“Really? Edward made it sound like...” He wipes some sweat off his brow. “Never mind.”
“How did he make it sound?” I ask.
“He didn’t say much. But he seemed pretty upset before he left.”
“He left?”
“Yes, early this morning.”
“But he didn’t say goodbye.” I’m ashamed of how pathetic I sound.
“He was under the impression that you didn’t want to see him.”
My heart sinks, but I shouldn’t be surprised. Edward is simply respecting my wishes, but I can’t help asking, “He really left?”
“Sure... yeah.” Brandon shifts on his feet. The poor guy seems profoundly uncomfortable with my feelings, but at the same time somehow exudes sincere concern.
“Elinor . . .”
“Yeah?”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. He really likes you.”
“Thanks, Brandon.” I wish I could tell him that Annie really likeshimtoo, but I’m still not clear on her feelings, even though I have my suspicions. And for that matter, I still don’t know exactly where Brandon stands either. “Wish me luck!” I say.
“With what?”
I pull my note out of the mailbox. “I have a letter to deliver.”
He breaks out into a huge, glorious smile. “Godspeed!” Something tells me that if Annie could see him now, my suspicions might come true.
Edward was not entirely without hopes of some favourable change in his mother towards him. —Sense and Sensibility
26
Edward
“You went and fell in love with that Greenwood girl, didn’t you?” my mom asks as she applies sunscreen. It’s a little after noon, and we’re sitting by her pool at her new home in Santa Barbara.
I drove here directly after leaving Norland Park early this morning. I didn’t like the outcome of my conversation with Elinor yesterday, but it didn’t leave me totally dejected. If anything, I arrived at my mom’s home feeling like a man on a mission, ready to set into action my crazy plan to save Norland Park.
“That’s not why I’m asking you to not sell the park.”
“But you’re not denying that you’ve fallen for this girl.”
“I might have.”
“You could lose your job over this,” she tuts as she reclines on her chaise lounge, covering her face with an enormous white hat. My mom loves to sunbathe, but she’s also fastidious about protecting her skin. It’s a conundrum. Her solution is to lather herself up with sunblock and keep her face covered. She lays out by her pool—not to work on her tan, but to soak up the warmth of the sun, the same way a cat loves a sunny spot.
“What will you do?” she mumbles through the hat.
“I want to buy Norland Park.”
“Are you serious?” She sits up and the white hat falls to the ground. “But you can’t possibly afford it.”
“Not by myself. But if I sell the townhouse and my cars, I should have enough seed money to start my own development company. Of course, I need investors.”
“You’re thinking about starting your own company?” My mom sounds excited.
