Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64818 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
The way a marriage should work.
The way a partnership should function.
It sounds to me like things might be healing. Perhaps she’s now ready to put in her own effort, and I couldn’t love her more for it.
Coughing, I clear the emotion out of my throat. “I think that sounds awesome. Pick you up about ten?”
“Sounds perfect,” she replies. “I’ll even pack us a lunch. A healthy one at that.”
“It’s a date then,” I murmur. “And I can’t wait to spend the day with you.”
“Same,” she replies softly and while the word seems simple and probably not consequential enough, the tone is what reaches my heart.
I think it says she’s ready to make a go of us.
CHAPTER 15
Ella
I take my time with my makeup. It’s projected to be a beautiful day in the mid-seventies but despite mild weather, I expect there will be sweating involved during our hike. Even so, I want to look pretty for him when he shows up. I keep it light, no foundation, but mainly concentrate on my eyes with lots of waterproof mascara and some peach lip gloss. I even curled my hair despite the fact it was going straight up, but my ponytail will look awesome.
My clothing—well, not much I could do about that. We’re hiking, possibly going out on a boat, so I chose some cargo shorts that weren’t ass baring but showed much of my leg, a form-fitting t-shirt with a deep vee, and a lightweight jacket that I might or might not wear depending on the chill factor when we get to where we’re going. I’m going to let Jim pick our destination as he’s hiked hundreds of trails in the surrounding Phoenix area.
Giving myself a once over in the mirror, I glance at the clock and see Jim is due any minute now.
Looking down at my feet where Brody has fallen asleep, I smile at the little guy. I’m going to hate to see him go next week. In such a short time, he’s worked his way into all of our hearts, but we also know he has a greater calling to help someone in need.
I bend to scratch his head, and he lifts it with bleary eyes before his tail starts thumping. “Ready to go on a trip?” I ask.
He most definitely is as he bounds up and follows me out of my bedroom. I’ve arranged for Brody to spend the day in doggie daycare, a first for him, but the one I found has an actual puppy center where only dogs under sixteen weeks are allowed. It will be a perfect way for him to spend the day, and it’s close to the house so we can drop him off on our way out on our adventure.
I head toward the kitchen, needing to put the food I’d made into a small cooler. Ranch chicken wraps and a quinoa salad along with some fresh fruit.
As I’m walking through the living room, the doorbell rings. A flush of excitement sizzles through me. I love that knowing my husband is on the other side of the door—after nearly seventeen years together—produces a visceral reaction in me. It’s a feeling I used to get for several years into our marriage until things just sort of got lazy. I know if Jim and I can fix this, it has to be with vows never to let that go again.
Brody trots with me to the door as I shift direction and I swing it open with a bright smile.
There stands Jim and as I take him in, my smile falters and my brow furrows in confusion.
“What in the heck are you wearing?” I ask in shock.
Although it’s easy to see.
He has on a gray t-shirt that is the softest of cotton and I know this because I’ve snuggled up to it many a morning in our bed when we were together, coupled with a pair of pajama bottoms in dark blue and green plaid. He has slippers on his feet… those moccasin types he hardly ever wears unless he’s running out to get the early morning paper.
He has a grocery bag in one arm, and a duffel bag slung over the other. At the top of the paper bag, I see a bag of Ruffles potato chips—the good sour cream and cheddar variety.
“I thought,” Jim drawls with a sly grin, “that we’d do a day in bed instead of a day outdoors. Movies, horrible food that will make me want to juice cleanse for days after, and lots of snuggling and perhaps a bit of canoodling.”
I can’t help it. My eyes immediately fill with tears over yet another kind, thoughtful, and romantic gesture Jim is bestowing upon me. It was my idea to take the day off and do something fun for him, yet here he is prepared to do one of my favorite things, which is to just relax with him. It’s a complete nod to the last time I asked him to do this with me when it was more important he played hockey with his buds.