“I did it! You’re a great teacher!”
“Nah.” He blushed. “You’re a fast learner.”
Evie waited. “So now what do we do?”
“Well,” he said as he reached for a beer, “we just sit here and wait until the little bobber bobs.”
“That’s it?”
“More or less, yeah. Want one?”
She shook her head and playfully shoved him. “Oh, that’s agreatidea! Let me just throw myself off the boat right now.”
He laughed. “You really are a lightweight, aren’t you?”
“Uh, yeah. Embarrassingly so.”
He took a swig and then shook the rod. “Nothing embarrassing about that.”
Together they sat. And sat. And sat. And just for a little change of pace, they sat some more. Evie smiled at him and scooched closer, in which Caleb then turned and kissed her. “You sure are pretty.”
She looked down. “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
He noticed her withdrawing. “You don’t think you’re pretty?”
“It’s not that. I wish I could tell you something that’s been on my mind, but I’m afraid you’ll think I’m weird.”
“I know you’re weird. That’s why I like you.”
She snickered looking up to the sky. “You think I’m weird?”
“Most definitely!” he insisted. He pressed his forehead down to hers, bonking it gently. “I mean, you gotta be some sort of weird to buy that goofy ass funhouse you live in. Buy your cat a whole bed and a laundry basket of toys, read Stephen King books.”
Evie held her mouth in amusement.
He encouraged her, “Go ahead. I promise I won’t judge. What’s up?”
Evie thought and lifted her head to see the pristine view of the lake. Quietly, she began, “A long time ago, well before Pawpaw died, I stopped to pick flowers on the side of 42 for him. He loved those black-eyed Susans. When I got to put them in the back, I got that ad for your company, the one I told you about when you pumped up my tires.”
As he looked at her, her face became soft, and her eyes looked downward again. “I thought you were really cute when I saw the ad. And then I saw you again at the general store in town. I didn’t put the two faces together because you had a totally different style each time I saw you, but when I saw you at the drugstore, I was really sick with the flu and also missing Pawpaw. Your smile and your kindness were like… I don’t know…medicinal.”
He listened.
She gave a nervous laugh and continued, “I wanted to ask you out or at least ask your name, but you left before I could get it. I don’t think you know how much that simple gesture meant to me. Sure, some people are nice in Laysville, like Hunt, Joey, Myla, and my neighbors. But some can be really judgmental. I was feeling like an outcast becauseI was so new. You brought happiness to me when I was at my lowest. I was then going to ask your name and ask you out to say ‘thank you’, but I saw…”
She looked down.
He asked, “My ring?”
“Yeah. But I was happy for you. It wasn’t until I met you at the air pump that everything clicked. And when I saw you didn’t have a ring on, I was honestly sad for you. I was worried maybe you were a widower. But when you sent me a friend request that night, I can’t lie. I was giddy like a fucking dumb school girl.”
He smiled.
“I was so happy that I went into the salon to get my nails done, and that’s where I heard from Sandy and Kelly that you were getting divorced.” She stopped for a moment, now shifting her glance to the bobber that never bobbed. “I’ve had a little crush on you for quite a while. So sometimes it’s hard and difficult for me to believe when you are around me. I count my blessings with every text, every call, every social media reaction, every kiss, every smile.” He rubbed her back and she finished, “Everything.”
She had finished talking, and he was without words to say. There was literally nothing he could have said to her that would’ve sufficed the emotions her confession had stirred within him. “I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you’ve liked me for that long. We’re talking almost two years now. What was it that made you like me other than my looks? I don’t post much on Facebook, so how did you really start to like me without really knowing me?”
“It was what you posted. The fact you liked the same music I do, how great of a dad you are, how smart you are, the fact you play guitar, how much you get up and go at life despite all the stuff you gotta take care of. Your horses, being a Christian man, and even your job.”
