Some Things, page 10
It’s all good news, I hope. And it doesn’t have to do with any of the materials. But it’s something I wanted to talk to you about in person.
I can meet you tomorrow after I drop the girls at school. We can meet for coffee or really anywhere.
Tomorrow for coffee is perfect. How does 9:30 at Kristin’s Koffee sound?
I will see you then, but I will most likely look disheveled because I won’t be getting sleep wondering what you want to talk about.
It’s really something fun so don’t lose any sleep over it.
I will try but promise nothing.
Dustin laughed at my last text, and I smiled. My brain was still coming up with a thousand and one reasons why he wanted to see me. But it would have to wait until tomorrow. I could have said today but I didn’t know his schedule, and I didn’t want to run around with the girls and have them around for whatever he had to tell me. It sounded like whatever it was, I should probably be alone, and he could have my full attention.
I looked at the time and realized it had been well over the fifteen-minute mark. I called out for the girls, and they came running. I folded up the blanket and asked myself one question.
If it had nothing to do with the materials, what in the world could Dustin want to talk about?
Chapter twenty
Dustin
The past 24 hours had been a whirlwind. After posting the video to social media, I left it alone and didn’t check back, thinking nothing would come of it. I didn’t want to keep checking and be disappointed, so I opted to post it and forget it. Not sure if that was a good idea or a bad idea, but by the time I logged back in, I had hundreds of messages and tags. One person knew another person who was friends with someone else and the trail went on and on until finally, a message appeared from the family who were living in the Collins’ old house and property.
When I opened up their message, I couldn’t believe what I was reading.
Hey Dustin! We saw your video, eventually, after being sent it by a couple different friends. We bought our house from Don and Sylvia Collins a few years ago. They are a sweet couple who wanted to move overseas and since their children were grown, they figured it was time. There no longer is a playset in the backyard. That is not our fault, though. It wasn’t here when we bought the place. We actually had no idea, nor did they tell us anything about it. They did, however, leave behind a gorgeous bird house that sits atop a very large beam. A large beam that has the initials BR and MR on it. They didn’t tell us anything about it. They might have even forgotten about it. We figured it might have been older owners or friends or neighborhood kids. But, we have that if your friend would like to have it back. It seems to mean a lot more to her than it could ever mean to us. Please let us know how you wanted to proceed, and we would be more than happy to help in any way we can.
I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe it actually worked. And it worked fast. Archimedes jumped when I let out a loud whoop after I read the message. I instantly wrote back and asked if they could email me pictures and they quickly obliged. I was rather nervous to ask them their address because we were complete strangers but with some exchanging of information on both our parts, they felt comfortable sending me their address.
The next logical step was to tell Briar I found part of her playset. But I wanted to tell her in person. I wanted to see her face when I told her. It was completely selfish of me, but I was forgiving myself because I found the beam. Hopefully, she would forgive me too.
But now, I had to wait another eighteen hours or so to do that. I was praying she would want to meet up immediately, but it was a long shot. I was still at work and tomorrow would arrive eventually. I simply had to keep my mind busy until then.
That proved to be difficult when I accidentally called Brix, Briar. Time seemed to stand still. At one point, I swore I looked at my watch and then worked for a half hour and then looked back at my watch and only five minutes had passed. The only explanation was someone was messing with the space time continuum, but Brix assured me no DeLoreans had been spotted.
Finally, time did move, work ended, the night arrived, sleep happened, and the next morning I was getting ready to meet Briar.
I arrived ten minutes early to the coffee house. Not for any other reason than I was ready to leave the house and decided to wait the ten minutes at the coffee house than at my house.
I ordered a black coffee and found an empty table, adrenaline jolting through my nervous system. Tapping my foot on the concrete floor, my head turned every time the front door opened. My heart raced and then slowed each time until, finally, Briar walked through it. She was in jeans and a leather jacket with her hair tied back in a low ponytail. My mind drifted to images of grabbing that ponytail, but I closed my eyes to quickly banish them. Opening them, I made eye contact with her. She smiled and pointed to the counter signifying she was getting a coffee.
A couple minutes later, she was there, in front of me, sitting down with her coffee.
“Sorry if I’m late. I missed the light on Rosecrans.”
“You’re not late at all, but I know that light, and I hate it. I swear it’s on a four-minute cycle.”
“Yes, exactly!” She got herself settled, and our eyes met again. My foot started tapping again, and I watched her look around wondering where the noise was coming from. I promptly stopped and attempted to chill my heart rate and nerves.
“Well, you have me here. What is the good news that you insist is good news?” She was still trepidatious, and I didn’t blame her. She most likely thought I was going to spend some more of her money.
I had gone over my speech in my head a couple dozen times, but now that she was there, and I was seeing how anxious and untrusting she was, I wanted to tell her as soon as possible. “Do you remember that story you told me about the playset in your backyard?”
“Of course! Oh my gosh, you found a similar one?!”
“Well, not exactly. I went on a search for your old playset. I made a video and posted it online. It gained some traction, and eventually I was in touch with the people who bought your friend’s house.”
