Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 21955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21955 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 110(@200wpm)___ 88(@250wpm)___ 73(@300wpm)
“I’ve always been serious about you, Julia. I never wanted anything casual. Even though you were only fifteen that day in the restaurant, I knew I would wait until we were both old enough before I did anything.”
“So, do you think we’re old enough now?”
“God, I hope so!”
“Do you think Mom and Joe will think we’re old enough? I really don’t want the gossip to hurt my mom.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“It was really bad after my dad left. I don’t want her to have to go through that again.”
Nick was quiet for a while. Then he suddenly pulled the car off the road where a sign said, “Scenic Overlook.”
“Huh? What’s this?”
“Come on,” he said. “Just get out.” He ran over to the railing, pulling me by the hand after him. For a minute we looked out over the valley, seeing the patchwork of farmland and woods, and way at the far end, the outskirts of Greenwood.
He turned to me and said, “Okay. I know how we can keep Suzanne’s gossip from hurting us or our parents. And…we’d be doing this anyway in a few years, right?”
I was mystified until he went down on one knee in front of me and took my hand.
“Julia,” he said, and kissed my hand. “I love you so much. No matter what happens, I always will. Will you marry me?”
CHAPTER THREE
3
Nick
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the just-finished ICU at Greenwood Hospital was a black-tie affair. I didn’t plan it, it was up to the PR Department of the hospital. I wasn’t thrilled about showing up in my monkey suit, but if it did any good I could deal. All the people were milling around in what was actually a waiting room done up to look ready for a fancy party. They had brought a piano into the room, and a pianist was playing light jazz, which competed with the sounds of talk and laughter. All of Greenwood’s movers and shakers were there. It was hard for me to remember that I was one of them now, not some green kid just getting started. They would come up to me and shake my hand, slap me on the back, congratulate me, all that kind of stuff. And they would ask me questions, like about business, and then actually listen to the answer. But it was kind of a boring party, if you want the truth.
When I saw Julia, though, I thought I would wear fifty tuxedos to fifty boring parties for the chance to see her dressed like she was that night. Her dress was red, and strapless, held up by magic as far as I could tell. It was made of some kind of material that had a sheen to it. But the thing about it was the way it hugged that girl’s curves. Good god. She had her hair piled up on top of her head, with like a pearl pin in it, and pearls on her ears and around her neck. If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never see anything that looks better. In fact, I hope my memory lasts til the day I die, because I want my mental picture of Julia in the red gown to be the last memory I have on this earth.
When she walked in, she paused in the doorway like she didn’t know what to do. I gave her a big wave and yelled out her name, which maybe isn’t how people act at black-tie affairs. But Julia saw me, and her face lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. We started moving towards each other through the crowd.
I took both of her hands and leaned in to kiss her, and she turned her smooth cheek towards me so I kissed that. “Julia, you look…amazing. Stunning.”
She laughed, and I could tell she was pretty excited. “Check you out in the penguin outfit! Pretty slick, Nick!” She used to say that little rhyme to me a lot, so it made me happy.
“Can I get you some champagne?” I asked. She said yes, so I made my way over to the little makeshift bar they had set up and got us a couple glasses. When I got back, she was talking with the doctor that I’d met in the meeting, the first day I’d seen Julia again. When I came up, he shook my hand and thanked me again for donating, but then moved into the crowd, leaving me alone with Julia. We sipped our champagne. It was in those tall skinny glasses that are so narrow it’s hard to fit your nose in the glass.
Waiters were circulating with trays of canapes, and Julia and I took a couple.
“What are these?” she said.
They looked like fluffy piles of orangey foam on top of little skinny pieces of toast. “I have no idea,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I’m paying for this party, and they’re serving me food I can’t identify.”