Page 32 of Wish You Faith (Christmas Sweethearts #1)

“I’ll start it once we’re done with our aprons and dish rags,” she said when she returned to the kitchen.

She dried the pots and pans after Evan washed them. She eyed the last pumpkin pie on the table. “I hate to think I want more pie.”

“You had a small sliver earlier. It doesn’t even make the cut as a bona fide pie slice.”

“That’s not helpful.” Rosie rolled her eyes.

“How about this? Let’s split a slice. Then we’ll feel half as bad.” Evan chuckled at his mockery of logic.

Rosie took up the challenge. After they dried the hand-washed kitchen items and put them back in the right cabinets, they cut a slice of pie and put it on a small plate.

There, standing within view of the living room—where Sonya, Dottie, and Marcella were chatting up a storm—Evan and Rosie fed each other more pie.

“This sure slows down the process,” Rosie said.

“What? You don’t want to feed me pie?” Evan opened his mouth like a baby bird.

“Doesn’t take away from the fact that we’re still eating a pumpkin pie with lots of sugar.”

“And delicious crust.” Evan fed Rosie a bite of pie with his fork. “We’ll walk it off on the beach tomorrow.”

“I’ll start the dishwasher after we eat our second dessert,” Rosie said as the doorbell rang.

Dottie went to the door. Her daughter and grandson had come early to pick her up. They were also giving Marcella a ride home to the old neighborhood that Sonya used to live in.

“We missed you so much, Grandma!” The boy jumped up and down.

Dottie’s face beamed with happiness at being wanted and needed. She quickly put on her winter coat. Then she helped Marcella with hers. Out the door they all went, after hugging Sonya and Rosie, waving a quick goodbye to everyone, and wishing them a “Merry Christmas!”

Sonya locked the front door after they had left. She turned to Evan and Rosie. “I’m going to brush my teeth, read my Bible, and go to bed. Don’t make too much noise.”

“Good night, Mom,” Rosie said.

Sonya went to her bedroom and shut the door.

“She trusts me with you,” Evan said.

“We’re adults. Note that she didn’t tell us not to stay up too late.” Rosie fed Evan the last piece of pie from their dessert plate. “When are you going back to your hotel?”

Evan ate the piece of pie. It was small and he could eat it in one gulp. “Do you want me to leave now?”

“No. I just wanted to know how much time we have.”

“To do what?” Evan’s eyes widened.

“To talk about life and such.” She started the dishwasher.

“Oh.”

“What else?” Rosie opened the refrigerator door. “Want some bottled water?”

“A small one. Thank you.”

Rosie gave him a ten-ounce bottle and then got a bigger bottle for herself. “We’ve had a whirlwind December. Maybe we need to fill in the blanks.”

They sat down on the sofa in the living room.

It was nice and quiet, and Evan couldn’t hear the ocean outside the sliding glass door. In fact, it was dark outside. No moon, no stars. Probably a cloudy night.

“What would you like to talk about?” Evan asked.

“Maybe we can reveal ten personal things that the other person may not know,” Rosie suggested.

“That sounds fun.” Evan hoped they’d take two hours or more.

When the clock struck midnight, he’d propose.

Time flew by as they filled in the blanks about their lives, from childhood to their schooling years.

Evan listened in fascination as he discovered more about Rosie that he hadn’t known before, such as the fact that she had taken piano lessons as a kid, and won a few regional music competitions to boot. There was no piano in the condo.

Evan made a mental note to buy her a piano of her choice next Christmas. If she wanted one.

This Christmas, he had bought her this house. “I have to tell you something you might not already know.”

“Go ahead.”

Here goes nothing. “Before Grandpa died, he left Connor and me separate trust funds. I used the money to buy this condo so that Mom won’t be able to evict you next year if she changes her mind and takes the condo back.”

“For real?” Rosie’s eyes widened. “So we’re renting from you?”

“Your scholarship award is renting from my trust fund.”

“That means you lowered the rental price to fit the scholarship because this condo rents out for three times more.”

Evan nodded. “Looks like you did your research.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Rosie asked.

“This is the earliest I could tell you.”

“Hmm… Technically your trust fund is renting out the condo to Mom. Not you personally.” Rosie closed her eyes.

“Right. I don’t see the money myself.”

“Would you be willing to let me pay the rent instead of the scholarship?” Rosie asked.

“What do you mean?” Evan didn’t want disruptions of his careful plan.

“I’m going to clean out our old house and make it a rental.

The rent near the hospital is pretty good.

With that recurring income plus some money that Dad left us, Mom and I can pay this condo’s rent out of our pockets.

That way, Roger could give the scholarship money to a needier widow on the SSLR waiting list.”

“You want to give away your mom’s housing scholarship?”

“As you already know, our problem was that SSLR is fully occupied. We applied for some scholarships, but didn’t expect Mom to get a full one.

We have lived frugally for years and have money saved up.

Someone else who has less savings can get Mom’s housing scholarship.

We would keep the food and activity scholarship since SSLR gives out many of those. ”

“I see.” Realization dawned on Evan. “So if I had talked to you in the first place…”

“I wouldn’t have had to google to confirm that this was your grandpa’s condo.” Her voice was quiet and soft. She wasn’t scolding him. She was stating her own opinion in a non-confrontational way.

So different from all the other women in his life, like his mother and aunts and previous girlfriends.

Evan teared up. He had lived his life skirting issues and walking on eggshells around Mom, as though every good thing had to be a secret or at least secretly obtained.

