It was the brightness of the new dawn that woke Casey. The sun streamed in through the nylon fabric of the tent as easily as it shone in through a window; the only difference was the sunbeam's blue nylon tint. Casey stirred and turned over. She immediately regretted the action since at some point in the night the air mattress had deflated and the only padding between her body and the hard floor was two layers of flock-covered plastic.
"Ow!" She muttered and shuffled about trying to get comfortable again.
"I'd give up if I were you." A voice said from outside the tent. "I did about an hour ago."
Casey heard the zip on the tent go and Derek's face appeared in the gap, closely followed by a mug of tea. "Look on the bright side. We get to make the most of the day."
Casey gave up, sat up and took the tea and Derek climbed into the tent. He was dressed in a scruffy t-shirt and jeans, his hair was unbrushed and his face unshaven.
"Ugh! It's bigfoot!" Casey quipped.
"Yup! Come to ravage you in your tent."
Casey snorted. "Chance would be a fine thing!" She complained. Derek grinned at her.
"End of the week, I promise! The roof will be water-tight by the end of the week. Then we can ditch the tent and start decorating the bedroom."
"Hmm…" Casey was thoughtful. "Maybe we should do the kitchen first."
Derek sipped his own drink. "Oh no. I can live out of a microwave, I can not go too long without a bed. Or rather I cannot go too long without you." He smirked at her.
Casey rolled her eyes and shuffled into a more comfortable position.
"You know the idea was that renovating a wreck into our own professional – and private – dream would be romantic."
"I warned you. I said we should stay in your apartment until this place was habitable."
"Yes, but you should have got someone else to say it to me. I make it a rule never to do anything you suggest."
Derek chuckled. "Honey, you've been following my lead since the day we met."
"Hmm, and look where it got me: a roof with no shingles, windows with no glass and rot that's both wet and dry!"
"It also got you the man of your dreams." He pointed out with a salacious wink. Casey groaned.
"Derek sweetie, it's too early in the morning for your ego. Actually, it's too early in the month!"
"Again?! Can't you get pills to stop that?" He quipped.
"Moron."
"Ah, but you love me anyway. Drink up! I need you to hold my ladder."
"I bet you say that to all the girls!"
Later, Casey joined Derek on the roof to help slot the new tiles into place. She had thought she hated heights but she defied anyone to dislike the view from the roof of their new home. Just a short distance from the main highway the former small-holding sat on the side of the hill in twenty acres of its own land. They had neighbours but none that were visible since the area was protected by covenants to safe-guard its beauty. Any closer to the city and the value of the land would have been sky-high but with modern communications there was no longer any need for them to live close to the metropolis. Their new venture provided them with peace and tranquillity – ideal for their photography school and gallery.
Of course, currently the main building for the school itself looked more like a cowshed than a stunning series of classrooms and gallery space but since the business part of the site was being completed by proper contractors it was progressing at pace. Another month and the new students would be able to check in to their purpose-built accommodation – and Derek and Casey would be able to start teaching the skills they had learned under fire.
Their own accommodation was just the ramshackle old farmhouse.
Casey loved it. If she had had any doubts about her future with Derek they had been blown away the moment he showed her the house he had bought all those months ago. He had bought it for his dream; they had made it theirs. The elderly building would always look incongruous against the backdrop of the newer buildings, but that suited them. It delineated their personal lives and their professional lives perfectly. In a fortnight, there would be an area fenced off for their own garden, hidden from the other accommodation by clever planting of shrubs and trees. A gate at the bottom would allow access to the wilderness down into the valley and beyond, where views and vistas would provide balm for the soul and subject matter for the students. Even now, when the work was far from complete, perched on the roof Casey could see how it would be.
They would spend their days helping youngsters from all backgrounds to achieve otherwise intangible success through formal education and informal inspiration. They would never make much money at it since it was part of Barbara's foundation, but they still had other professional irons to help them survive. For seven months of the year they would teach, for the rest of the year they would tour, taking assignments on occasion, writing perhaps. Edwin was the one with the exact business details, Casey and Derek were the ones allowed to dream.
During their down time they would retreat into their little bolt-hole to while away the winter months by the fire, reading, arguing…making up. Casey was sure there would be a lot of "making up".
"It will be perfect!" Casey said aloud to the wind.
"Only if you pass me the freaking hammer!" Derek wasn't feeling quite so enraptured.
But that was temporary. When he wasn't up a ladder with a mouth full of tile pins, he had been known to wax lyrical himself.
Derek saw the approaching van from the kitchen window. It wasn't unusual for trucks of all shapes and sizes to be on site. The contractors seemed to multiple on a daily basis, like Gremlins hit with a water pistol and at about the same rate as his finances diminished. This van was different however. This van was family.
"Morning Step-mom!" Derek greeted Nora as she reached into the back door of her work van. It made Nora jump and she bumped her head.
"I'm going to fit you with a bell." She told her step-son, rubbing her head with a wry smile. "I've always thought that might be a good idea. If we had done that when you were a teenager we might have known where you were a little more often."
Derek chuckled. "Are you sure you would have wanted to know where I was when I was a teenager?" He raised an eyebrow.
Nora paused. "Good point. Casey around?"
Derek shook his head. "She's gone into the city to see our publisher. The proofs are in for the book."
