No Strings

Chapter 53--Girl Gets Paycut

I came home and beamed a smile. Even though William wasn't there to greet me, I wanted to find him. I looked for him everywhere. I found him out in the garden, weeding some new patches. It was starting to look like a real English garden.

He had a straw hat on and his dingy jeans. He was trying to pull a huge weed from the ground.

"There you are!" I said trying not to sink into the lawn in my heels. I realized that in my excitement I hadn't changed them.

He pulled harder and then his butt fell to the ground. He looked up at me.

He smiled at me. I was still getting used to being attracted to that smile. I didn't know if I was getting used to the idea of being in love with him or not. Nothing had changed despite my best efforts to not overanalyze what had.

"Yes?" he asked dusting himself off and getting up.

I caught a glimmer of something devilish in his smile. But it faded.

"I did it!" I said. I forgot I had my heels on and found myself sinking into the lawn. William seemed to be amused at my heels. My stockinged feet hit the grass. I almost tripped over my shoes, but he steadied me.

"You got the pay cut?" he asked.

I nodded hard. He hugged me. "That's good."

I wanted to tell more than William. I wanted to tell my mother too, but realized that we were now estranged. I hadn't thought about it for months. I wondered if William knew. I knew it would be awkward to speak to my father. What would he say now?

He let me go.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I found myself crying, hard. I had been bottling it up all this time.

"I--well-- me and my mother fought... and she never called me back." I bit my lower lip. "She blamed me for their divorce and the way my dad acted after I left. And I..."

My throat thickened. He hugged me more closely than before. He kissed my hair and whispered, "It's OK."

He comforted me until I stopped. He didn't ask any questions. He didn't say how horrid I was. He understood. I thought as I made my lips stop quivering that I might need more therapy after this.

After I stopped he said, "I passed the ARE."

I looked up at him. "What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because not much is going to change, is it? Well, I am going to be home more though... but not much else."

"When did you pass?" I asked.

He laughed a little. I think it was out of nervousness.

"Last week."

I cocked my head to one side. I must have looked like a dog. "Last week?"

I thought to last week. It was the same as before. It was my turn to hug him.

"Let's on out on a date..." I said.

"Where?" he asked.

"To the New York docks."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"We need to celebrate."

"How is driving to the New York docks a celebration?"

"I want to buy something there."

"What? There are only cargo ships."

"OK... then how about we find the nearest photo booth."

"You're crazy," he said without rancor.

"How about where we bought the rings, then?"

He was still holding the weed which didn't have all of the root out. He paused, then nodded. "Sure, that's fine. But I want one thing in exchange."

"What?" I asked.

"We will watch a real action movie later."

I laughed. He smirked at me.

"Those romance movies are polluting my head."

He stroked his neck. He'd shaved recently. I bent to help him with the garden. He was smiling at me again. That glimmer of mischief surfaced again. Without hesitation he kissed me. And, for once, I was OK with it. We didn't go the place where we bought the rings, but we did watch an action movie.