Presley walked over to me, and I met her in the middle of the living room. She took my left hand in her right, and I carefully placed my other hand on her upper back. There was more than enough room in between us and after swaying for a moment, she looked up at me and smiled. I didn’t realize it until now just how much shorter than me Presley was. I was around six foot one, and Presley must have been ten inches shorter than me. I never stood close enough to her until just now to notice.
Feeling my body relax and with the realization that I didn’t want to do anything that might dishonor God, I released the breath I was holding in. This was just dancing, until it wasn’t, and I would make sure that it didn’t go beyond this.Make sure it doesn’t, Lord.I let go of my hand on her back and held her out with one hand, and she did a spin. It was then that I remembered that this cowboy loved to dance.
Two twirls and a dip later, I felt the plot thicken between us. As the song ended, she thanked me for the dance, and I found myself filled with gratitude that she asked me. It was enjoyable and with my boundaries in place, nothing else happened. She was full of laughter and went back to the dining room table.
I followed and picked up the box of the puzzle to see what she was creating—a snowy, ski slope landscape with little glitter accents.
“It glows in the dark, too,” she said with a coy smile. Her eyes looking up at me from the table made a twinge in my chest. Presley was radiant—that was obvious to anyone who glanced her way—but I was just now noticing to the degree that she was.
“Very cool. Mind if I join? I don’t think I’ve done a puzzle since I was a kid. My grandmother used to have them going on a card table permanently set up in her living room. Right next to that bowl of strawberry candy.” As I reminisced aloud, Presley chimed in.
“I love that candy. I buy it sometimes,” she laughed.
“You can buy it? I’ve never seen it in stores,” I said, confused.
“Well, it’s not delivered by the stork the day someone becomes a grandmother. Of course you can buy it, silly!” she teased and tossed a puzzle piece at my head. I was so caught off guard at her playfulness, I didn’t even know what to say. So, I flicked one back at her, and it poked her in the eye.
“Oh my, I’m so sorry, Presley. I didn’t mean to—” I stammered, and she started laughing.
“Good shot, Ford. I’ll remember that next time I shouldn’t go easy on you. Careful though, I can be ruthless with a piece of sticky bubblegum in a slingshot,” she giggled, taking a sip of her tea as she started to slowly put a few pieces together.
“So,” I started, not knowing how to finish the sentence. “Tell me about. . . something. Tell me aboutyou.”It was as good a start as any. She looked surprised at my conversation, and I was certain it was because I’d been such a silent dud around her these last few days.
“I’m a book publisher in Denver, and I’m here because I just about snapped at work. Well, I think I had a meltdown right before work, but it was a prolonged reaction. I’ve been very overworked andunder vacationedin the last. . . five years.” Presley didn’t waste any time jumping right into her story thatshe shared so easily. The woman was transparent, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that. I’d never been around a woman who told me what she was thinking instead of saying something different and making me guess. As she went on, I found myself captivated with what she had to say, and I also started to realize I’d been trying to maintain control of every situation, when in fact, my life had been in God’s hands all along. Wasn’t that the very thing I just prayed for? “I crammed to the limits in college so I could graduate early, and I went right to work. No gap year, no time off. A nervous breakdown was inevitable at some point, and I happened to have it this week.” She gave a smile with her thumbs in the air, and I laughed. “So, that’s how I ended up here for a week. In Sage Mountain, during a power outage, and a major incoming storm. I can’t wait to see what lesson this turns out to be, because God really does have a sense of humor.”
“That He does,” I said, as I watched her animated expressions while she spoke. She certainly had my full attention—she was entertaining as all get out. A little noise came from Priscilla,and Presley jumped up.
“Did you finish that already?” she asked, getting down on the ground to check out her dog's toy. “I filled this with the tiniest bit of peanut butter—kept her entertained for at least anhour!” Presley exclaimed. The dog looked dang proud of herself as she licked her little lips clean.
