The Edge of Autumn Read online

  As the hacking subsided, I tipped over onto her lap, my head resting on her leg. “Oh. My. God. You are something else, Sara Matthews,” I told her. “I would pay good money to see you take on Nelson.”

  She shoved a chip in her mouth and then let her hand rest on my head. “You know I could take him,” she said primly. “He’s all bark and no bite.”

  “Just how many times have you brawled with Nelson in the past?” I closed my eyes as her fingers stroked my hair.

  A low hum preceded her response. “Well, the last time was probably when we were ten or eleven. He ate the cookie I had hidden for dessert and I tried to body slam him,” she replied, a bit wistfully it seemed. “Of course he was already significantly taller and heavier than me, but I managed to get him to the ground. My dad broke it up before I could get in a good punch, though.”

  Oh man, that mental image was enough to send me into hysterics once more. “You are quite a hellion,” I gasped when I could finally catch my breath.

  Her smile was cheeky. “Look, what kind of person would Nelson be if no one had ever taken him down a peg or two? I couldn’t let him get a big head . . . not bigger than it already is, anyway,” she said with a shrug. “My dad was always building him up, trying to undo the damage from his deadbeat parents, and that was great, but seriously. You know Nelson. Dude needed a swift kick here and there to keep him on his toes.”

  I snorted. “I never knew you were such a violent little thing,” I told her, nuzzling my face against her leg.

  She giggled and whacked me on the back. “That tickles, watch it!”

  Eventually, I tossed aside both of our cell phones, determined not to let Nelson interrupt our evening further. He was a big boy; he could fend for himself.

  As it turned out, he fended quite well. I hung out with Sara at the store on Saturday so her mom could catch up on some paperwork and book orders. I had issued my mom’s birthday cake invitation, which was of course accepted graciously by Mrs. Matthews, who said she looked forward to finally meeting my parents. Sara laughed at my anxiety over it, reminding me that I’d been just as worried about her first meeting with them and that it had gone wonderfully well.

  “Maybe your mom is harder to please than you are,” I protested. “She’s had more time to work on her discerning eye.”

  That earned me a glare. “Travis Holmes, you will have fun or I will have to cancel your amazing surprise on Monday.”

  I groaned. “Noooo, you can’t, that’s my actual birthday and it’s obviously your responsibility now to make sure it doesn’t suck!”

  She laughed. “Well then, I guess you’ll just have to suck it up, impress my mom even more, and enjoy your damn cake.”

  It was almost closing time when Nelson texted me. Gwen is amazing, going well!

  We rolled our eyes at each other, completely unsurprised that they were enjoying their date. Sara had told me earlier in the week that she thought they were made for each other—though she’d qualified it with a smirk and “maybe not as perfect for each other as we are, but close enough.”

  “Is Nelson coming tomorrow?” she asked as she settled the cash register.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I told him he’s welcome to bring Gwen but I think he figured he’d wait until after today to invite her. My parents were pretty excited to hear about his date.”

  Her smile was a little sad. “So was my mom. I wish his mom cared about stuff like that.”

  I braced one elbow on the counter and leaned my chin on my hand. “What’s the deal there, are his parents just that awful?”

  “Yes,” she said succinctly. “His dad left when we were little, thank God. He was drunk all the time and becoming progressively more violent with every passing year. My dad stepped in when he raised his hand to Nelson after a baseball game and it wasn’t long after that before he walked out on them. I always wondered what Dad said to him that day, but he wouldn’t talk about it in front of me or Nelson. His brother, Geoff, was much older and turning into as much of a bully as their dad. I think Geoff was glad their dad had left, honestly, but he was pretty mean to Nelson and it was a blessing when he moved away.”

  I frowned. “And his mom?”

  Sara sighed, locking the register. “She’s not horrible, I guess, not in the way his father was. She’s just . . . disinterested. She works overnights in Spruce Hill and sleeps most of the day, so Nelson was pretty much left to his own devices. My mom got sick of wondering if he’d eaten dinner and started inviting him to our house after school every day. His mom seemed relieved to not have to think about it.”

