HELEN
Iwas released from the hospital the next day. Brenton and Candace pulled up to the front entrance in the truck as I walked out. Samson’s head was out the window and his tongue was dripping spit onto the pavement below him. He barked when he saw me, wagging so much that his tail hit Brenton in the face a few times.
Brenton got out and rounded the truck, opening my door for me and pushing Samson aside to make some room. Candace was in the back, giddy and smiling. The four of us rode back to Oakville, happily chatting about the days to come in our house together.
Once we got back, Brenton brought my things up to the master bedroom and Candace led me to the pool, smirking the whole way there.
“Btw, I guess we can share my boots, but theyaremine.”
I laughed. “I think it’s about time I got my own pair.”
Outside, candles lit the path to a beautifully set table for two. It sat in the grassy yard, among the apple trees that had new sets of string lights draped from them. A white table cloth was draped over it and a bottle of sparkling apple juice sat in a bucket of ice.
“No wine for you,” Candace said, following my gaze.
“It’s beautiful. Did you do this?”
“I had some help from dad, but I was the visionary.”
“Thank you, but,” I looked over to Candace, who was still holding my hand. “There’s only two chairs.”
“I won’t be joining you guys. I have a date of my own.”
“With Alex?”
“Yep, I took your advice. I told him that he was lucky to have me and that we needed to make the best of our time together now that I am living up here. Oh, and I paid for dinner that night!”
“Good for you, girl!” I was so happy to see Candace this way. She was able to just be a normal teenager now, the weight of her parent’s struggles no longer on her shoulders.
Candace leaned in and gave me a parting hug.
“I’m excited to be living with you, Helen,” she told me.
My heart soared and my eyes teared up a little.
“You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“Oh, god. Here come the hormonal waterworks. I’m out of here.” She gave me one last squeeze and disappeared.
I sat down at the table and poured myself some sparkling cider. Brenton came out a few moments later, clutching a bouquet. He had changed into a full blown suit and tie.
“Woah there, stud. You didn’t tell me I should change!”
“You look beautiful,” he told me, handing me a dozen red roses. “It was about time a man bought you some proper flowers.”
I smiled, remembering our night stuck in the woods. It had begun with Brenton offering me a bouquet of wildflowers and ended in what I had presumed was a nightmare. Little did I know it was actually a fairytale. I thanked him and set the roses on the table behind me. He stood in front of me, gently holding both my hands. His thumbs ran circles over my palms.
“This is kind of a 180 from our first few days together.” I looked down at the leggings and t-shirt I was wearing, my shoulders covered in a flannel. “I was the well dressed one back then.”
“You were also an annoying city-girl,” he said with a sarcastic grin. “Things change.”
“They certainly do.”
He nervously let go of one of my hands and fiddled with something in his pocket. He pulled out a small blue box and my heart stopped. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee, looking up at me with so much love in his eyes.
My stomach did somersaults and I wasn’t sure if it was the baby or butterflies. I put my hand to my mouth, and the tears that had welled in my eyes from Candace came rushing back.
“Helen Washington, when you first showed up, I knew I was in trouble. I just didn’t know what kind of trouble. Baby, you turned my world upside down in more ways than one. You’re the woman of my dreams. I can’t imagine life without you, without your cute pink cheeks, your mesmerizing freckles, your confidence, your bravery, your stilettos.”