Page 11 of Cookie

Charlie

I t felt so strange and chaotic to be out of my little town and in the city.

Cars rushed all over the place and while we ate, a steady stream of people walked in or continued on to the next restaurant.

“Do you miss the city?” I finally asked Ryan.

It had been on my lips many times, but I was afraid to hear his answer.

“Not really. I did at first, but mostly because I have a different routine here than I had there. But now I love living in Grace.” After taking the last bite of his food, he crumpled up his napkin and set it on the tray. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yep.” I took the tray and dumped it as we walked out the door and right to the car. “Your turn to drive. How far is it from here?”

“Probably around an hour, maybe a little less depending on traffic,” Ryan said, and I noticed he was quieter now than he had been. I walked around to the driver’s side of the car, where he stood unmoving.

“Are you okay?” I asked and reached my hand out to his arm. His eyes met mine then, and he drew in a deep breath.

“Yeah, I think it’s just hitting me how serious this is. I know you tried to make me realize that, but it wasn’t as real to me then as it is now.”

“Are you questioning your choice?” I asked and held my breath while I waited for his answer.

“What? No, god no. I want the store. It’s just a lot,” he said.

I pulled him into my arms and kissed the side of his head. “Don’t worry about it. Just remember we’re going to go out and celebrate afterward.”

“You’re right, come on let’s go.” He kissed me before unlocking the door and sliding into the driver’s seat before I closed the door behind him.

Once again, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

This happened every time we were together.

He just made me so happy, and I didn’t feel the need to hide it.

He started the car and after leaving the shopping center, we merged onto the freeway driving toward downtown Sacramento.

The closer we got, the heavier the traffic was and now it was me feeling nervous.

“I’m glad we left when we did,” I said.

“This is nothing. I used to avoid the freeway between three and six. It’s just too busy.”

“I’ll take our little town over this any day,” I said, and he looked at me and smiled before reaching for my hand.

“Me too,” he murmured. A short time later, he exited onto one of the tree-lined streets that was part of an older neighborhood. After a few turns and stops and starts, he pulled up to a ranch style house. After turning off the engine, he once again took a deep breath, but didn’t move.

“Come on, I want to say hello to Millie. I’m pretty sure she’ll be surprised to see me,” I said, making him smile.

“She won’t be that surprised,” Ryan said and stepped out of the car.

“Oh, really?” I slung my arm around his shoulders as he joined me at the end of the walkway that led to what I thought was his mom’s house.

“Really,” he said just before he knocked on the door and proceeded to walk right in. “Mom? Aunt Millie?” He took my hand and led me through the house until we walked all the way through and out to the backyard.

“What’s all the yelling about? It’s just me here,” Millie said from where she sat on a lounger under the canopy of the porch.

“There you are,” Ryan said and walked over to give her a hug. “Are you enjoying the semi-retired life?”

“Every minute of it. Hello, Charlie, how are you doing?” she asked as though she’d been expecting us both.

“I’m doing good. I hope you don’t mind I came along with Ryan,” I said.

“Of course I don’t mind. Now, what brings you two to the big city?” she asked wasting no more time on pleasantries.

Ryan took a seat in one of the nearby chairs and pulled me down into the one next to him. “Well, you know I wasn’t sure about taking over the bookstore, but after working there, I can’t imagine giving it up. I officially want to put in an offer to buy One More Chapter.”

She stared hard at him for a moment before her smile grew and she slapped both hands to her cheeks. “Ryan, are you sure?” she asked, her voice full of excitement.

“Oh yes. I have so many plans,” Ryan said as Millie pulled him in for another hug.

“I can’t wait to see what you do with it. I know I haven’t said much about what you’ve already done, but you really have done a great job.”

“Thank you. It’s like a dream come true to actually be able to own it.”

“Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll have papers drawn up to make it official, but I won’t be making a killing off you.

When I bought it, the previous owner did the same for me, and it would make me even happier to keep it in our family.

” She smiled and looked like a load had been lifted from her shoulders.

She was happier than I remembered seeing her in years.

“Now, what’s going on between you two?” she asked as she pointed between Ryan and me.

“We’re dating,” Ryan said.

“I’m happy for you both. Is he going to show you around town?” she asked me.

“We were planning to go out depending on if you were willing to sell to Ryan or not,” I said, never one to hold back.

“Looks like you’ve got something to celebrate,” she said.

“We do, we should probably get going soon to my place,” Ryan said, but we sat a while longer and caught up with Millie. Finally, after another hour, I knew she was more than ready for us to leave. “Mom said she’d be here.”

“She’s out running errands, you know how that goes,” Millie said.

“She’ll be a while then. Are you sure you don’t want to go out to celebrate with us?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m sure. You two go and have fun. I heard about a new club downtown you might want to check out,” she said with a sly grin that I tried to ignore.

“Thanks again, Aunt Millie. I really can’t thank you enough,” Ryan said before she ushered us out the door.

“She must have had plans,” I said as we walked to his car.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she wanted to celebrate as much as we do.” Ryan smiled as he looked back at her house.

“She was a little anxious for us to leave. Maybe she has a hot date,” I said as he unlocked the door.

“Maybe, but I don’t want to worry about what my aunt’s doing. I’m ready for us to go celebrate,” Ryan said as he leaned across the seat to kiss me. “I’m really going to own a bookstore.”

“Yes, you are,” I said and pulled him in for another kiss.