Authors: Courtney Rice Gager
Go on, Tess. Just do it.
An hour after calling off the wedding
I sat on the edge of the bed, holding my phone like it was the detonator to a bomb. Once I pushed this button, my picturesque future would officially be obliterated.
I hit the call button and waited for Jim to pick up.
“Jim Pierce.”
I cleared my throat.
“Jim? It’s Tess.”
“
Hi, Tess. Did you get a chance to look over the offer?”
“
That’s what I’m calling about.” I took a deep breath. My hands trembled. “I’m so sorry to tell you I have to decline.”
There was confused silence on his end of the line.
“I appreciate you thinking of me,” I said.
“
Is it the money? Because I can—”
“
No. No, it’s not the money. I’ve… I’ve decided to go in a different direction.”
I could hear him tapping his pen on his desk.
“Is there anything I can do to change your mind?” he asked.
“
No. I’m afraid there isn’t.”
“
I understand.” His voice was strained with an effort to sound professional. “It would have been great to have you. But I understand.”
“
Thanks Jim, for everything. And good luck.”
“
Good luck to you, too. Goodbye, Tess. Go be amazing.”
He hung up the phone, and I added in a whisper,
“Go be Tess.”
For the first time in a long time, I
could remember what that meant.
There was a knock at the cottage door.
“Tessy, there’s someone here to see you.” Jake cracked open the door and peeked his head through.
I shot up in bed.
“How did it go? What did he say?”
H
e grimaced. “He’s… upset.”
I sucked my breath in through my teeth. “Do you think I should go apologize?”
He shook his head. “At some point, maybe, but not right now. Give it a little time, okay?”
“Yeah.” I grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it to me.
“But hey,” he said, “there’s someone here who wants to see you.”
“
Is it Mom? Jake, I don’t have the energy to talk to Mom.”
“
It’s not Mom,” he said.
“
Good. As long as it’s not Mom. Can you keep her out of my hair for a while? And Annie, too?”
“One step ahead of you.” He pulled a small note out of his pocket and read aloud from it. “Annie says you can hide out for now, but you need to call her as soon as you get home and not a minute later. Or so help her she’ll hunt you down and
make
you talk. She also says she’s bringing Chinese food to your apartment. Oh, and don’t feel guilty, Tess. You did the right thing. You don’t owe anyone anything, so get that sad pathetic look off your face.”
I let out a staggered laugh and wiped a tear away with the back of my hand.
“And as for Mom”—he took a breath—“you owe me.”
“Why?”
He put his hands in his pockets. “I told her you left town.”
“
What
?”
He gave me a smug smile. “Yep. Told her you were on your way to the airport and hopping on the first available flight to somewhere tropical.”
I leapt to my feet and opened my arms. Jake took several steps toward me and wrapped me up in a hug. “You are the best,” I said. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“I figured it’d buy you some time.” He stepped back and shrugged.
“How long did you tell her I’d be gone for?”
“Two weeks. But I should warn you, she’s planning on coming up to see you as soon as you get back from this pretend trip of yours. And she mentioned something about taking you to get some decent shoes.”
“She didn’t like the boots, huh?”
“Nope.” He smirked.
“How’d you know I needed my space?”
“Just a hunch.” He winked. “There is one person I didn’t think you’d mind talking to, though.”
“Who?”
“Open the door and see for yourself,” he said.
My heart raced.
Is it him?
Did he come back?
I looked like a mess, but I didn’t care. I raced to the door and flung it open. A familiar face was waiting for me.
Vivian.
My heart sank.
He’s gone, Tess. And he’s not coming back.
She flashed a gentle smile. “Can I come in?”
“Yes.” I tried to smile in return as she stepped through the threshold. “Of course.”
“I’ll give you two a minute.” On his way out, Jake turned over his shoulder and said, “
Listen, when you’re done here, why don’t you come up to the house? I think they’re going to clear out the dresses and everything.”
I
nodded and stifled a yelp.
Goodbye, beautiful dresses
.
“
How are you holding up?” Viv asked, once Jake was out of sight.
“
Okay, I guess.” I rubbed a finger under each eye in an attempt to wipe away any smudged mascara. “I must look awful.”
“
Not at all. I didn’t mean to barge in on you like this, but I wanted to see you before I left. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for misleading you.”
“
Don’t be. You had the best of intentions. It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. It was supposed to be a wonderful, romantic gesture. I’m not mad at you in the least.”
She nodded.
