Second Chance: November 20

The story starts here.

Karin went home and put away the files for the Bennett properties. She added all the tasks that she and Troy had discussed to her to-do list. She wondered if she should have given Troy more of a chance, and maybe said yes to his request for a date. But, in her heart she knew that she had done the right thing. He was obviously overcome by his grief over his mother, and Karin had a feeling that his desire for her company had more to do with replacing that relationship rather than specifically being with her.

Karin spent the night not sleeping. She woke up every hour or so and checked the clock, was it late enough to get up and drive out to Jay’s? she kept wondering. Around three in the morning, she finally got up and dressed. She’d promised to be there before the sun came up and she intended to keep that promise. She knew that spending time with Jay was little more than a distraction from reality and that there was no hope that anything lasting could come of it, but even so, she just couldn’t help herself.

It was still dark as she pulled into the driveway at the Palmer farm. It had been ten years since she’d driven up this stretch of pavement to the side of the large colonial home. The trees were taller and fuller, but everything else was exactly the same as she remembered it.

Karin wondered the whole drive if she was too early, and if she would be waking up the whole household when she pulled into the drive, but the lights were already on in the house and Jay was standing on the deck looking out over the drive when she pulled in.

“Coffee’s on,” Jay yelled down to her when she opened the door of her car.

“I need some,” she yelled back. “It’s crazy early.”

“Is it?” Jay asked. “I was thinking it was crazy late. I’ve been waiting for you all night.” Her heart jumped and she trembled at his words. She had also been eagerly anticipating seeing him again, and she’d wanted all night to just get in her car and drive to him.

“Well, I’m here now.” She said as she reached the top of the outer deck stairs. He took her hand and led her in through the sliding doors to the kitchen, where he poured her a cup of coffee and handed it to her.

“Mmm, it’s delicious,” she said after taking a sip.

“Come on, I’ve picked out a perfect spot for us to watch the sun rise.” He put his arm around her and showed her to an oversized chair on the back of the deck where he’d set a carafe of coffee and a blanket. The chair was just big enough for the two of them to squeeze into. He wrapped the blanket around them both and then dimmed the deck lights so that it was completely dark except for the glimmer of light that had begun to shine along the eastern horizon. Karin put her head on Jay’s shoulder and that glimmer of light was like a glimmer of hope that this moment could last. The warmth of his body against hers matched the warmth of the cup in her hands. Her body relaxed into his and he kissed the top of her head.

“I wish I could spend every morning like this,” Karin said as the entire sky became filled with color.

“Me too.”

“Do you miss the farm?” Karin asked.

“I miss a lot of things about living in Dunewood.”

“Do you ever watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan when you’re in Chicago?”

“I’m sometimes in my office early enough to see it from there, but it’s not the same as watching it here, with the smell of hay and the barns and calluses… it’s been years since I’ve worked hard enough to have calluses on my hands. I miss those.” Jay said. Karin took his hand in hers and rubbed her fingers along his palm.

“You’re right,” she said. “They feel like spoiled baby hands.”

“Oh, really?” he said and reached to tickle her. “They’re still pretty strong hands. I could still throw hay if I had to.”

She laughed and tried to wiggle away from his hold, but he was holding her tight. She let him have her and fell back into his arms.

“Do you ever wish you’d stayed on the farm?” she asked.

“Yes and no,” Jay answered. “Palmer Enterprises is where I belong. It’s my grandfather’s legacy. This place was his home and mine too, but my parents have already moved to Florida and rented out all the orchards to neighboring farms. There are no more animals in the barns or fields and the house just sits here empty most of the time. The things that made this place home are gone now.”

“So, why do you keep coming back?”

“To Dunewood? Or to the farm?”

“Both.”

“I used to always come home to see my parents, until they moved. Since then, I just come out here to remember the good times I had here, like the night I met you.” Jay said and leaned in to kiss her. She didn’t back away, she just closed her eyes and let herself melt into him, as though their bodies were one. Her body gave way to his while the sun burned bright on the horizon like the flame that would consume her.

As the kiss ended and she opened her eyes, they met his dark green eyes and they shone in the morning light like emeralds. Jewels, his eyes were like jewels, she thought and then she was lost in another kiss. Her head was swimming and her body trembled in his arms. He could ask for anything and she would not say no. But, he leaned back against the wooden bench and looked at her.

“I’ve waited a long time to do that,” he said. “So, now that the sun is up, what else would you like to do today?”

“I don’t know. It’s so beautiful I think I could sit out here all day.”

“How about breakfast? I’m starving.” He said.

“Okay,” Karin said with a shrug. “That sounds really good too.”

“We can eat it out here if you want.”

“That sounds even better.” She said. The sun was rising in the sky and warming the air, it would soon be a hot summer day in Dunewood. The streets would fill with tourists flooding the beaches and novelty shops. The avenue in front of her house would soon be packed with automobiles and pedestrians making their way to the lake front, but she sat in the peaceful silence of the still morning, temporarily unaware that any other world existed.

Jay took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. Inside the kitchen, she watched as he casually grabbed ingredients from the refrigerator and cupboards and threw them together in a bowl. Then, he poured the mixture into a frying pan. The resulting omelet like concoction was delicious.

“Where did you learn to cook like this?” Karin asked.

“I picked up a few things here and there.” Jay said. “I have to eat alone a lot and I got tired of sitting by myself in restaurants, but I really like food, so I started learning how to make some of my favorite dishes from my favorite restaurants and then I could have them at home.”

“Well, I’m impressed. I never eat this good at home.”

“All the more reason to spend more time with me,” Jay said and smiled the smile that had won her heart so many times over. She could only sigh as she watched him cleaning up in the kitchen. He washed the pan and put it away while she sat on a bar stool at the counter eating up his creation. With each bite she imagined herself living here with Jay, and she considered what Michelle had said. What would be so bad about just being lovers? If his parents didn’t want them to get married, why did they have to be married? What would be so bad about just being here, together? There love wouldn’t mean any less or would it? Couldn’t they be completely committed to each other, promise til death do us part, and live like they were married, without actually doing it? Wouldn’t that solve everything? Couldn’t the solution be that simple?

“I’m really glad you like it,” Jay said. “It’s one of my favorites. I was going to make heart shaped pancakes for you, but I thought you would find that sort of corny.”

Karin laughed. “You’d be right about that, but I’m sure they would have delicious just the same.” She said.

“You’re just being nice,” Jay said.

“Maybe a little,” Karin admitted. “It’s hard to imagine pan cakes, even heart shaped ones, being as delicious as this.”

“Exactly!” Jay said. “That’s why I went for taste over sentiment. I knew you would appreciate it. You’re so much more practical than all the other girls.”

“What other girls?” Karin asked.

“You know, all the other girls who would prefer heart shaped pan cakes over this awesome pan quiche.”

“What did you do, some kind of street side taste test? Like, which soft drink do you like better, Pepsi or Coke?”

“Except we served heart shaped pan cakes and pan quiche and asked women ‘what would you rather have your significant other make you for breakfast?’… and all the impractical girls chose the pan cakes.” Karin laughed as she realized that Jay was just teasing her. He’d always had a sarcastic side to him that would catch her off guard and sometimes it would take her a minute to realize that he was teasing her. But, he was always light hearted and never mean to her with his sarcasm. She found him more clever and witty than anything and she enjoyed talking with him. There wasn’t anything about him that she didn’t love, and she was sure he felt the same way about her, couldn’t that be enough? Maybe Michelle was right and marriage was just a piece of paper. Maybe she and Jay could have a life together without it.

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