A Tiny Home

Chapter 5

The suns fully rose by the time I get in my truck, showered and ready to go. I get on the road and drive through the Tim Hortons for a coffee before I pull on the highway heading west. I sing to myself quietly as though not to disrupt the jagged thoughts inside my head.

The first, I'm seeing Will again this morning.

The second, he maybe doesn't hate me for breaking his back.

The third, it doesn't matter if he hates me, he certainly doesn't like me.

And the final, but what if he does?

The final thought circles the others like vultures, its the reason I need the coffee I sip and the sugar rush that comes with it. Not to mention the caffeine high.

I take the offramp into Carp and begin down the old back roads. My truck climbs the hills with ease as the area becomes more forested until finally, I see the right green number at the end of a drive. I take it and make my way up a small dirt driveway towards the top of a hill. I see his truck parked and pull in next to it.

I get out of the truck and walk over to where I can see him sitting in a clearing through the trees.

"Hey," I call out not wanting to scare him.

"Hey, you find me okay?"

"Yeah wasn't too bad a drive." I reach out offering him a coffee and he takes it with a smile.

"Two sugar black." He says after a sip. "Awe you remembered."

I roll my eyes, "Yeah well you whine a lot when you don't get your caffeine how you like it."

"Pot and kettle baby." He says with a laugh.

He goes still and sits in his lawn chair and indicates the cooler next to him.

I take a seat and look out to the view.

"Oh my god, it's beautiful here."

"Right?"

I laugh, taking in the view of the valley below. All the trees in bloom making their way down the hill at my feet and the river in the distance. The Gatineau Hills are even visible further out. I smile. A view I won't mind looking at while I build. A view is well suited to my wall of windows.

"Right," I say softly. "Do you have the contract drawn up?"

"My lawyer sent it over last night."

"Wow, how adult."

"You know her, Shelly. She's your favourite." He teases.

I roll my eyes, "Of course Shelley became a damn lawyer."

"Yeah well we chatted about this business opportunity and she did it for free so she's my lawyer now and for the foreseeable future."

"Cool, I don't have a lawyer, but I'm sure Shelly only wants to screw you." I laugh and begin reading the contract.

"Good one." He says with a chuckle then leaves me to read through it quietly.

"I have to stay for a month?" I ask.

"Yes, for prospective buyers to view your place and for me to film a remote house tour." He says pointing to the sub-points of the contract.

"Fine. But that means we are on a super tight timeline. No room for mistakes."

"Or shipment delays. We should make a trip to the store today."

"Agreed," I say as I finish skimming the contract. I sign my name and hand it back to him. "For your lawyer's records."

He smirks, "Thank you."

He sits back into his chair and sips his coffee as I stand.

"Come on, we'll take my car."

"Hannah, Honey, sit your ass down. The store doesn't open for another two hours."

I look at my clock and see it's only eight AM. On a Sunday.

"Damn it."

He picks up my coffee and hands it to me.

"Tell me about France," he asks with a smile.

So I do, I tell him about Versailles and Paris, about the vineyards in the south of France and the ocean in the canaries. I tell him about the friends I met and the places I saw. I tell him about the tourism stories I wrote and how grateful I was to be bilingual once I landed there.

He listens, to me talk in silence a small smile on his face until enough time has passed that I'm getting warm and the bugs come out to eat us.

"Tell me about Toronto."

"What about it?" He asks.

I shrug, "Why didn't you leave."

"Well, my specialists and physiotherapists were all in Toronto. And there wasn't a reason to go back to Ottawa, it was only my grandfather waiting for me. I could tell Amy was someone special for Hank, and I knew if I left he'd follow. Your brother is always copying me."

I snort. "Yeah that Hank, can't think for himself at all."

He laughs, "Exactly. So I did my buddy a favour and stayed in the city. Got a job once I was on crutches and really loved it. He was a home developer, civil engineer, and a really nice guy. Took me under his wing."

"Do you miss it?" I ask quietly, afraid of the answer. "The boat I mean?"

"Oh, the tiny tin can as you so eloquently called it?" He asked amusement in his eyes, "Yeah sometimes I miss it, but not nearly as much as Hank and I have missed you."

I look to the ground wishing so desperately that my brother could have been left out of that particular comment.

"So I didn't ruin your life?"

He laughs, "Not at all, Han," He waits for me to look up at him, "it was an accident. And we both lived."

I nod and stand. "It'll take us a half hour to get there," I say unlocking my truck. "I'll drive."

He slowly stands and follows after me. "Alright. Hannah,"

I turn, "yeah?"

"You can stop running now." He says with a chuckle.

I pause and wait for him to catch up, "What?"

"You don't need to run just because I've healed enough to chase you."

"Really? Could have fooled me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks pushing my door closed as I try and open it.

I turn and look up at him.

"It means," I sigh, "Nevermind. Let's just go."

He stands still with his hand holding my door closed for a moment before letting it drop to his side.

"Okay, fine."

I watch as he walks around and gets in the car.

I take three deep breaths and then get in myself. I start the engine in silence and turn up the music before either of us can say something so dangerous again. 

Authors note: 

Let me know what you think about Hannah! Any feedback is welcome :) Thanks for reading!