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Maxi
Corbin comes around, opens my door, and takes me by the hand to help me out of the truck.
“Can I remove this now?” I ask as I finger the silk blindfold he made me put on before we left the house.
“Patience,” he whispers into my ear.
“I’m not a patient person, Tuttle,” I mutter.
He chuckles as he guides me forward.
In the near distance, I hear the sound of moving water, so I know we are near the river.
“You didn’t bring me to fish on my birthday, did you?” I guess.
He doesn’t answer.
Fuck, I bet that’s it.
He brings me to a stop, and then he comes in close behind me. I feel him untying the blindfold, and a little thrill of excitement crawls down my spine.
I’ve never been a girl who likes surprises. In my experience, surprises were never a pleasant thing. I like to know what is coming. I like to be able to brace myself, but I’m learning to trust Corbin and to lean into that trust more and more each passing day.
“Open your eyes, Maxi,” he demands.
We’re at my grandfather’s fishing shack. It has become our favorite place. Corbin hung a couple of hammocks and hired Graham to build a pier into the river with a boat lift. We bought a small pontoon, and he and his father cleared more of the property to make room for us to build a large gazebo and add a couple of picnic tables. We’ve spent many of our days and nights off here, swimming, grilling, and sleeping under the stars.
I blink a couple of times to focus on the object before me.
“You didn’t,” I gasp.
On the lawn beside the gazebo is a robin’s-egg-blue Volkswagen van.
“I did,” he says as he dangles a set of keys in my face.
I snatch them from his grip and take off running toward the van.
Opening the sliding side door, I step inside to find a bed big enough for two, a small table with bench seats, a mini counter with a two-burner stovetop, a dorm-sized refrigerator, and a tiny stainless steel sink. Above are floating shelves, and below are solid white cabinets. A flat-screen television hangs above the opening that leads to the captain’s chairs at the front of the van.
Corbin stands at the door, watching me as I look around in awe.
“It’s equipped with satellite television. There are solar panels on the top to run the stove and the fridge, and there is a generator attached to the back. I figure we can keep it here for when we want to camp out here, but we can also take it anywhere you want to go when we take vacation,” he says.
I walk over to the slider and leap into his arms. “This is the best birthday present I’ve ever received. Thank you,” I cry.
“You’re welcome, baby.”
He spins with me still in his arms, and I’m startled when I see people streaming out from behind the shack.
“Surprise!” they yell in unison.
I watch as everyone we know and love comes forward, carrying balloons, flowers, and a cake.
Then, I notice that the entire space is decorated with stringed lights. Music begins playing, and Hilton exits the shack, carrying a platter of hamburger patties.
Tears fall down my cheeks.
When I lost my mother, I thought I’d never have this kind of love again, but she had known different because she sent me to Balsam Ridge.
