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Nils reaches over and shakes Arden’s hand. “Congratulations, man.”
“Thanks.”
Nils raises his coffee cup and says, “We don’t have champagne, but let’s toast the good news.”
“Hear, hear,” my brother says as we all clink our cups.
What a perfect, perfect night.
Nils
On the way home from the restaurant, Ellie is humming with excitement for her brother and Willow. Her enthusiasm is contagious. I keep smiling and agreeing with her that their news is “awesome.”
I’m happy for them too. It’s good to see my friend has finally found his life-mate.
I don’t say anything, but I have a feeling that I’ve met mine too.
No, I know I have.
Too bad it’s still a secret, though.
But we made the right decision not to say anything about our relationship status tonight.
Ellie must be thinking along the same lines, as she says, “Good thing we decided to wait to tell them about us.”
“I was just thinking that,” I share as I slow to a stop at a red light.
“Yeah.” She nods contemplatively. “They deserved to have their moment. If we had said something first without knowing any better, they probably wouldn’t have even told us about their engagement.”
“Maybe not,” I agree.
The light turns green, and I accelerate. Ellie looks like she’s mulling something over, so I ask, “What’s on your mind?”
Letting out a sigh, she says, “I was just thinking that we should probably wait a little longer before we say anything about us. I don’t want to piggyback on their news, like we’re trying to steal their thunder or something.”
Since it’s her brother, not mine, it’s her call.
I tell her as much, then add, “I don’t think Arden or Willow would think that, though.”
She sighs. “No, you’re probably right. But I want to be considerate and still wait.”
“Then we’ll wait, sweetheart,” I say as I reach over, take her hand in mine, and raise it to my lips to deposit a light kiss.
As I lower our joined hands to the console, we reach our house. I pull into the garage and realize it’s become exactly that—our house.
And that reminds me that there’s one thing we’ve not addressed—where does Ellie plan to live now that she’s staying in Atlanta?
I want her to live with me, but if she’s set on getting her own place, that’s her prerogative.
I’ll have to respect that.
A wave of sadness comes over me thinking she might leave our house, and I let out a long, resigned sigh.
Looking over with concern, Ellie touches my arm. “What’s wrong, Nils?”
I love how we can so easily read each other’s emotions. And we’re always honest with each other, so, cutting the engine and lowering the garage door behind us, I push my seat all the way back, because here is as good a place to talk as any.
I pause for a beat, listening to the sounds of the engine cooling down.