How refreshing it was that with Rosie, he could speak his mind and not get yelled at or abandoned!

“No more secrets between us, okay?” Rosie held his hand.

Evan’s heart dropped. In order for his trust fund to buy the condo from Grandpa’s estate, he had to make the deal with Mom. Whether he told Rosie the truth about everything or not, they would end up with the same result: potentially ten years apart.

Could she handle it if he told her about that deal?

“Is there anything you need to tell me to clear the air?” Rosie leaned back at one end of the sofa.

“Yes.”

“Then tell me. No need to sugarcoat anything. I can handle it.”

Evan rested his head on her lap, stretching his legs to the other end of the sofa.

He told her all about his pressing problems working at Cavanaugh Shipping and his broken relationship with a tiger mom, who was supported by a passive dad.

He told her about his desire to be with her every day for the rest of his life.

Rosie simply listened quietly, stroking his hair and holding his hand. She heard every word and asked questions that made Evan think. Several times, they stopped to pray for God’s wisdom and direction for Evan’s career.

And then he told her about the deal with Mom.

“Ephesians 6:2 says that we still need to honor our parents,” Rosie replied.

“It doesn’t specify that this honor is reserved for Christian parents.

Even unsaved parents have to be honored.

If you have gripes against them, take it to God.

He can handle your parents better than you can.

Just step out of the way when He gives them their due.

As for you, if you want God to bless you, you can’t have this dark cloud hanging over your head. ”

Evan knew that from his past Bible studies and from what Connor had reminded him, but to hear it again from another source—someone he trusted implicitly—made an impact.

“I’m sorry that I was out of line,” Rosie said.

“I don’t know what you went through in your family.

My own mom is the best in the world, and she never does me harm or hurt, but this is just our family.

Without going through what you have, I have no right to tell you to honor your Mom in spite of everything. ”

“Don’t get me wrong. My mom is non-violent. It’s just that she irritates me and we can’t agree on anything at all. I can’t believe Dad allowed her to get her way all these years.” He chuckled. “Dad just wants to keep the peace in the family.”

“Your mom sounds like my dad when he was alive,” Rosie said. “He always got his way. If we went out to eat, it had to be where he wanted to go. Every single time. You know what’s ironic?”

“What?” Evan wondered what life had been like in the Hamilton household.

“After Dad died, Mom and I went to the same restaurant that Dad had taken us to. To this day, I still miss his stubbornness and self-serving attitude. I remind myself that God loves us with all our personal imperfections, so why are we casting stones and measuring specks in another person’s eyes? You know what I mean?”

“It’s the everyday things, isn’t it?” Evan sighed. “You were right to remind me of what the Bible says. I haven’t turned over my parents to God. I’ve been trying to manage them myself.”

“He is God and we are not.” Rosie added that it was a reminder to herself too.

“For real.” Evan swiped his phone to find the book of Ephesians on his Bible app. “While Ephesians 6:2 is my call to action, Ephesians 6:3 is the promise if I honor my parents.”

“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

“I want us to be well and live long.” Rosie held Evan’s hand over his chest.

Still resting on Rosie’s lap, Evan closed his eyes and prayed for God to forgive him for not showing Mom respect and sometimes even hating her for making life hard for him growing up and in the family business.

When he opened his eyes, he felt that a heavy burden had lifted off his chest. He felt free. His animosity toward Mom—who wasn’t even here in front of him tonight—ebbed away. All he felt was compassion for her and pity for Dad.

Rosie used her sleeve to wipe a tiny tear that fell from the corner of Evan’s eye.

“It’s going to be okay.” She smiled.

“I just made peace with God and Mom in prayer.”

“I knew you were praying.”

“You did?”

“I pray silently a lot. I could tell you were battling it in a power prayer.” She patted his chest. “Merry Christmas, sweetheart.”

“Merry…” Evan quickly checked his watch.

12:01 a.m.

“It’s the day after Christmas!” Evan sat up.

“Does that mean you have to leave now before your carriage turns into a pumpkin?” Rosie laughed.

“No, I mean…” Evan slid off the sofa and plopped his knees on the rug between the sofa and the coffee table.

Before Rosie could say or do anything, he pulled out the diamond ring from his pocket. He lifted it toward Rosie.

Rosie gasped.

“Don’t say anything until I finish talking, okay?” Evan pleaded. He didn’t want Rosie to stop him again as she had done on Christmas Day.

“I love you so much,” Evan began.

“I love you too.” Rosie was holding back tears.

“I have prayed about this for days.”

“Good.”

“I will only marry one woman in my life, and it has to be you, Rosemarie Nicole Hamilton.” Evan’s hand shook and the ring shook with it. He used his other hand to prop up his shaking hand. “Would you be willing to take imperfect me as your one and only husband for the rest of my life?”

“Your life?”

“In case I die first.”

Tears fell from Rosie’s eyes. “Let’s live well. To God be the glory.”

“Well, will you marry me?” Evan was sure he hadn’t heard Rosie’s answer.

“Yes, I will marry you, Evan Ren Cavanaugh.”

Evan was so happy that he almost dropped the ring. He slid the diamond onto her ring finger.

Rosie pulled him off his knees and back onto the sofa, and hugged him.

“Thank you for not rejecting me,” Evan whispered in her ear.

“I was never going to. I missed you so much when you were out of town. I knew then that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you as well.”

Evan wrapped his arms around Rosie. His lips explored her face, gently kissing her forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin.

Then he claimed her lips.

Exclusively for a lifetime.