Hey all, guess what? I lied, but in all honesty I thought this chapter would take longer, I was wrong. There are a few things that I didn't put in here because it felt forced if I would've placed them within this one. I'm sorry it's shorter than the previous chapters, but I like the way this one ends. Please enjoy!
Zoe was up at a quarter to five. She couldn't get back to sleep; her eyes focused on the dark surrounding her. The more she tried not to think about what Wade had planned, the more she thought about it. She had come up with so many things that she just couldn't think what it was he had up his sleeve. Her emotions ranged from being scared to being excited. His surprises had always been the best. They never disappointed her.
Fed up with lying in bed she got up and got ready for the day. She grabbed a bagel on her way outside to watch the sky start to light up from the morning sun. Watching the sun rise in Bluebell had been one of her favorite things to see.
"Is someone anxious?" She laughed, seeing Wade waiting on the front steps for her.
"Couldn't sleep," he used as his excuse, standing up to join her. "You?" He asked, checking his watch to see it was 20 to 6. "I woulda knocked, didn't think your dad would've liked that much though."
"You're right about that," she laughed. "Same, couldn't sleep."
"As fun as sitting here is, we should be going," he told her, stealing a bite of her bagel.
"Only if you tell me why we have to go this early for?"
"We need the best light for what I have to show you, and it happens to be the early morning sun," he responded, walking to his car.
"What are you up to, Wade Kinsella?" She questioned following behind him. For a reply, he sent her a wink climbing into his car, she eyed him carefully before getting in. He drive off once they were both buckled in.
They held back from saying anything, to keep from fighting. The longer they were in the car, the less curious she got about the destination. There was only one place the way he was going. Now she was wondering why they were going there. Benny had passed away two years before she moved away for school. Benny had lost his wife when they were 8 to cancer. Zoe not wanting him to be alone everyday, made Wade come with her to visit him twice a week.
"Don't say anything," he told her, parking the car in front of the old farm house. "Come look," he said, climbing out of the car.
"What's going on, Wade? Why are we here?" She questioned refusing to go any further.
"Come inside and I'll explain on the way through the house, okay?" He asked her. "I promise we won't get in trouble for being here," he said with a little smirk, pulling the key from his pocket.
"What did you do?" She carefully asked, walking to the front door.
"Invested in something a long time ago. I thought it was about time you saw it," he shrugged, unlocking the front door.
"Wade," she started to say.
"Hold that thought," he said, pushing the front door open to reveal the foyer, a wooden bench off to the side; coat hooks on the wall opposite the bench. "You wanted a place to feel like home. A home where you could raise your kids. You never felt at home anywhere else but when we'd be here at this house. This is your home, Zoe or at the very least it once was."
The foyer led into the dining room, a wooden table and chairs in the center of the room. To the left of the dining room was the kitchen with marble counter tops. French doors led to the backyard, complete with a wrap around porch.
"You always talked about having a little garden," he said pointing to the right where there was a small area for a smaller size garden. "There's a bigger one in the main yard," he told her.
She went to say something, but he shook his head, leading her through to the living room. Dark mahogany flooring, a full-size couch and two chairs were sitting around the coffee table, an entertainment center waiting to be used sat before it all. Bookshelves along the far wall, a few books at home there. Taking a closer look she noticed they were a couple of her favorite books. She was impressed. Really impressed.
She had looked in the den and the spare room on the first floor, looking into the laundry room, which was bare. She followed Wade upstairs to where there was a second living room. A small sofa and a chair sat in front of the ceiling to floor window, overlooking a little pond, the sun streaming through the window. Another bookshelf was against a wall; a few more books scattered on three of the shelves. This room had to be her favorite one yet.
The next stop was the master bedroom, rich with warm colors, a king-size bed in the middle of the room. Dressers were pushed against the walls. The curtains were open to look out at the same pond. She really liked the walk-in closet. The ensuite bathroom was nicer than her bathroom in the city. She really loved the Jacuzzi tub. From there she took a look at the two extra bedrooms upstairs.
With the tour over with they went to sit outside on the porch.
"Care to explain what this is?" She asked softly.
"You loved this place when we were kids, and we would visit Benny. You would talk about the things you would do if you had this place."
"Which is what you did?" She asked, feeling like she already knew the answer to the question. "You fixed the place up the way I wanted it to be?"
"Yeah. I bought the place a year and half after you left, at the time I thought you would be back, and I would surprise you, but that didn't happen," he sighed softly. "Ever since we were 9, and you talked about wanting a place like this; I've been saving up."
"Wow! Since we were 9?" She couldn't believe that he had done that. That he had done all of this for her. Here she thought that he hated her for what happened, but he loved her enough maybe more than enough to do all of this for her.
"You were my best friend Zoe; I wanted you to be happy," he sheepishly told her.
"Thank you," she told him, the reasons going unsaid as he knew why she was thanking him for. It was such a sweet gesture for him to do. "But why are you showing me this now? You're not going to live here with Tansy, are you?" She really hoped that her voice didn't give away to the hurt she was in at that thought alone.
"No, I couldn't do that. This is your house, Zoe. You're free to do what you want with it," he told her handing the house key over. Refusing to think about Zoe living in the house he had once thought would be theirs with some other guy.
"I can't accept this, Wade," she refused.
He wasn't having that, taking her hand and placing the key in her palm. "It's yours," he simply said. "Always has been."
"It was supposed to be ours," she whispered. He nodded his head.
The silence lingered between them; Zoe's focus was on the key in her hand. Her mind was racing, leaving her speechless. What was one to say in a situation like this?
"Do you really love Joel? Can you picture your life with him the way we had?" He asked in a cracked voice, letting his emotions come out.
"I love him, Wade. But no I haven't thought about the future with him. Can you really picture a life with Tansy?" She asked him.
"No," he easily replied. "Marrying her while drunk was one thing, but she's not the one I want Zoe. However, if there's no chance of us being together, I need to let myself heal and that is something I can do with Tansy."
"Good! Even so, I don't know what's going to happen with Joel. I thought I was over this," she said gesturing between them, "but clearly I'm not," she sighed, shaking her head. "But you marrying Tansy shouldn't be based on me, Wade. I will not let you use me as an excuse. If you can see your life with her, then marry her, but if it feels all wrong, then walk away before either one of you gets hurt worse," she told him.
"Above all else I want you to be happy, Zoe, always have, so think long and hard about what you want when you go back home and do what feels right to you," he advised her.
"Then it's a deal," she smiled. "I never meant to hurt you by dating Joel," she told him.
"No explanation needed, I get it, Zoe. You ever think that we'll be close like we use to be?"
"No," she told him. "We've changed and we know nothing about each other now. We'll be close again but too much has happened between us for things to be the way they were."
"Maybe so."