“Cute,” I said, surprising myself.Cute?I know I had prayed to be a changed man but did I really just say that out loud?God, have You softened me up that much already?Looking at the dog, Priscilla,I couldn’t deny that she was adorable. This evening, she was sporting a purple sweater and had two matching bows in her hair. Presley must have changed her outfit from earlier because I didn’t remember it. Or maybe, I was just too self-absorbed to notice. Probably the latter.
Presley brought over a fluffy dog bed for Priscilla to sit in while she returned to the puzzle, but instead, the dog went and got a drink at the tiniest little dog bowl I’d ever seen next to the kitchen island. It was so small, I didn’t think I would have noticed it otherwise—probably the size of my palm. As she got what sounded like a much-needed drink, the record started winding down. If I recalled correctly, there were maybe three songs left before it needed to be flipped. It was already dark outside, and the day was catching up to me. I decided at the end of this record, I would go to bed.
“Now, tell me about you, Ford,” Presley smiled.
“Well, there’s not much to tell that you probably don’t already know,” I said, considering she’d been my roommate for two days.
“Try me.”
“Let’s see. I’m a skijorer. Been doing that since I was about nine years old.” She nodded, signaling that she wanted more. “I won a national championship a few years ago, and that’s what qualified me for the Winter Games. Now, I’m just competing in those, pretty much. With brand deals, I stay pretty busy, which is awesome.” I was quickly running out of material to give her. A sliver of doubt made me wonder if she had already looked me up online and knew about Poppy and the shameful breakup. I shook that thought from my mind, reminding myself that the devil wanted me to feel shame and doubt, not God.
“What about you? What else do you like to do? Skiing, of course.” As she pressed, I started to think outside of skijoring.
“It’s a hard question to answer, because skijoring is the thing that has all but consumed every inch of my life for the last decade. Kind of like how you said about publishing.” Her eyes widened.
“Thank you for sharing. And listening to me,” she said. It wasn’t lost on me how low the bar was set for this woman, butI was one of the worst offenders for not listening, so I just nodded. It was clear that we both had been through some rough experiences with the opposite sex, and I’d leave it at that if she did. “I totally get it. I always wanted so much more in life, but the success of my career trumped it. I no longer had time for anything that wasn't publishing. Sometimes I think I’d trade it all for a family,” she said, hiding behind her words as she pretended to analyze the puzzle box. Little did she know, I felt her pain. In the next room, my computer let out a familiar chime.
“Excuse me. I didn’t realize the computer was still on. It does this annoying thing whenever I get an email,” I joked and walked to the office.
Pulling up a browser, I checked my messages. The property management company I used had replied to my previous email about Presley’s chalet. The bad news was they wouldn’t be able to fix that fireplace issue so easily. It was going to have to be a project for late spring, when contractors could come up and fix things properly. The good news was they had an opening for a no-show in chalet #5. The guests couldn’t make it due to the roads being closed down.
I read the email with a mixed bag of emotions. The woman I was hosting here in my home had somewhere else togo. Surely, they were going to reach out to her next and let her know. How would she react? Would she be anxious to leave, to get away from me? For some reason, I wanted her to stay here with me. I wasn’t proud of it, but for a moment, I contemplated simply omitting the fact there was another option for her lodging.Jesus, help me.Not telling her would be slimy, and a hostage situation. All I could do was come clean. And that’s exactly what I’d do.
Returning to the table that was now covered with a nearly-completed puzzle border, I spilled the beans.
“That was the property management company. There is nothing they can do about your chalet; it will require much more extensive repairs, unfortunately. But chalet #5 is open because the guests couldn’t get here. Though the power might be out, it does have a working fireplace, if you’d like to have your own space again.” The look on her face was familiar. While I’d never been a good interpreter, I sensed that she wanted to know what I wanted out of the situation. So, I added something in. “Of course, I think it’s fun having you here if you’d like to stay, you know, with electricity and all that.” She smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, if it’s no problem, I don’t think I want to be walking around with a flashlight. Unless the power turns back on, of course,” Presley nodded to herself.