  I thanked my lucky stars once more for loving, attentive parents. Sara finished closing up and came to stand in front of me after turning off the lights. “I love you,” she said quietly, pulling me toward her for a kiss. I couldn’t help but smile at the words, even as our lips met. I slid my hand to the small of her back, never wanting to let her go.

  When at last we broke apart, I felt a bit dazed. “I don’t know how I got so lucky, Sara Matthews, but I love you right back,” I whispered. There in the store, surrounded by shadows, it felt like anything above that might break the spell.

  I drove Sara home that night, promising her I’d try not to worry about the following evening. She blew me a kiss from the front door and I waved, waiting until she was safely inside before pulling out of the driveway. Nelson only texted me once more that evening, which I considered a sign of his dating success: Gwen’s in for tomorrow.

  I wasn’t sure if that would make this birthday gathering more or less awkward, but anything to take the attention off of me seemed like it must be a good thing. Or so I hoped, anyway.

  CHAPTER 28: Sunday

  When I came downstairs the next morning, my parents were nowhere in sight. That seemed unusual, since I had slept in later than normal, but instead of a note on the kitchen table, I found instead a small box wrapped in silver paper. “Open Me” read the tag. I looked around suspiciously and yelled, “Mom? Dad?”

  Silence was the only response, so I pulled off the bow and slid a finger under the taped edge of wrapping paper. Inside was a plain brown box. It had little weight to it, but made no sound when I shook it. I glanced around once more, then shrugged and opened the box.

  Wrapped in one of my mom’s silk scarves were a set of car keys. I lifted them out and held them dangling from one finger, staring in confusion. As understanding dawned, my mouth dropped open. I hurried to the front door, threw it open, and jumped as my parents, Sara, Mrs. Matthews, Nelson and a girl I could only assume must be Gwen all yelled, “SURPRISE!”

  Beside them was a gleaming silver sedan—not brand new and not an expensive model, I knew, but shining and beautiful. “No way,” I said, shaking my head.

  My dad grinned as my mom rushed over to hug me. “Happy birthday, Trav. We figured you could use your own vehicle these days. I know it’s not fancy, but it’s a good, reliable car and we thought it’d be a good start,” he said, putting his arm around my shoulder after my mom finally let go of me.

  “It’s amazing, are you kidding? Thank you so much, I can’t believe you did this!” I exclaimed.

  Mom pinched my cheek. “It’s the least we could do, honey.”

  I disagreed, recognizing this for the huge expenditure it was, but there was no arguing with my mother once she set her mind to something, so I kissed her cheek. “Thank you, both of you. This is incredible,” I said. Sara was beaming at me and I realized she must have known all about it. “You little sneak, you were in on this, weren’t you?”

  “Only at the end,” she assured me, offering a chaste kiss that made me fully aware we were in front of all parental units.

  Mrs. Matthews smiled and wished me a happy birthday. It turned out she had recommended a small car dealership to my mom when they bumped into each other at the Apple Festival—I guess I needn’t have worried about this being their first introduction. She squeezed my arm and then went inside with my parents to lay out the lunch spread they had hidden
in the fridge.

  Nelson clapped me on the back. “Congrats, bro. Travis, this is Gwen. Gwen, Travis,” he said, smiling so sweetly at the tall brunette beside him that I would have sworn they’d been dating far longer than twenty-four hours.

  “Pleased to meet you, Gwen. Anyone who can tolerate Nelson is a welcome addition to our little circle,” I said, shaking her hand.

  Nelson sputtered with mock indignation, but Gwen only laughed. “And it’s wonderful to finally meet you, Travis. Sara has told me so much about you.”

  Sara blushed as I turned to look at her. “Oh?” I inquired.

  “All good things,” Gwen assured me, giggling at Sara’s guilty expression.

  “Mostly good, anyway,” Sara corrected, sticking her tongue out at me.

  I clasped a hand to my chest. “Ouch,” I said, grimacing. “Such a cruel girl you are.”

  Sara rolled her eyes and poked me in the belly. “Are we just going to stand around talking smack, birthday boy, or are we going to take a test drive in your new wheels?”