“Still, I hate how this got thrown at you like it did. At first I was excited about being a part of it. But then, I could see things were… complicated. I didn’t think it was fair to put you in this position. I tried to tell Logan he was being too pushy, but he wouldn’t listen. So, rather than spoil the surprise, I backed out. I wish I would have told you what was going on. It could have saved everyone a lot of heartache. I’m sorry for that.”
“
It’s fine. Really. It might not have changed anything anyway.”
“
So, what are you going to do now?” she asked.
“
I have no idea. Take off this dress, for starters. And then, maybe… I don’t know. I’m thinking of seeing if I can get a gig as a wedding planner. Does that sound nuts?”
“
No. It doesn’t. You should see how it looks out there. It’s indescribable. You did a tremendous job.”
I wouldn’t get to see it, I realized. I could go down there if I wanted to, but it wasn’t worth risking running into Logan, or his family, or any of the other wedding guests for that matter. It was a little sad, not getting to see how it all turned out, but it was
for the best. Seeing what I gave up would only make me feel worse.
“
I’ll take your word for it,” I said. “I’m sure it’s beautiful. Of course, the lack of budget didn’t hurt.”
“
That was all Logan.” A look of regret crossed her face as soon as she said it.
I cringed. Logan paid for all this. He wasn’t just losing me. He was losing some big bucks, too.
“Don’t worry about it, Tess. Like I said, I tried to tell him he was being too pushy. You had every right to make this choice. And you’ve made your choice. So don’t doubt yourself.”
I nodded, determined not to let myself cry again.
“Thanks, Viv. For coming here to see me.”
She hugged me one last time.
“Good luck with everything. You’re going to be fine.”
I walked her out and waved her off. I closed the door and was about to take off my dress when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“
Tess, it’s DJ.” She sounded annoyed.
“
Oh. Hey.”
“
So I guess we’re not having a wedding, huh?”
“
No, we’re not.”
“
You’re still going to pay me though, right?”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it, stunned. How could she be so rude? I was supposed to be at my wedding reception. Didn’t she realize that?
“Hello? Are you still there?” she asked.
“
Yeah. Yeah, I’m here.”
“
I was asking—”
“
I heard you. And don’t worry, you’ll get paid.”
“
Good. Listen, there’s one more thing. I thought you should know Thatcher came over to my place before he left town the other night.”
I almost dropped the phone, hearing her words and remembering what she said the last time we spoke.
I feel like I owe you one after last night.
So that’s what she meant.
“You know, in case you planned to call off the wedding and run into his arms. Don’t bother. Turns out he’s a slime ball. And besides, he’s gone anyway.”
I was not going to cry. I was
not
going to cry.
“
I know it’s not what you want to hear,” she said, “but I thought you should know we were… together. Look, Tess. I’m just trying to save you a lot of trouble. Don’t waste your time on Thatcher James. You’re better than that.”
“
Thanks for the advice.” My voice was flat.
“
No problem,” she chirped. “Anyway, I’ll wait for the check. Bye, Tess.”
I hung up the phone without saying goodbye.
When I called off the wedding, it wasn’t because I was hoping things would somehow work out with Thatcher. It was because I wasn’t right for Logan, and he wasn’t right for me. Not really. This was best for both of us. With or without someone else in the picture, this was for the best.
But after talking to DJ, I could sense there was something left unresolved in my heart. Somewhere deep down, perhaps
I
had
hoped to have a chance at patching things up with Thatcher. But that was gone too, along with the pretty dress, the sparkly ring, and the dream job.
Goodbye small shred of hope.
I couldn’t stay here anymore. I wrestled with the fastenings and zippers on my dress and slid out of it, spreading it over the bed. Then I dug an old pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt out of my suitcase, and left the cottage with the door unlocked. I let myself into the main house and walked right past Jake and Sara, upstairs to the guest room where I flopped myself face-down on the bed.
Jake opened the door a couple minutes later.
“You all right, Tessy?”
I grunted into the pillow.
“Do you need anything?”
I lifted my head to look at him. He
held something in his hand. “What’s that?”
“
Wedding cake.”
They sliced the cake
. I hadn’t even seen it. A fresh wave of pain pierced through my heart. “I want to be alone now. Okay?”
“
Okay. I’ll let you rest. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
As he shut the door, I called after him.
“Jake?”
“
Yeah, Tessy?”
“
Leave the cake.”
I heard him put the plate down on the dresser and close the door, leaving me alone to count my goodbyes.
