Laura's Big Win (29 page)

“Your favorite, I believe?”

“It is. How did you do this on such
short notice? You are really just great at doing things that
constantly amaze me. This is simply beautiful, and secluded to say
the least. A girl could get swept off her feet by all this
attention, but trust me, I could get used to it.”

“It did take a little threatening, and
I made them evict an elderly couple celebrating their hundredth
wedding anniversary, put them in the freezer until their hundred
and first. The grape juice I bought some time ago and had them hold
it in their wine cellar for today, even though I didn’t know when
this day would be. But there’s more. I have another little surprise
for later on in the evening. First we talk, and dine. Haven’t you
ever heard that old saw about how the way to a man’s heart is
thorough his stomach?”

“I do know one way is with a sharp
knife between the third and fourth rib pairs, left side, but I
don’t think this knife is up to the task. Anyway, I might want to
hear what you have to say. So, say on.”

“First, I want you to tell me
everything you know about your kids. I know, I know. I’ve seen them
dozens of times, carried Amanda to bed more than once, and I think
Jack and I have sort of come to an understanding; it’s a male
thing, you know. I want to know more than that. I want to know what
you think of them, what you hope for them. No hurry; we have all
night since the two of them are already safe and secure for the
evening. And, you never talk much about your parents, or your
sister and her husband. I’ve met them, but that’s all I know and it
isn’t enough. I know there was a little problem there, but you seem
to have grown past that okay. Talk to me; I want to know about you
and the people around you, and if you’re a good girl, I might even
think up some reward.”

“I still like your last idea of a
reward. But if you really want to know all that stuff, it’s going
to take a while. Are you sure?”

“I’m sure. Besides, I told the chef to
slow things down. Here, let me decant a bit to loosen your tongue.
Please, Laura, talk to me.”

And talk they did, for what seemed like
hours, about her kids, about what she hoped for them, her sister,
her parents, everything but herself, and in turn he talked about
his family, his lost brother, how he ended up where he was. There
was a little he left out, although Laura would also be told those
parts when the right time came. What amazed her was how much he
already knew, even to the foods she liked, and the desert she
craved after dinner. The time flew by as they faced each other,
learning and digesting what they heard, seeing how much they had in
common and how their differences made them more interesting to each
other. Finally, hands holding across the table, Ryan suggested they
take another short journey, sort of a surprise he had held in
store. Ever curious about this man, and not about to lose him now,
Laura agreed.

“Where in the world are we going now? I
don’t think I’ve ever been…..no…..wait a minute. I know where we
are. I’m just not used to coming from that direction. We’re at the
lake. There’s the boat house. I thought those things were supposed
to be all put away for the winter and things like that. Are you
suggesting we go for a dip? Little chilly for me.”

“Nope. No dipping, just riding. I had
the woody kept in service this fall; thought maybe I’d want to use
it some evening, and sure enough, here we are. Hang on; let me get
some lights here.”

Using his phone, Ryan cleared the
boathouse security, and turned on enough of the outside lighting so
they could see where they were going as they made their way to the
door. Laura had seen the “woody” Ryan referred to, but it was
seldom taken out of the boathouse, for a couple of reasons. It
wasn’t really very big as boats go, holding may a half dozen
comfortably, and it was elderly at a minimum. The boat was all
varnished wood of various types, with a mahogany deck covering an
updated inboard engine, and had modern navigation devices but still
looked as old as it had originally appeared. Approaching headlights
made Laura look back for a moment, and she saw the security patrol
check the car, then cruise on. In the meantime, Ryan had opened the
boathouse and turned on the lights. The larger power boat and the
ski boat were both gone and in storage for the off season, but the
woody still hung in its cradle, sleek and polished as only true
craftsmanship can be. Ryan set things in motion to take the boat
out, and the two of them boarded carefully.

“You may need this. It can get a little
chilly out on the water at night, especially this time of year.”
and picking up a stadium blanket he carefully placed it around her
shoulders, being careful to put both arms around her and brushing
her lips in the process, only to find both her arms around him and
lips on his that demanded more than a quick pass by. Breaking the
clinch for a moment, Ryan started the muffled engine, opened the
remote controlled door on the water side of the boathouse, and
carefully backed out into the lake. By most standards, it wasn’t
much of a lake, but was good enough for recreational boating and a
steady water supply. Shallow draft boats could even run upstream
for quite a few miles, but Ryan wasn’t interested in seeing the
sights tonight. He wanted complete solitude with this woman, no
interruptions. The evening had gone so well this far, and they had
learned so much about each other. Always before, their talks had
been less in depth, more about events in their lives than just each
other, but tonight there was only the two of them, face to face,
spirit to spirit.

Ryan was right about the night chill,
but under the blanket, Laura felt a warmth from within just being
near this man. She didn’t know where all this was leading, but
intended to stay the course, no matter what, and if it didn’t lead
where she wanted to go, well, there was a lot she considered she
would do just to continue the relationship. She came to the
realization, without ever having used the word, that she loved this
man beyond reason. What he felt for her, she was unsure of, but in
his arms she felt protected and cared for, all the things she
wanted to feel.