“The Collins’ old place?” she asked, trying to piece everything together.
“Yes.”
“You made a video?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me still confused and instead of getting asked another question, I hurriedly continued.
“So, when Millie and Ben, those are the new owners of the house, saw the video, they contacted me. They, unfortunately, don’t have the playset anymore.”
“Oh… um…ok…” she said, the light in her eyes fading and her shoulders slouched.
“But, they do still have the beam that has your initials on it.”
Briar’s eyes grew to the size of baseballs, and she put her hands over her stunned mouth. “Wha—” she said before her voice was muffled.
“Yes. It’s holding up a rather large bird house, well, I think you can call it a bird mansion. Do you want to see the pictures they sent?”
“Yes, please!”
Scooting my chair over next to her so we were sitting side by side, I rested my arms on the table. As I did so, one grazed hers and the hairs on my arm stood up. I ignored this reaction from my traitorous limb and found the photos in my phone.
“Does this look familiar?”
She grabbed my phone from my hands and stared stunned at it. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it!” Her eyes began to water, and I could see her hand shake as she pulled the phone closer to her face. “That’s it! That’s the beam! It’s still there? At their house?”
“Yes, it’s still there. I guess Sylvia didn’t want to get rid of that part and so she made a feature for their yard. Millie and Ben thought it was a sign because that’s their initials, also. But I have offered them a trade which they have happily accepted. I'm going to bring them another beam, and they're going to carve their initials in that beam, and I can bring this beam back for you.”
“Are you serious?” she asked, finally releasing eye contact with the phone and turning towards me. Her lips were inches from mine; I felt the heat from her skin.
“I definitely am.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“What?”
She leaned back, creating more distance between us, and my face was suddenly cold. “I’m coming with you. Can I come with you? I know that might be super weird, but I want to meet them, I want to see this. I need to.” She looked back down at the phone and then at me, and I couldn’t say no. How in the world could I say no to that?
“Of course, you can come with me. If you don’t mind driving that much. I was going to go this weekend.”
“I’m sure the girls can stay with my friend Wren. Once I tell her why I need to go, she'll be fine with it. I hope.”
“If you need to go another time, let me know. But I wanted to get it done sooner rather than later.”
“Oh yeah, of course." She handed me back my phone, but as I took it, she held onto my hand for a moment longer. "This is really something amazing. I’m so incredibly thankful.” She let go of it but that small touch, that expression of gratitude, that light in her eyes, lifted me to a level of happiness I hadn't been to in a long time… if ever.
I put my phone in my pocket and rubbed my hands together casually, as if wrapping up her touch within my own. “I’m glad everything could work out. It was a long shot, but I thought why the hell not.”
“It was an impossible shot.”
I put my head down and didn’t let her see my cheeks blush. I might have played too many of my cards on this one, but I couldn’t help myself. The look on her face was worth it. The pure excitement she had in her eyes had fueled my soul for the next year. The problem, now, was I was hooked. This was my drug. Making her look at me like that. Making her feel like that. I wanted nothing more than to keep making her smile like that.
“I’ll make some hotel reservations for this weekend to be on the safe side. It’s about a six-hour drive. I didn’t want to do that all in one day.”
“Oh, yeah… I didn’t even think of that. I was too excited. You know, I haven’t been away from my girls, ever. This would be the first time.” I could see her falter and rethinking things.
“It’s really ok if I go myself. I’ll have it here without a scratch on it.”
“No, I want to go. I really want to meet them. I think I should. My girls will be ok." She smiled as she thought of something. "They’ve always wanted to have a sleepover.”
I chuckled, thinking of the girls thrilled at the prospect of a sleepover. “Alright, we’ll get into details a little later. You take care of your girls, and I’ll take care of everything else. Anything changes, you let me know.”
“Ok.”
“And Briar," she looked at me, her eyes huge and beautiful, "it’s ok if things change.” I found myself saying this for more reasons than one.
Chapter twenty-one
Briar
He found it! I couldn’t believe he found it. The giddiness in my step as I almost ran to my car could not be contained. I immediately opened my phone and texted Wren.
You will NEVER guess what happened.
She didn’t respond right away. She was probably blaring music or out on a run or taking a shower but those were no excuses for the information I had to give her. I laughed at myself for my ridiculousness, but Wren would forgive me. I made the decision to drive over to her house. If she wasn’t home, then I would camp out and wait until she arrived. It was better than sitting in the parking lot and way better than going home.
Halfway to her house, my phone told me I had a message. I glanced over and saw it was Wren replying but I didn’t pick it up. I would be there soon, and I didn’t like to be on my phone while driving.
Pulling up to her house, I saw Wren outside gathering grocery bags from the back of the car. I quickly put my car in park and practically ran to her.
“This must be some amazing news!” She dropped the bags from her hands and turned to me, giving me her undivided attention. “Tell, please!”
I thought about toying with her a little, but I couldn’t contain myself, so I blurted out, “Dustin found the beam that went to my old playset from when I was young.”
