Misunderstandings (Woodfalls Girls 2)

“And I wish you would wait until morning to go, but I can tell by the determined look on your face there’s no talking you out of this.”

“No, ma’am,” I confirmed, giving her a hard hug that she returned wholeheartedly. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too,” she said, walking me to my car. “You better call as soon as you stop for the night, and no driving past eleven, since that’s when the drunks hit the road.”

“Promise,” I agreed, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing into my car.

Maybe it was the finality of leaving, but backing out of the driveway, I suddenly felt more love for my mom than I ever had. Not because she was letting me go, but because she had always accepted me for who I was. Finally, I realized I owed her that in return. The GPS indicated my destination was thousands of miles away, but I didn’t care because I knew I was going home. The sign telling me to visit Woodfalls again soon came into sight, and I laughed openly when I drove past it.

36.

Present Day

I was a hundred miles into my trip when Justin called. Wanting to keep my news secret, I lied and told him I was on my way to the city to see a movie with Tressa. It killed me not to tell him the truth, but I bit my tongue. Heeding my mom’s warning, I pulled into the parking lot of a hotel at around eleven o’clock. I made sure to call to let her know I was off the road. I was so amped I could hardly sleep, and by six the next morning, I was back on the road. My car ate up each mile as if it sensed my hurry. The only time I stopped was to fill up on gas, make quick bathroom breaks, and to hit a drive-through. The day passed quickly and by eleven that night, after twenty-four hours of driving time, I was more than halfway there. I was giddy with excitement, knowing that soon I would be back in Justin’s arms.

I looked at my phone after I checked into my hotel room, feeling guilty that I had let his nightly call go to voice mail. I was afraid I couldn’t trust myself not to blurt out the truth. Listening to the voice mail made me feel even worse. He sounded lonely, but the result would be worth it. I sent him a text message saying I was sorry I missed his call and that I would talk to him tomorrow. Sleep came easier than it had the night before. As excited as I was, I guess all the driving had me exhausted. Even the buzz I maintained all day from sucking down one Red Bull after another was long gone. I lay down on the bed, intending to rest my eyes for a minute before showering. Before I knew it, I was awakened by the jingle of my cell phone sitting on the bed next to me. Luckily I had remembered to set the alarm before I crashed. I still had on the same clothes from the day before, but I felt surprisingly refreshed. After a quick shower, I hit the road before the sun came up.

By the time I made it to my next hotel stop that evening at eleven, I was less than five hundred miles away from Seattle. I couldn’t believe how many miles I had covered in the past three days. The god of road trips must also be on my side because I had managed to avoid highway patrols and state troopers the entire way, which was good considering I hadn’t exactly been paying attention to the posted speed limits. I spent a few minutes talking to Justin on the phone before giving him the excuse that I was feeling a little under the weather to get off the phone. I felt like a kid in a toy store, eager to get what I wanted. Tomorrow I would claim my prize.

The next day I was less than fifty miles away when Justin called, and I couldn’t decide if I should answer. Choosing to wait one more hour for the big surprise, I let it go to voice mail again. I was pulling into the parking lot of his building when he called again. Gleefully, I answered the phone this time.

“Hello,” I said, climbing from my car.

“There you are. You’ve been hard to reach,” he said, sounding stressed.

“Sorry, it’s been a crazy couple of days,” I answered, climbing the steps to his condo.

“Anything I can help with?” he asked as I located his door.

“I think so,” I said, raising my fist to knock on his door. “I’m wondering about what you said to me the other night,” I added, knocking.

“I’ve been worried about that. Just a sec, someone’s at the door,” he said.

“I was wondering if you were serious about the love part?” I asked into the receiver, grinning broadly at him. He looked like he might pass out before gathering himself.

“Hell yes,” he answered, dragging me into his arms.

“That’s good, because I love you too,” I said, seconds before our lips came together.

Epilogue

“You ready, babe?” I called, closing my suitcase.

“Just about,” Justin said, looking up from the painting he was working on.

“Um, hon, you know we have to leave for the airport in twenty minutes?”

“I know. I just wanted to finish this,” he said, turning the painting so I could see. “What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, taking in the painting of the land we had purchased that week. It would be several years before we could afford to build the house of our dreams on it, but for now at least, the land was ours.

“You can see yourself growing old here?” Justin asked, sliding his arms around me.

“Only if you promise to mow all that grass,” I teased, looking down at the ring sparkling on my finger.

Justin had proposed on a cliché date, despite his vows not to. I had to admit though, it made for a memorable New Year’s Eve. At least he bucked the traditional route of a romantic dinner with onlookers. Instead, he popped the question just as the clock struck midnight beneath the stars while we sat in his jeep. Even though it was the middle of winter, he had removed the roof and doors for me and filled the jeep with heavy blankets. Wine and fine cuisine was traded for steaming cups of coffee and pizza from our favorite place. In the parking lot of Olympic Sculpture Park, with the stars shining down, I had just declared it the perfect way to spend New Year’s when Justin handed me a cup of coffee with something taped to the side. I had laughed with glee when I saw it was a ring. >“Just making an observation. I guess your ‘conference’ was pretty tedious,” she stated, letting me know she had seen through my excuse.

I sighed. I was no longer sure why I had felt the need to keep her in the dark on every aspect of my life. “I went to Seattle for a friend’s engagement,” I said, throwing it out there.