“It’s on my list,” Beckham mumbled before having another forkful.
“List?” I questioned.
Ellis rolled her eyes. “That boy thinks he needsto fix everything around here. I tell him its charm—he tells me water leaks turn into black mold.”
“They do,” he grumbled as he brought his glass to his lips.
“The house is old,” she said by way of excuse. “You can’t get mad at it.”
“I can still fix it.”
Conversation flowed seamlessly as we finished dinner, stories of Garrett and Beckham coming up now and then. I’d never met Garrett, as he and his mom lived a bit outside of Bell Buckle and I never left that small town, but it seemed that he and Beckham were a rowdy couple of teens when they got together, if her stories were any indication.
Ellis and I did dishes while Beckham did a quick second coat of paint in her guest bathroom. He’d recently taken out some moldy drywall and replaced it. There were only a few finishing touches to go, and it’d be done.
I wasn’t sure how I hadn’t put the pieces together that he wasn’t going to his family’s house every other Sunday for dinner. Beckham had never really hid anything from me, though, so I hadn’t thought too far into it. For some reason, asking felt like sticking my head where it didn’t belong when I already felt like I was intruding on his privacy by living in his double-wide. But I’d have to get over that. We were different now that we were officially together.
The night passed as we sat around the fireplace in Ellis’s living room. As the flames died out, she hung on to every word we spoke. I almost didn’t wantto leave knowing she’d be alone here, but when her eyes grew heavy, I knew we couldn’t stay forever.
“We’re going to head out, Ellis,” Beckham said, noticing the same thing I did. He stood from beside me, holding out a hand to help me off the sunken couch. I wondered if it was the same one they’d broken and she’d just never replaced it. At first, maybe she’d hated it, but some items held memories you could never recreate.
While he helped me to stand, my back stiff and my mind fighting any hint of exhaustion, Ellis got to her feet as well. She folded the wool blanket that had been slung over her legs and draped it over the back of her sitting chair.
“You better bring Parker back,” Ellis started, and though her voice sounded tired from hours of talking, her teasing held firm. “I was getting bored just seeing you every visit.”
Beckham let out a small chuckle, pulling her in for a hug. “I know you love me.”
She patted his back, her arms barely making it around his torso. “I do.” She receded a step, setting a palm on his stubbled cheek. “So very much.”
Unspoken words passed between them, and I waited until they were done to move in for a hug of my own.
“No more handshakes?” Ellis asked as we squeezed each other.
“I think I like your hugs better,” I said.
“Good.” She smiled, bright and warm. “I do too.”
We said our goodbyes, and Ellis waited in the glow of the porch light while we got in the truck and drove off.Beckham’s large hand wrapped around mine on my lap, and I looked over to find a small, satisfied grin on his face.
“So this is where you’ve been running off to,” I said, stroking a thumb over his own.
He nodded. “Every other Sunday.”
“Since he passed?”
This time, his confirmation was a subtle dip of his chin. “I came for dinner on and off before, but without Garrett, Ellis has been lonely. Even though she doesn’t want to admit it. She says those books keep her company.”
I was sure they did. “Where’s his dad?”
“Died when he was young. It had been just the two of them since. And now…”
“Now it’s Ellis, you, and me.”
His eyes met mine in the dim light emanating from the dashboard, a hint of melancholy reflecting in them.
“You know you can tell me anything, right?”
“I was scared,” he admitted.