I emerged from the guest room
on Monday morning. I spent the whole weekend in a sleepy stupor, letting myself be sad. But the weekend was over, and I decided it was time to move on with my life.
Jake and Sara were seated in the kitchen when I arrived.
A strange man sat at the table across from them. He didn’t bother to look up from the stack of paperwork he was engrossed in.
“
Morning,” I said.
“
Hey there.” Sara peered over her mug cautiously, as if I were a woodland animal, ready to run away if she moved too fast.
“
How ya feeling?” Jake looked at me with the same expression as Sara.
“
I’m fine. I’ve spent a solid two days moping, and I’m done. I’m moving on. Conquering the world, so to speak.”
They looked at each other, and Jake raised his eyebrows as if to say,
would you look at that?
“Way to go
, Tessy. So what’s next?”
Hmm. I hadn’t gotten that far yet.
“Um, maybe a shower?”
Jake and Sara clapped their hands with excited smiles, a little too excited maybe, but I appreciated their support.
Sara stood and walked over to me. “Tess, this is Vince Mills.”
The man at the table looked up from the paperwork and smiled.
“Vince is going to be the new owner of Carl’s Creek,” Sara said.
I tried to appear enthused.
“Oh. Nice to meet you.”
“
Likewise,” he said.
“
We won’t bother you today, Tessy,” Jake said, “but do you mind meeting with Vince tomorrow morning? He’s going to keep things moving along on all these weddings we’ve booked, so there’s a lot of information he’ll want. You know, website credentials, what ads you have running, local vendors you’ve worked with. Stuff like that.”
“
Yeah. Sure.” I looked at Vince and added, “I know a great caterer.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
“
You like road kill, right?”
“
She’s kidding!” Jake broke in. “She’s always such a kidder. Is nine too early, Tessy?”
“
No, that works.”
“Good
. Meet us down at the barn.”
“
I will. See you guys later. Nice meeting you, Vince.”
M
y shoulders dropped with the weight of disappointment as I left. Carl’s Creek was as good as gone. That meant I’d need to make a plan to get out of here. And soon.
Back at the cottage, every trace of the wedding
was wiped away, except for a wilted rose that fell off its stem and landed under the table. I picked it up and rolled it between my fingers as I waited for my coffee to brew.
I drew a bath, exactly as
I’d done on my first day here. But this time I pulled the curtain closed. Sitting in the bathtub and sipping my coffee, I decided it was time to go back home to my apartment. I could start my job search from there. I was sure there were plenty of event planning companies in such a big area. And who knew? Maybe I’d even be able to get my start working on my own.
I rested my head against the bathtub ledge and stared at the curtain. It
blocked my view of the window, but it was better that way. Staring at the beautiful view would only remind me of how much I was going to miss this place.
***
My bags were packed and piled by the door. Right after my meeting with Jake and the buyer, I would say my goodbyes and hit the road. No sense hanging around here anymore. The longer I stayed, the harder it would be to leave.
I surveyed the cottage. Once I loaded my bags into the car, there wouldn’t be a single
hint of my existence left here.
Except, I remembered, for one thing.
The shoebox.
I bent down to retrieve the box I hid under the bed right after Thatcher
gave me the boots. It was still there, right where I’d left it. I picked it up and carried it through the open French doors outside to the back patio.
It was a gorgeous morning, though a bit chilly for early July. I sat down and placed the box on the table, running a hand over the top of the lid to clear off the dust. I would throw the box away, but I wanted to keep the note inside, at least for a little bit.
I lifted the lid and reached into the box. When I pulled out the envelope, a neatly-folded piece of tissue paper came out with it. I let the lid and tissue paper fall onto the table and held the envelope with both hands, staring at his handwriting:
Heels.
The corners of my mouth turned up, thinking about how mad I
was when he first started calling me Heels. Perhaps I should have stayed mad at him, for leaving the way he did, and for whatever happened with DJ. But I wasn’t. I wanted to remember Thatcher for who he was to me in the good times. Despite everything, I was changed by knowing him.
No, that wasn’t quite right.
I’d been
un-changed
by knowing him. He saw my strengths, encouraged me, and held me accountable to who I was. He didn’t try to make me into someone else. There was something refreshing about the way he saw me and accepted me. I would look for that again, I decided. For someone who challenged me to be the best possible version of… well, me.
