Noelle gasped. “Oh, no!”
“Okay, so I lied,” Dean said with a grimace that Noelle couldn’t see. “I guess something did happen.”
“Oh, boy,” Noelle said, scrambling off the couch. “Good thing I didn’t get groceries today.”
“Hopefully the power comes back on before the stuff in your fridge spoils,” Dean said encouragingly. “Apartment buildings usually do pretty well in these kinds of situations.”
“I hope you’re right. Let’s go get some candles.”
He stood up and they used the flashlights on their phones to make their way into the kitchen.
“Ah ha,” Dean said, opening the cupboard under the sink and taking out a huge flashlight. “Aren’t you glad I insisted that you have this in case of power outages?”
“Yes, sir, you’re very clever,” she teased, standing on tiptoe and giving him a kiss as he turned it on.
“Why thank you.”
They turned off their cellphone flashlights to conserve the batteries and used the emergency flashlight to locate Noelle’s box of matches. She had plenty of scented candles placed around her apartment, so they went around the room lighting them one by one.
“It’s going to smell really good in here soon,” she joked as she settled back down on the couch with Dean. He snapped off the flashlight and smiled at her, thinking to himself that she looked beautiful in the soft glow of the golden candle flames.
“Very good. What should we do now, future Mrs. Owens?”
“I don’t know. I think the movie is a bust for now.”
“Good thing we’ve both already seen it.”
She laughed. “Otherwise you’d be up all night wondering if the scarecrow ever got a brain.”
“It’s true, I would be.” Suddenly Dean got an idea, and he grinned. “You own the book, right?The Wizard of Oz? I remember seeing it on the bookshelf.”
“Yes, my grandmother bought it for me when I was little!” Noelle’s eyes lit up excitedly. “Do you want to read the book, since we can’t watch the movie?”
“Why not?”
“I love that idea!” She hopped off the couch and scampered over to her bookshelf, where a beautiful green copy with gold letters ofThe Wizard of Ozwas resting. Noelle brought it back to the couch, holding it gently as if it were a treasure. “I’m so excited to read this with you. I haven’t read this book since I was a kid.”
“I’ve never read it,” Dean confessed.
“Oh, then you’re in for a treat.” She chuckled. “It’s not like the movie. Well, not exactly like. It’s pretty weird.”
“Weird enough to give me nightmares?”
“Psh, probably.”
Chuckling, they snuggled up together and Dean held the flashlight beam against the pages while Noelle started to read. Once she finished the first page, she stopped and told Dean that it was his turn. They continued like that, taking turns reading every other page, until Dean was getting swept up in the story.
I love this,he thought.It’s even better than watching a movie, since we get to interact more. It’s a more high-quality way of spending time with her.
As they were transitioning to a new chapter and it was Noelle’s turn to read, she paused.
“You okay?” he asked, noticing her troubled expression as she stared into space.
“I’m just thinking about our storage unit,” she said, biting her lip. “All of our wedding decorations are in there. Do you think it will be all right?”
“I think it will be more than all right,” he assured her, stroking her hair back gently. “Those storage units are built of sturdy stuff.”
She laid her head down on his shoulder and sighed. He didn’t know if it was a sigh of letting go of her worries or a sigh of holding onto them, but he continued to stroke her hair as he held her.