"That was quick!" Nora's head was back in the van so she had to shout. Derek walked around to help with whatever it was Nora was trying to extract.
"I guess. We've lost track of time. Too much to do around here"
Nora gave up and climbed in the back of the van.
"How's it going?"
Amused, Derek leaned on the door.
"It's coming on a lot faster now we're water-tight. The contractors have finished treating the rot and replacing the wood I couldn't manage so we're out of the cowshed and back in the house again. The interior has been re-plastered and the floorboards have been re-laid. The electrics are done and the windows are in. We still don't have a proper kitchen, there's only one functioning toilet and we're showering in the student block when the contractors have gone home at night."
Nora looked up. "Sounds good."
They both laughed.
Until Derek frowned. "So what brings you out here?"
This time Nora's whole head emerged.
"Window treatments!" She announced cheerfully.
Derek rolled his eyes.
"The plaster is still drying out and nowhere has been painted." He informed Casey's mom. "If you think we're going to be able to hang curtains…"
Nora regarded him with one of her "Der-ek!" looks that she had inversely inherited from Casey.
"I know that!" She told him. "But I need the measurements so I can draw up some designs for Casey. As soon as you are ready to put up a pole I'll be ready to hang."
"You and me both." Derek muttered under his breath and then with more volume. "Which room did you want to look at?"
Nora smiled. "Let's start with the bedroom." She announced, finally producing a tape measure and notebook and slamming the van door shut.
"Which one? We have five." Dilapidated or not, Derek was rather proud of the size of their home.
"The bedroom!" Nora started striding towards the house. "The Master!"
Derek swallowed. "Casey's room, you mean?" He said following Nora towards the house.
Nora stopped and turned. Her face wore an amused look.
"Derek, sweetie, don't you think it's time you two stopped with the fiction and dealt in fact? You are journalists after all!"
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, the whole family knows you sleep with Casey. Stop hiding it."
Derek's step-mother didn't wait for an answer, she just swept up the steps, through the front door and into the house. Derek trailed after her.
It wasn't that he had forgotten Casey had admitted to her mother that she occasionally slept in the same room as Derek. It just seemed prudent to avoid reminding Nora of it, in case Nora investigated further. If she did she might discover the extent of the relationship between her daughter and her step-son, something which, Casey and Derek were agreed on, must not happen. They weren't ashamed of their relationship, they just didn't want the family to have to deal with it.
By the time Derek caught up with Nora she was climbing the internal stairs to the upper floor. Nora had received the guided tour several weeks ago, looking very fetching in a pink hard hat, so she knew her way around. The headwear was not necessary anymore and Nora was impressed with the progress. She entered the master bedroom and stopped suddenly. Derek almost collided with her back.
"Oh my god!" She exclaimed.
Derek tried to peek over her shoulder to see what article of obvious couple-hood they had left lying around when they emerged from their bed that morning.
There was nothing. Just a sprung mattress on the floor, a straightened duvet on its surface and boxes containing clothes randomly scattered about the place.
"What's up?" Derek asked, unable to keep the nervousness from his voice."
Nora stepped further into the room.
"It's changed so much!"
The room had changed. For a start, you could walk into its confines without disappearing down to the floor below since the floor had been reinforced and replaced. New sash windows had been fitted and although they were currently opened wide to assist with the drying plaster, you could already tell the room would be quieter – and warmer than it had ever been. There were two windows: a large one on the wall opposite the door and a smaller window on an adjacent wall, close to the point where the pitched roof made the ceiling slope. It was a spacious room now, however, and even where the ceiling sloped there was room to stand up straight. The bed when it arrived would be placed so that they would wake to the view across the valley and in close proximity to the door to the new en-suite.
There was another door in the room. It led to the room next door: a small space with a small window, not big enough for a bedroom and not conveniently placed to make up the bathroom. The "box" room had been the subject of some debate. Casey wanted a dressing room. Derek wanted a hot tub.
Nora had made her way to the main bedroom window and was looking out at the view.
"It's beautiful." She said wistfully.
"Yes it is." Derek agreed.
"You're giving my daughter a beautiful home." Nora continued.
"I'm…trying?" Derek wasn't sure where this was going.
"Yes, you're very trying." Nora quipped and spun around. "When are you going to deliver on the rest of the deal?"
"Gah!...What?!" Derek was blind-sided. "Sorry Nora, you've totally lost me."
Nora gave him a look. "Like I said, it's time for truths, Derek. Not fiction."
"Fiction?"
"Fiction. Stories. You know, the kind with plot lines that just don't stand up." Nora tapped her notebook with a pen. "Plotlines like: "We only share a bed for sleeping" or "We're business partners.""
Derek groaned inwardly. Why did Casey pick today of all days to leave him to face up to this. He tried bluff.
"We are business partners!" He protested.
"And the rest." Nora finished. She looked thoughtful. "I'll be honest with you, Derek, but in return you have to be honest with me." She paused. "I knew Casey wasn't going to be here this morning. She told me last night on the phone."
"Ooookay…" Derek dare not say anything else.
"I came here to see you!" Nora looked at the tape measure in her hand. "Well, and to take measurements, but mostly to talk to you."
Derek shifted his weight on his feet. He was nervous, the way he should have been when summoned to see the principal – but never had been.
"What about?"
"It's time you asked Casey to marry you."