I placed the envelope down on the table and picked up the tissue paper, crumpling it into a ball with a sigh. Something caught my eye as I went to toss the tissue paper in the box. I squinted to get a better look. It was a plain white piece of paper, folded once and resting flat on the bottom of the box. I hadn’t noticed it before
, because it blended in with the color of the box, and also because it was tucked under the tissue paper.
I picked up the paper and unfolded it to find a page filled with shaky script written in blue ink. It was a letter. But not just any letter. A very personal letter.
A letter from Carl to Thatcher.
The letter Sara told me about.
It was none of my business, I knew that. But how could I
not
read it? It was right here in front of me. And Thatcher had given me the box. Didn’t he know the letter was inside? Maybe he
wanted
me to read it.
It was a stretch, but it was enough to justify giving in to my curiosity. I sat back in the chair and brought my legs up underneath me, pulling the letter close to my face and read
ing:
Thatcher,
By now you know the vineyard is Sara’s, and I owe it to you to explain why. I want you to know I forgave you a long time ago, son. I was madder than a wet hen for all of an hour, but deep down, I understood. Some seeds are meant to take root where they’re planted, and some aren’t. It’s just the way it is, so don’t beat yourself up for leaving.
I also want you to know I didn’t give this place to Sara to spite you. I thought about it long and hard. In the end, it seemed like the right thing to do. Mostly because I don’t want you to feel burdened or tied down.
I don’t have a lot of money left, and we both know you need another dollar like you need a third armpit. So the only thing I can think to leave you, besides this letter telling you how much I love and forgive you, is this old pair of boots.
I gave the boots to your grandmother, Maisy, on our wedding day. She was wearing them when we bought this place, and when I finished digging the creek. She was wearing them the day you were born, and the day we brought you here to live with us. These boots are special, because she was special.
I’ve lived a long time, and I can tell you with great certainty that love is what matters. A good crop’s important, make no mistake, but a good crop won’t last. Love will, just like these boots. They’re worn out in places and they’ve stepped in some things, but they’re built real solid and the scratches—well the scratches tell a story.
If you find someone special, like my Maisy, you can give her the boots. Don’t go giving them to just anyone, though. And don’t wait around forever to give them to her, either. Even a long life like mine is too short for that nonsense. If she’s the one, you can bet she’ll appreciate them. The way to a decent woman’s heart is usually a good pair of comfortable shoes. And pancakes. Don’t ask me why. It’s just the way it is.
That’s all, son. I love you, I forgive you, and I’ll be seeing you. Remember what I taught you about the grapes. Sometimes you have to get rid of the extra branches to let in the sun. Don’t have too much pride to cut them away. You’ll save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run.
-
Grandpop
My eyes filled up with tears halfway through the letter. The tears
spilled over now, hard and fast. I gasped for air and sobbed as I read the words a second time, then a third.
I want you to keep the boots. They’re yours.
I thought about the words Thatcher said when I tried to give the boots back to him, remembering that strange look in his eyes. He was trying to tell me something, I realized.
But… why didn’t he come out and say it? I told him how I felt about him, plain and simple. If he meant something more, he had every reason to blurt it out.
So maybe he wasn’t trying to tell me something, after all. Maybe
he
had never seen the letter in the box, either. Maybe the boots didn’t mean anything special to him. Maybe he just honestly thought I needed a more practical pair of shoes.
No. I shook my head and wiped a tearstained cheek with the back of my hand. This was Thatcher.
Everything
he said was layered with deeper meaning.
Wasn’t it?
I wouldn’t know unless I asked him. And I couldn’t ask him unless I went after him.
But I wouldn’t be going after him.
Not because I didn’t know where to look. I was sure I could find him if I wanted to. I wasn’t going after him because I wasn’t going to make a fool of myself by chasing him down. Not after he left the way he did.
He made his choice.
I took a staggered breath and folded the letter from Carl along with Thatcher’s note, holding them with both hands. Then I stood up from the table and looked at the boots, which I’d slipped into before finding the letter.
It was strange how far
I’d come since first putting them on, and how different I felt. I was a little sadder, but also a lot lighter somehow. What I wanted changed, and yet I was somehow still mourning the loss of what I
thought
I wanted. It was a complicated feeling, one I couldn’t quite grasp. Then again, I didn’t need to grasp it yet. It would take a while, I supposed, to understand. And that was okay. I was going to be okay. At least, I hoped I would be.
Where to next, boots?
That was the question. I wasn’t quite sure where these boots would take me. The only thing I knew for certain was
how
they’d go.
One step at a time.
I lifted my foot and took the first step.