Drew dramatically rolls his eyes in a way that only he can do. “For a gym, obviously. We can buy one of those pre-made ones and get his dad and brother to help put electricity in it. Gym spaces don’t have to be complicated.”
“But how long is that going to take? And it sounds super expensive,” I say.
“Right,” Drew replies as he taps his cheek. Then he smiles, a smile so wide it almost looks creepy.
“You’re freaking me out,” I say.
“I have the most amazing idea, ever,” he says, enunciating the last word.
I wave my hands for him to continue.
“He packed up all his football shit. I’ve seen it. I got nosy one night and peeked in his closet. He has everything in there, like packed full of shit in the guest room. We could bring it out to the cabin. Maybe we can frame a few jerseys and make some keepsake boxes to hang up,” Drew says. “He misses football, let’s remind him that even if he can’t play, he’s still part of it. We can talk to his friend Farley.”
And just like that, we have a plan.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Jocelyn
“It’s dark out here,” I state as we pull up.
“I know. It’s a farm. They don’t have lights,” Drew hisses.
“Drew, it’s not eighteen forty. They have electricity,” I state deadpan.
“Come on. His mom said that part of the living area is done being renovated and we can hang stuff there,” Roxy says. Somehow, she was able to get his mom’s number and called her.
With flashlights in hand, we walk up to a front porch and Drew enters a code on a lock that his mom gave us. I feel a little weird being here since I haven’t met her, but first, I need to prove to Hutch that we can be together again.
The door opens and we step inside. I can tell it’s beautiful, but there are curtains hanging everywhere. Only a small corner by the door is visible.
“Here. She said they already had some nails in the wall. Let’s just use those,” Drew suggests as he motions to a wall with nothing on it. Oddly, it looks like something was on it, but it was removed. With a shrug, I start handing him the framed jerseys. Roxy goes to get the rest. I hear her talking to someone, and then she comes back inside.
“Just his dad. He suggested we go check out the pier they just put on the pond after we finish,” Roxy explains.
“Oh. I…would love to meet his parents,” I state, feeling weird about being here without Hutch. I always envisioned coming here with him.
“You can. Later. Let’s finish this wall-slash-ode to Hutch’s career,” she says as she hands me more items to hang up.
When we finish, I smile. It’s almost like the wall’s nails were pre-measured to hang exactly what I wanted. It looks great. Subtle, but it’s all there. There was even a small shelf where we put some enclosed in glass footballs that his teammates signed for him.
“OK, let’s go,” I say as I wipe my hands on my dress.
Roxy insisted I wear a dress in case we met his parents out here, even though their house is on the other side of the property, but I guess they do come here since his dad stopped by.
I follow her back out, and she walks around the back of the cottage on a little path that looks newly landscaped. Little solar lights dot the way. As we round the corner, my breath hitches. Hutch stands on a small pier. Fairy lights are strung in a cross pattern over him. Two Adirondack chairs sit on the pier with a table in between them. It looks magical. The path continues in that direction, with a fork of it going back to the giant porch that runs the entire backside of the cabin.
“Hutch?” I say as I stare at him.
“Hi, princessa,” he replies. He doesn’t seem surprised to see me. I don’t even look back at my friends as I walk to him as if in a trance.
When I reach the pier, I stop, and he smiles at me.
“I missed you,” he whispers.
I close the distance between us in three giant steps, which would probably equal one of his. I throw my arms around his neck, and he lifts me off the ground and twirls me in a circle.
“I take it you missed me, too,” he says with a laugh.