“He found it?! How in the world? That’s amazing!!” Wren gave me a hug and squeezed me tight knowing I needed that extra love.
“It’s a crazy story, but he posted something online and eventually was contacted by the people who live in the Collins house now.”
“The odds of that happening are astronomical.” Wren smiled at me and then glanced up to the sky. “I think a little someone might have had a hand in helping this.”
“Nah, he’s got more important things to do up there. But I’m sure he’s tickled pink this is happening.”
“Absolutely.”
“There’s something else, though. But let’s get these groceries inside, and I’ll help you put them away while we chat.”
“Oh… this is going to be good.” Wren grabbed a few bags while I grabbed the rest, and we headed inside. “So, what else is there to go over?” she asked as she placed the bags on the counter.
I put my bags on the island and sat down on one of the bar stools. “I want to go with him to pick it up.”
“Pick it up? Oh… pick up the beam. Where is it, I forget.”
“I didn’t tell you, so you didn’t forget. It’s in Stockton. He wants to drive up there this weekend. Is there any way you can take the girls this weekend, have a slumber party? I’ll be forever gr—”
“Stop right there.” Wren put her hand up. “Yes.”
“Really?”
“Of course, Briar. The girls will be totally fine here, and Ella is going to freak out when I tell her she gets to have a sleepover. You go have fun! Enjoy the road trip. Maybe you guys can get one room. Maybe one bed. Maybe you can let off some ste—”
“Stop right there.” I copied Wren’s previous movements, and she laughed. “There will be two rooms, two beds, and no one is letting off anything.”
“Lame!”
“He's really adorable, though. I mean, he couldn’t care less about me, but his sweetness is a nice quality.”
“He couldn’t care less about you? What are you talking about? The man found an old family heirloom in someone’s backyard hundreds of miles away and you’re like, ‘He doesn’t like me.’ Give me a break.” Wren waved her hand shooing away my ridiculous notion.
“He doesn’t. I mean, he likes me as a client. He doesn’t like me like me.”
“This is your problem, Briar. You never believe anyone would be remotely interested in you. Why is that? Let’s dive deep into this.” Wren looked at her watch. “I’ve got some time before the kids come home.”
“Let’s not.”
“Hmm, let’s. I’ll say it again. You’re a catch. You’re wonderful, you’re smart, you’ve got a huge heart, you’re gorgeous, you’re a fantastic mother, and you make really great cookies.”
“That’s it, that’s why Dustin doesn’t like me. He doesn’t know about the chocolate chip cookies, yet.”
“What’s his number. I’m gonna tell him.” Wren reached for her phone.
“You will do no such thing." I grabbed a pencil next to me and started fiddling with it, moving it around in my fingers, flicking at the eraser. Sighing, I said, "It’s not that easy. I don’t think I'll ever trust another person like that again. Never in a million years would I have ever thought Ollie could do anything close to what he did. And casual dating's not an option. Maybe when the girls are older and in college or something, I’ll think about it, but right now, I can’t do anything with anyone.”
Wren leaned onto the island with her elbow, putting her chin in her hand. “What about a secret love affair?”
“Secrets never stay secrets.”
She stood up, crossing her arms and pouted. “Why do you always have to bring in logic to our arguments?"
“I know, it’s annoying, right?”
“It truly is!” Wren sighed, but then her face became serious. “I don’t want to see you miss an opportunity to get to know a good guy, and Dustin sounds like a good guy.”
“I’m going to miss all the opportunities because as far as I’m concerned, no such opportunities exist.” I dropped the pencil and put my hands together.
“Ok, but let’s say, hypothetically, you were open to these opportunities… Would Dustin be someone that would interest you? In other words, are you sexually attracted to him?”
“Short answer: yes. But—”
“Nope, don’t want to hear the ‘but.’ You are attracted to him!" Wren turned and grabbed a box of cereal to put away in the cupboard. "Why don’t you take like the whole weekend. Add in an extra night. Go do some sight-seeing.”
“You’re being insane,” I said, wanting desperately to end the conversation.
“I’m being a good friend who’s trying to get her friend laid.”
“Oh my gosh, Wren. I’m not sleeping with Dustin—just throw that idea away.” I was trying to not get annoyed; she was only having some fun.
“I can’t wait for that text message telling me otherwise. It’s going to be so good.” She grabbed a box of granola bars, and I could see the anticipation in her smile.
I rolled my eyes and let Wren live in her fantasy world for a little while.
Chapter twenty-two
Dustin
For the life of me, I couldn’t focus at work. It was pointless. The possibility of going on a road trip with Briar had consumed my thoughts. Brix had asked me a dozen simple questions that I should have known the answers to, but they had flown out of my mind. In its place were images of Briar and me stopping at vista points along our now scenic route, having dinner at a romantic restaurant, strolling down a gas lamp street eating ice cream and laughing. That was possibly the corniest thing in the world, but I wanted to do all that with Briar. She deserved those moments.
