“Fair enough.” Vince removed his hands. “Henry actually gave me an idea, and I went to my grandfather with it.”
“And that is?” Ava asked.
Vince said. “Mother always wanted me to get a degree in business and geology so I could go into the business, but I wanted to be a lawyer. After I graduated and passed the bar exam, no other firm could offer me the kind of money that she and Dad did, so I took it. You know all this already.”
Ava nodded. “Yes, I do, and understanding the problem doesn’t solve anything. We’re growing farther and farther apart every day.”
“The very idea of the responsibility of running that company, even with all the help I would have, has intimidated the hell out of me.” Vince looked her right in the eye and didn’t blink. “Then Henry told me what his father did to get him ready to run a huge ranch.”
“What was that?” Ava cocked her head over to one side in that cute little way that he loved.
Vince told her the story of Henry’s father giving him a small ranch so he could learn to run it, and then wenton. “We have a new little oil company opening up in Morisset, Australia, or maybe I should say near there. It’s actually a few miles out from a small town that has a population of less than four thousand. There’s a hospital there, and a school, and a nice beach…”
Ava stared right into his eyes, all the way to his soul and beyond eternity. “Isn’t that running from the big problem? You can learn to run a business right where you are.”
“No, it is not,” he declared.
“Are you thinking of moving there?” Ava asked. “Does your mother know?”
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you about this first. My folkswillknow as soon as I get back home. I’m going, Ava, whether you come with me or not. I understand if you don’t want to join me because it will be an enormous culture change. We’d be living in a rather remote village of maybe three hundred people. We’d go to town for supplies about twice a month. I would be overseeing the operation from the ground up.” He stopped and took a breath before he added, “And I would need someone to help me in the office that we’d be running out of the house at first.”
“Are you offering me a job?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am, I am, and a brand-new start for our marriage.” He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “Scroll through the pictures. That’s Morisset, and the house at the end is where we would live. It’s just astone two-story, with a couple of bedrooms upstairs, and a living room and kitchen on the first floor”—he paused—“and no air-conditioning, but it’s got a really nice porch across the front. We can both learn the business this way—one bite a time.”
“What does that mean?” She flipped through the pictures he’d collected, taking time to study each one.
He told her the story of eating the elephant.
“One bite at a time,” he repeated.
“That’s marriage.” She finally smiled. “One bite, or one day, at a time.”
She stared at the last image on the phone for a long time. “How long has it been since this house has been lived in? Is that a barn and a shed that I see in the background?”
“A year since the house has been lived in, but the people my grandfather talked to said that there’s some furniture still in it. We would have to chase out some spiders,” Vince answered, feeling better by the minute. She hadn’t thrown the phone at him and stormed out, so that was a positive sign. “So, what do you think of the place?”
She looked at the picture again. “It’s charming. It looks like it could hold a lot of love. If it had siding instead of stones, it would look a lot like my grandparents’ home out on the farm. I loved that place.”
“I remember. There were several properties I could have chosen, but this one also reminded me of yourgrandparents’ place where we got married. It seemed perfect to me.”
“I could grow vegetables like my granny did,” she whispered.
“Yes, you could,” Vince answered. “Does this mean you will think about going with me?”
“You’re really going to do this with or without me? You’re not doing it for just a second chance?” she asked.
“I need to learn how to run the company and to rekindle our dreams.” He reached across the table and slipped the phone from her hands. “What about you, Ava? Yes. No. Maybe. I guess we could build a bigger house after a year or two. You said money wasn’t everything.”
“I did, didn’t I?” she said. “Vince, I love that house. I love the idea of living on a place with a barn and a shed. I can have a dog or cats, but most of all, I love the idea of helping you build something with our future in mind. I want to be a part of your life, so the answer is yes, I will go with you to Australia. When are we moving?”
“Next week, but first we have to tell Mother and Dad,” he said, “and I want you to be there with me, right beside me, when I do. Grandfather is setting up a dinner the night we get back, and he’s already put the wheels in motion. He’s got more pull at the company than I thought he still had, and he loves this idea.”
“Will you shove me out of the way when the bullets start flying? I’m sure that Delores and William will bothbe ready to shoot me.” She flashed a smile, one that lit up her eyes.
That’s when Vince knew they were going to be all right.
“No, I won’t push you out of the way, but I’ll shield you with my own body,” he answered. “Ava, I feel like I should propose to you again.”
