughter made everything worth it.

“Thank you, baby,” she said as she stepped in and set her leather attaché case on the table by the door.

“Well?” he asked.

“You’re currently looking at the second lead reporter who now makes thirty-five thousand a year.”

He clapped and she gave a curtsy. “Thank you, thank you. Is all this for me?”

He nodded. “I wanted to celebrate your accomplishment. I’m so proud of you for publishing this article and getting that well-deserved raise. I also wanted to say being with you the past month has been one of the happiest times of my life.”