  My eyes shot wide. “What a fabulous idea! Brains as well as beauty,” I said lifting her hand to my lips. Nelson pretended to gag, Gwen grinned broadly, and Sara winked as I lifted my head. “I’ll go tell the parents, if you think it’s wise to leave them here unattended.”

  Sara nodded, then yelled, “Shotgun!” and raced to the passenger seat, laughing at Nelson’s good-natured grumbling. By the time I came back and slid into the driver’s seat, he and Gwen had their heads together, talking softly and holding hands. Sara leaned toward me for a quick kiss before I put the keys in the ignition. “I can’t believe you kept this a secret,” I whispered at her.

  “Your mom threatened to give you endless chores to keep you busy this week if I couldn’t manage,” she whispered back. I laughed and started the car.

  As my dad had said, it was nothing fancy, but it was light-years beyond my mom’s old Buick and, better yet, it was mine. I drove slowly around the town, to the point where Nelson called me “grandma,” much to Sara’s amusement. The circuit of town took barely ten minutes even at my slow pace, but I enjoyed listening to the murmur of Nelson and Gwen’s conversation as background while Sara and I chatted. She refused to give me a single hint about her plans for the following afternoon, however.

  “Travis, it’s a surprise,” she chided when I nagged her once more for details.

  I heaved a dramatic sigh as we pulled back into the driveway. “You’re right. I just like it when you’re stern with me,” I said, waggling my eyebrows at her.

  Sara nodded thoughtfully, as though filing that little tidbit away, and my eyebrows shot up. She gave a sweet, innocent smile. “What? You never know when things like that might come in handy,” she replied, batting her lashes at me.

  I squeezed her hand after turning off the engine. “Thank you,” I said softly as Nelson and Gwen climbed out of the car.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t do anything,” she insisted, “except keep my mouth shut for a couple days. Your parents are wonderful. My mom really likes them both.”

  I kissed her, my fingertips brushing her jaw. “You’ve done plenty,” I replied, my throat tightening at the sincerity of the thought.

  “Wait until tomorrow to thank me,” she said, winking as she unbuckled and opened her door.

  I sat for a second, letting that soak in, then raced in after her.

  Whatever awkwardness I had imagined never materialized. The group of us fit together as though we’d all been friends for decades. Mrs. Matthews, who finally insisted that I call her Melissa, looked so genuinely happy to see both Sara and Nelson enjoying themselves that I couldn’t help but offer her a warm smile in return when she met my eyes. Part of me had wondered, to some extent, if she resented me taking Sara away from her so much of the time lately. Her obvious pleasure reassured me that she had no qualms with Sara spending that time with me.

  Lunch was a simple array of sandwich fixings from the market, but the company made it as enjoyable as a gourmet meal. When at last my mom called us all into kitchen for dessert, a number of “oohs” and “aahs” filled the room. Before me was set an elaborate cake, sculpted into the shape of a huge old-school camera. It had been years since my mom had gone all out on a birthday cake—maybe after the Snoopy I’d requested for my tenth birthday, I recalled. After that, we had moved too many times for me to really want to invite friends for a birthday party. She had filled the gap with whatever fancy meals and desserts I had requested, but I’d almost forgotten just how talented she was with cakes.

  I groaned as my mom led the group in singing, but grinned at her. Eighteen only happens once, right? I leaned in to blow out the number candles stuck in the top of the cake and accepted the smattering of applause with a humble bow. Sara didn’t stop beaming and I felt like my own enjoyment of the occasion increased tenfold under the power of her smile.

  The cake tasted almost as good as it looked and everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy the gathering. Gwen fit right into our little group with ease. Mrs. Matthews—Melissa, I reminded myself for the tenth time—seemed completely comfortable chatting with my parents, joking with Nelson, and casting a few covert but plainly proud smiles in Sara’s direction.

  Nelson presented me with a small, dainty gift bag as we finished up our cake. I raised a brow and he winked. “Gwen was nice enough to wrap it for you,” he said.