For his part, Ryan was equally at sea.
This evening was going as he had rehearsed it in his mind over and
over, always waiting for the day when it could come into reality.
Having truly loved his Mary, he knew what it felt like, and he knew
that feeling had been growing within him since the first time he
saw Laura. He knew he didn’t understand how some of these crazy
things had come to pass, but here they were, in the middle of a
lake, in the late fall, just the two of them. Ryan turned on the
proper navigation lights, and stopped the boat when they were in
about the center of the lake. One of the redeeming features of this
maintenance intensive boat was the round cockpit area with large
padded bench seating. There was plenty of room for two people to
sit back and stretch out, especially if they were really close
together. The low profile of the boat made it great for just
sitting and observing things, and the crystal clear night sky
overhead only added to the ambience. In much less than a
coincidence, there was an ice bucket resting in the small console,
from which Ryan extracted another split of Laura’s favorite juice.
Somehow, that did not surprise her in the least when he handed her
a glass. “To us, to tonight, and to our future, whatever it may
hold” was the toast he proposed, and she accepted.

Ryan sat on the padded cockpit seating
and invited Laura to sit in front of him, and use him as a
backrest, with the stadium blanket draped over the two of them.
Blanket warming them, she rested against him, head on his chest and
his arms about her with her arms locked over his, hand in hand. In
his own meticulous way, Ryan had planned this scene in his mind,
and tonight played particularly well for his intentions. Although
they were in the center of the lake, the bow was pointed toward a
small cove. With no significant breeze, the boat drifted very
little and remained pointed as Ryan wished. Always the planner, he
knew there would be a full moon rising in about ten minutes. The
list of things he really wanted to know was pretty short, now that
they had learned so much about each other. With the moon just
starting to peek over the tree line, he plunged in.

“I know all kinds of things about your
kids, your family, and I know what happened to your marriage, but
do you ever think about marrying again, I mean, if someone came
along you could really love, would you jump in again knowing what
you know now?”

“I think so. I wasn’t very smart the
first time around, guess that showed, but still I think I’m the
eternal optimist about love. If it’s there, it’s there, and if I
loved someone enough, maybe I just haven’t learned my lesson but
I’d be willing to take the chance, if it came along that is. I
don’t want to live alone the rest of my life.”

“But what about the kids? Do you think
they’d object?”

“No, not really. You see, I couldn’t
love someone they would find unsuitable, even at their young age.
Kids are very perceptive, probably without knowing it. I remember
the night in the shelter when Amanda reached up and grabbed Dennis
by the finger; pure trust; read him like a book, didn’t she.
Anyway, the kids come with me. Guess we’re sort of a package
deal.”

“But what about if he wanted to adopt
them legally and all that?”

“Same deal. Names don’t matter much;
that’s just legalese. It would be nice just to have to keep from
explaining the name difference, and it would ensure them better
security should something happen to me, but if he loved my
children, then what would it matter? Does that make sense at
all?”

“Yes, really it does. So, if some guy
comes along and somehow convinces you to marry him, the kids come
along as a package deal. Right?”

“Right, although I think it would be
best to at least talk to them about the deal, you know, get some
buy in. You’re a good salesman, you could do it, I mean….that
is…..for example.”

“I need to tell you something, and I
know it may sound a little crazy, but I just want you to know what
I’ve been going through the past few months. I loved my wife very
much, and when she died, I’m sure a part of me died with her. But
the rest of me kept on living, painful as it was. You know I’ll
never forget her, or the good times or the bad, but since you’ve
been in my life, I find I can deal with those memories. They don’t
control my life anymore, and the part of me that went on living
wants to do just that. I wanted so much for this relationship to
blossom into a beautiful flower, but more than that, I wanted to
know that whatever developed, it was not because of need but
because of want. Today, you proved you can stand alone; simply, you
don’t “need” a man in your life to keep things together; you can
depend on yourself. Recognized self-reliance is a huge step. Is
that understandable at all?”

“It is. Today I felt like I could do it
all. I know I can’t, but I sure can give things a run. Yesterday I
thought maybe I could; today I know I can. Is that what I kept
sensing between us? Were you afraid I’d want you for a security
blanket?”

“Less that than wanting you to stand on
your own like I knew you could. It’s a great feeling and if you
came to depend on me, you’d always wonder “what if”, but you see,
tonight there is no “what if”. If you’re angry with me for being
that way, I’ll understand. I just believed it was best, and I know
I have no right to decide what’s best for you. So, how angry are
you at me for all that?”

“Not angry, but I don’t understand why
you did things that way”

“Because….I discovered months ago
that….I love you very much, and I want you and everything that
comes with you in my life, but I also want so very much for you to
want me, not need me. Like you, I’d always wonder, so I wrestled
with myself for months, wanting to tell you how I felt, but afraid
it would somehow change things. And maybe now, I’ve managed to
muddy things anyway. I’m sorry if my good intentions caused harm;
where do we go from here?”

“I don’t know; I missed everything
after you said ‘I love you”, and I don’t care about the rest. I
think I started loving you the first time I saw you. I don’t know
why, but this thing just seems to have a life of it’s own, whether
we like it or not, and probably in spite of us. I decided coming
out here tonight, I would do whatever it took to stay in your life,
and I have to tell you, I’m yours, any place, any time you want. I
love you that much. I have never ever done anything like that in my
life, but I have ‘want’ for you, and plenty of it.”

“Remember all those goofy questions
earlier; you know, the ‘what if’s’? What if, instead of saying
‘some man’, I said Ryan Williams; would it change your
answer?”

“No. When I answered, your face was the
one in my mind, along with a lot of hope. Was I being
foolish?”

“Will you marry me Laura, be my
wife?”

“Yes…oh yes. It seems like forever I’ve
waited to hear those words, and they sound so wonderful to me. What
can I say but yes.”

“And do you promise to massage my neck
when I have a muscle strain?”

“Every day, but what a strange thing to
bring up right after proposing to me”

“Not so strange. I have a strain right
now that needs massaged, and here I am.”