Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 9

The cab stopped and Charles helped me out. "That'll be five smackers Sarg."

"Thank you sir, I'm only a first lieutenant, and heres a little something for kicking your seat."

"Awe, Lieutenant or Sarg all the same if you don't mind, Sarg. You boys are true heroes for what you do. think nothing of the seat, it was an accident. You know, the missus and I used to be like that too when we were young. You've got a good girl there, and if she is anything like my Ellie—whoo—you have an interesting life ahead of you, but it will be worth it." I heard the cab drive off and Charles came back behind me placing his hands on my hips to guide me.

"Okay, keep your eyes closed." He whispered next to my ear.

I kept my eyes closed with my hands over them for extra measure. I was terrible at waiting when it came to things like this. Something exciting was about to happen, something life changing. My eyelids felt as if they wanted to join the clouds in the sky and just spring open to take in the place that I would call home and raise our children. He guided me forward and whispered in my ear to pick up my feet and step. Finally, he stopped "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

I opened and looked with hungry and eager eyes ready to take everything in. It was a cute little yellow country house, with green gables. The large green wrap around porch completed the homely look and I could imagine Charles and I in our old age sitting under that porch enjoying the fresh outdoor air. There were beds of blue, yellow, and pink flowers lining the trim of the porch. and another two flower beds of pink and yellow roses on either side of a sidewalk. It was beautiful, even better than I imagined our house to look like. I may have been mad at him for making the choice without me before, but now that I saw the house I understood his eagerness. It still didn't make what he did right, but I understood nonetheless.

"Am I forgiven?" He pleaded.

"Yes, oh my gosh, Char this is amazing. It's so beautiful. Are you sure it is ours? I mean that would be a cruel joke even for you. This is just so perfect."

"yes, I am sure it is ours. Here, if you don't believe me take the key and go see for yourself." I grabbed the key and made a run for to the front door. When I opened it I was not disappointed. It had a little bit of a colonial look with wooden beams hanging low from the ceiling, wooden floors, everything was in a rich dark wood, and it was a big open space. It made the house look so elegant. I went straight to the fireplace Charles told me about. It stood at the far back of the room and had a stoney mantle that made the room look rustic, and classic. I turned and ran to the kitchen which was separated by a door. I swung it open to look into my favorite room of the house. It wasn't by any means as big as I would have liked, but it was bigger than anything that I ever had and there was enough room to put a table without losing too much space. The Sink was just below a window which overlooked a small backyard. The stove was a bit outdated, but it looked well taken care of.

"Helen, Where are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen."

He walked through the door. "I might have known. You know this kitchen looks good on you."

"You think so? I've been trying to cut down I hear kitchens are nothing but pure hassle. Alas here I am, I just couldn't resist."

"Come on I want to show you the bedrooms." He grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs to two small rooms. "I thought these could be guest rooms, and perhaps in time our kids rooms." We stayed there staring at the empty room thinking of the possibilities of what could be. I rested my head on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me from behind. "There's more to see." He purred in my ear.