Chapter Twelve
February 13th. 2009© 2005 Kimberly J. Fish
An Emerald Marks the Spot
Chapter Twelve
Kali pushed the van gears into park and sent a hasty prayer, ‘O God, what am I supposed to do now?’ Staring through the windshield at Brad didn’t reveal any neon lights flashing wisdom. Her gut instinct urged her to turn the van around and hurry back to her dank garage, but Kali’s fingers had a mind of their own.
Opening the door, she set her sneakers on the uneven drive and watched Brad hurry toward her. Her stomach settled somewhere in the vicinity of her knees.
“What are you doing out here?” Brad peeled his sunglasses from his face.
Kali folded her arms over her ribs. “I believe that’s supposed to be my question. Remember, I own the property.”
”Guess, I’m not thinking straight. Two hours of sleep does crazy things to a person’s brain.” Brad’s gaze dropped to his boots before offering her a half-hearted smile. “I should probably explain why I’ve come back.”
“I figured you’d be half way to your mother’s house by now.” Kali wasn’t about to share her own sleep-deprived plan for a true hearts confession.
Brad stepped closer to Kali. He reached toward her then dropped his hand. “I do need to get on the road. I talked to the hospice nurse this morning and she said mom is slipping fast.”
”I’m not stopping you.”
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he looked at Kali. “It’s me, Kali. I couldn’t leave until I talked to you one more time. I meant what I said last night. Seeing you again has been a gift. I didn’t know how starved I was until I spent time with you.”
Kali had replayed his speech many times during the night, but she couldn’t remember if he’d ever promised to come back. “I feel the same way, Brad. But I don’t have any idea what to do about it.”
His face brightened. “That’s what I’m counting on Kali. I know it’s been a torturous twenty four hours since I showed up on your doorstep, but I’m hoping, praying, you’ll hear me out.”
“Brad, it’s okay. I’m not upset about the ring. The emeralds belong in your family. I’m glad they’re back where they belong.”
Brad gingerly placed his palms on Kali’s arms. “The ring is why I’ve come back. I want you to have it.”
Kali’s nauseous knees buckled. “What?”
Brad laid his forehead against hers whispering, “The ring belonged to you the moment I slipped it on your finger ten years ago. My grandmother made me swear to give it to the one woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and that was, and is, you.”
Kali was suffocating. Stepping away from his touch, she tried to think. To rationalize. To find an ounce of logic in the madness. “I can’t accept the ring. We’re not engaged. I’m not even terribly sure I like you.”
“But you love me,” Brad chuckled. “Just like I love you. Those feelings may have gone underground while we finished growing up, but they never died.”
“Brad Williams you are insane.”
He shrugged. “Maybe. But since you’re already thinking I’ve lost my mind, let me spring this next idea on you. In addition to you keeping the ring, I would like for you to come home with me and meet my mother.”
“I’ve met your mother, remember? She didn’t approve.”
“But she never knew how much I loved you. Maybe if I’d told her I’d given you the ring it would have made a difference.”
Sunshine warmed Kali’s shoulders. Lilacs, daffodils and peonies rose from the dry soil as Maypoles danced in her mind. What was she supposed to say? ‘Yes, I am an absolute idiot and need to drop everything and follow this man as he springs the surprise of a lifetime on a dying woman’. Even to her befuddled consciousness the idea sounded ludicrous.
Kali looked at the logo painted onto the van’s siding as a means of focusing on sane reality. “Brad. I came out here this morning to find you. I wanted you to know that even though I wasn’t prepared to label these upturned feelings, I did want to see if, maybe, um, you’d be interested in exploring them. But, I never in a million years expected you to do anything with the ring other than give it to your mother.”
“Me either, but love is nuts. And it makes you do crazy things.”
“I’m not a crazy kind of person, Brad. I’m careful. Logical. Some say a tad obsessive about details and I can’t undo ten lost years in one day. You can’t give me the ring. And talking about your mother makes me nervous. Ill, actually.”
Brad rubbed his palms across his scratchy beard. “Kali, I’m not asking you to marry me. Not today anyway. I just want to go back to the way things were yesterday. When the ring was still in your possession. That’s where I want to start over.”
Kali’s maypoles were winding tight knots in her brain. “I don’t understand.”
Brad turned on his boot heel, walked about ten feet then paced his way back to her. “Somewhere around dawn I came face to face with truth. I was scared of getting married so young so I listened to everyone but my own heart. And I paid the price for it. But I’ve taken care of the ranch like my folks wanted and I gave you the freedom to become the super-attorney your aunt wanted. Now that I look back, success has proved empty without you in my life. I know I told you I’d sell the ring to take care of the ranch expenses, but that doesn’t matter anymore. The only place I want to see that ring is on your hand. ”
She opened her mouth to say something, but words evaporated on her tongue. She stepped her sneakers to the side, but she didn’t raise any dust. Her fists clenched, but she felt no release.
“Kali, let me introduce you to my mother the way I should have done ten years ago.”
Kali shook her head. “The shock of finding out you gave me the ring in college would probably kill her. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.”
“Underneath her crustiness, Mom is a romantic. She’d understand. And she wants me to be happy. And nothing makes me happier than being with you.” Brad clasped his hands around her twisting hands. “Please, Kali, come home with me.”
To be continued. . ..