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BRENTON
Icould not have been happier than I was at this moment. Last night solidified my feelings for Helen. I liked her as more than just a friendly neighbor, and something about the way she touched me last night told me she reciprocated the feeling, but I couldn’t be entirely sure. I hated waking up the next morning alone, with only the memory of her skin pressed to mine, but I relished in the fact that I’d be seeing a lot more of her again. She said she’d stay, she forgave me and then she invited me into her home, and to her bed. Even if she hadn’t fully sorted her feelings out for me yet, that was still an amazing start.
Aside from Helen, life was treating me well right now. I had my daughter with me and my business was booming. Summer was a great time of year for TruFruit because my competitors couldn’t get a good harvest in the heat. Meanwhile, my drought resistant trees were thriving. The money I was raking in would assure that I could afford any extra legal fees this custody battle would require. Charlie was a good buddy and he always offered me a great rate for his services, but Amber was ruthless and I knew she’d fight me tooth and nail.
Despite the alarming things Candace was telling me, I hadn’t decided to pull the trigger on beginning the custody battle yet. I still had the rest of the summer to collect more damning evidence along with actual proof. One thing was for sure though: Helen and I would have to keep things between us a secret for a while. At least until I had something better on Amber. I didn’t know what “us” was yet, but I was hoping to find out soon.
These past couple weeks of banter and getting to know one another had been a dream and I wanted more. I knew there was still a large chance Helen was selling Dudley’s house, but driving into town to see her wouldn't be the end of the world. I had to admit that I hadn’t been thinking about Dudley’s property or his apple tree as much recently. I trusted Helen to let me at least have the tree eventually, after all I had shared with her. She was growing more interested in apples through me and she even tolerated the outdoors now, but I knew part of her still felt missing. I had to figure it was the city and her friends there.
Suddenly I heard tires squeal and my front door slam shut. I ran into the foyer to find a red-faced Candace huffing up the stairs with clenched fists.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?”
“It doesn’t matter! Leave me alone!”
“Candace! Honey, what is it?” She quickened her pace to her room, but I went running after her.
“Dad, just stay out of it!”
Before Candance slammed her door shut in front of me, I caught a glimpse of her face. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were swollen.
“Have you been crying?” I asked behind the closed door.
“Ugh, why don’t you ever listen to me? Leave me alone!”
I realized that I wasn’t going to get much out of her right now, so I let her be. I gave her some time before bringing up some spaghetti and a soda. I tapped lightly on her door and told her she should eat and that I was downstairs if she needed me. Eventually, after I was gone, I heard her door creak open and then close again after a few seconds. I snuck up to look and found that she had at least taken the food.
An hour or so later my doorbell rang. I opened it and Helen was standing there, in a cami and shorts. The tank top hugged her figure in a way most women would probably shy away from, but Helen embraced it. I wonder if she knew how much it drove me wild.
“Hi,” she said. Her tone felt a little distanced, but I quickly shrugged it off and smiled at her.
“Hi. Come on in.” I opened the door wider for her to get past.
“Thanks. I, uh,” she paused for a moment. “Well I don’t really have a reason for being here, I guess.”
Helen chucked and her face grew red as a tomato, but she was also a bit somber. She caught me staring and this just made the hue deeper.
“I’m not complaining,” I told her, not wanting to pry about her mood. I’d make whatever was eating at her go away. “Have you eaten lunch?”
“No, I haven’t.”
She followed me to the kitchen, where I heated up the rest of the spaghetti I had made Candace. We sat at the counter to eat.
“Where’s Samson?” She asked, and as if on cue, he came running from upstairs to greet her with some licks. I had to imagine he was camped out by Candace’s door. He was no guard dog, but he could sense when something was wrong.
“Hi, buddy.” Helen got out of her chair and down on her knees to properly greet him. The sight of them getting along now made my heart swell.
“I have some work to get done today down in the basement. I’m germinating some seeds, but you could come over for dinner later if you’d like.”
“Could I watch you work for a while? Sounds kind of interesting.” She kept looking at Samson as she said it. I was more than a little surprised by her request, but happy to talk apples with her again.
“Of course. Follow me down to my lair,” I joked as I led her to the basement.
We descended the stairs, Helen walking ahead of me. Halfway down, I pulled a cord to turn a lightbulb on. The new light disoriented Helen for a moment, and I watched her miss a step. She let out a small shriek and toppled backwards. She reached for the handrail and at the same time I caught her arms, grabbing them to steady her.
“I’ve got you. You’re good,” I told her.
After a few seconds, she righted her footing. I let my hands linger a little longer, making sure she was alright.
