Chapter 28

All her attention coalesced to this object. Here were all her dreams. Written in these pages, inside the little treasure box with the intricately carved cover, was her personal manifesto. How she was going to attack living, with a huge focus on their union, their marriage. Their relationship.

The marriage hadn’t happened, seemed the relationship had continued. Even from afar.

Maybe the three-years-ago Tish had something wise to say to her now. She could sure use the words of wisdom. When she’d broken into this old house earlier this evening, she was desperate. If she was honest.

Her fingers touched the metal surface, with softer, bubbled areas where the metal had been sculpted into an intricate curlicue pattern. Etched in bits of teal on copper, much of the color had come off over the last few years. But there were still little specks of it, hinting at past beauty.

She unhooked the little latch, and it swung back. She drew the lid backward.

And there it was. The little, leather-bound notebook.

She thumbed through to the first page. Herein rests the diary and time capsule of Eli Austin and Tish Taylor.

“Go on.”

The next page was dated, in a swirly font, with the words: A timespan, locked in this sacred time capsule, for safe-keeping.

She was aware of Eli beside her, soundless. Eyes glued to the book.

She turned to the next page.

It’s crazy that I’m writing this while Eli is gone. I sent him downstairs for a hot tea when all I want is wine to make me drunk, and darn we didn’t bring enough. But I don’t care. He was dumb enough, LOL, to think I wanted tea, and it gave me a minute.

I don’t need wine. Ya, I love the buzz but I don’t need it. All I need for the rest of my life is this stupid guy beside me. Loving me, being mine. And I’m going to be there for him too. No matter what.

In three years I’ll open this, and I’ll see where we’re at. But I hope we’ve fulfilled my desire, what I know we both want.

He’s mine, and I’m his. We support each other, take care of each other, no matter what.

No matter what life throws at us.

And, FYI and BTW, we love love love this crazy old house. Every speck of it. Forever. Every drop of it. It’s ours, like we’re each other’s, also, no matter what happens. Yeah. I like that.

Okay, I hear him coming up the stairs. Probably wants to boink again. Doof. Gotta run. Wanted to do a lot more, but man messes up plan. Again. LOL

Signed…Tish Taylor/Austin. (Not TA cause that’s just nuts). (Tho Eli thinks it’s perfect—dumbass. <3)

She looked at him, her eyes already filled with tears that hadn’t dropped yet. “Wow.”

Nodding his head, he seemed to be the only movement in a room that had gone timeless. “Wow.”

“There’s a section of dreams, in the back. And before that, dates we did stuff.” She couldn’t stop the chatter, though the moment called for silence. A bit of reverence.

But no remonstrations from Eli. Just a soft request. “Let me…absorb this.”

“Okay.”

She noticed something else odd, that cut into the absorbing time she sensed they both actually wanted. “Do you hear that?”

He stopped his time-travel, whichever way he’d flown, past or future, and came back to the present. Listened hard, dipped his head. “What?”

“That,” she said, holding up a finger.