  I smiled in thanks and pulled out a wad of lavender tissue paper. Sara snickered from behind her hand, but she gave an outraged gasp when I unwrapped the black vinyl photo album inside. “Oh, you did NOT!” she growled at Nelson.

  He offered up an innocent smile. “I thought Travis might like to see a bit of your past firsthand, Sara Bear.”

  Understanding dawned on me as I opened the cover, revealing a snapshot of two gap-toothed kids grinning at the camera. “Oh. My. God,” I whispered reverently. “These are all of you?”

  Sara groaned and covered her face. “Look, we had a few awkward years, okay?”

  I ran my finger over the photos as I studied each page. There was Nelson in a baseball uniform, then Sara with her curls cut short around her chin, wearing a huge cartoon t-shirt with soccer shorts. One photo showed Sara, her parents, and Nelson, huddled together and smiling broadly like one happy family, then there were a few of Sara in a school play, dressed as a turkey. I couldn’t believe what a gift this truly was; for a moment, I felt a bit choked up, unable to thank him enough. When I tore my eyes away from this chunk of their history to look at Nelson, he smiled and waved away any words I might have offered in gratitude. “I know you and your photos, bro. I thought it would be a nice addition to your collection,” he said softly.

  Sara’s cheeks were flushed but she, too, couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. “I guess you better enjoy it,” she warned, “because someday it might just disappear off the face of the earth.”

  I winked. “I’ll just have to keep it in a safe place, then.”

  Shortly after that, Gwen and Nelson excused themselves, claiming they both had homework to get done. I walked them out, thanking Nelson again for his thoughtful gift. He gave me a warm smile that seemed just a touch sad. “She’s yours now,” he said quietly. “And you’re hers. It just felt like you deserved to know the parts of her that came before. Happy birthday, Travis.”

  My heart constricted a bit at the impact of his words. “Thank you,” I whispered, lifting a hand to wave to Gwen. She’s yours. The thought echoed around inside my head as I watched them drive away in Nelson’s clunker. I knew it wasn’t meant in a possessive way, but as reinforcement of what I’d been feeling—we belonged together. I hoped that thought was as warmly reassuring to Sara as it was to me.

  I slipped back inside and planted a quick kiss on Sara’s cheek as I sat down beside her. Our parents were engrossed in conversation, barely glancing our way as they chatted. Sara hummed contentedly, leaning her head against my shoulder as I slid my arm around her. “Good birthday so far?” she whis
pered.

  “Best one yet,” I murmured back, not wanting to draw parental attention our way. “I’m glad to be spending it with you.”

  She lifted her head to give me an impish little grin. “It’s not even halfway over yet. We’ve still got tomorrow.”

  I leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Not even a tiny hint?”

  With pursed lips, she shook her head. “Not a chance, hotshot. Though obviously we’ll have to break in your new ride,” she said with a smirk. My eyes widened and she held up both hands. “Not like that! I meant by driving it! Get your mind out of the gutter.”

  I laughed softly, squeezing her against my side. “That’s a serious challenge with you around,” I drawled.

  We spent another chaste hour in conversation with each other and with our parents, once they had moved onto a new topic. I was both pleased and horrified when I heard our moms scheduling lunch together for the coming week, wondering what embarrassing topics were likely to come up during that little tête-à-tête. Sara rolled her eyes at my expression and poked me in the ribs.

  I reluctantly bid Sara farewell, slowing my pace so that we fell behind the adults as they migrated to the front porch. Taking her hands in mine, I bowed my head to whisper, “I’ll see you in Spruce Hill after school?”

  She nodded. “Text me when you get there, just park in any of the guest lots and let me know which one, I’ll come find you.”

  I lifted a brow. “And what’s the dress code for this super-secret plan of yours?”

  “Casual,” she assured me. “And comfortable.”

  Mrs. Matthews gave me a wave and called, “Happy birthday, Travis!” from where she had parked her little blue car on the street. I smiled and waved back, squeezing Sara’s hand one last time before she ran to hop in the car. Best birthday yet, I thought once more, and another day of celebration still to come.

  CHAPTER 29: Monday