Over the River and Through the Woods

Colby heard the 'snap' and saw the hall light come back on then watched the face of the new thermostat blink before it started running through a diagnostics test. When Wade walked back in, it was nearly finished.

"Ah, yes! Lookin' good here," he said.

Several seconds later, the unit was displaying the internal temperature at 67 degrees.

"Is that warm enough?" he asked.

"Maybe...72?" Colby suggested, knowing how cold she always was.

Wade punched the 'up' arrow five times, and that was that.

"Is there anything else I can look at while I'm here?" he asked cheerfully as he picked up everything that needed to be thrown away.

"Oh. Um...no. I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Okay, but...this place is really old. Have you had anyone come do an actual inspection?" Wade asked her.

"No. Those are very expensive, aren't they?" Colby replied, now suddenly worried this wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped.

"Yes, but not knowing about a serious problem can mean you not being able to sell the house at all," he let her know. "For example, if the roof doesn't have three years of life in it, no bank will give anyone a loan. And there are other issues like that, too."

Colby had never sold a house before, and for that matter, she'd never owned one. She'd lived in apartments since leaving this 'podunk' town, and didn't even know what she didn't know about either buying or selling one.

"How much would an inspection like that cost?" she asked, knowing it was beyond her ability to pay.

"Normally? It would run you about $600."

He saw her look down and knew that was out of the question.

"But...I know someone who owes me a favor, and he just happens to be a certified inspector. I'd be happy to call in the favor and have him come take a look at your house for you."

Once again, Colby felt her eyes welling up with tears as she tried to blink them away.

"It's no problem. He'd be glad to help," Wade told her, now aware of what was going on.

Colby got rid of most of the 'problem' then looked at Wade and said, "How can you be so nice to me after the way I've treated you?"

"You haven't mistreated me," he told her immediately. "You're here because you lost someone you love."

He paused, then very quietly said, "And your daughter mentioned another loss that had to have been even more difficult. So if you could be here and not be under a lot of stress, well, that would be very unusual."

He smiled at her then said, "Besides, I'm not a sensitive guy."

Colby started to smile a little when he stopped himself and changed his tune.

"That's not exactly true. It might be better to say I am a little sensitive when it comes to caring for other people or animals in need of help, but I'm not easily offended. How's that?"

Colby did smile, but it wasn't a full, happy smile. It was just her way of trying to be polite before she finally spoke.

"Wade? Again, I'm sorry if I said anything...offensive. You're right about feeling stressed out. But that's no excuse for being rude. Maybe we could...start over?"

He smiled back, but his smile was warm and genuine. And when he spoke there was no hint of sarcasm or anything but genuine sincerity.

"I'd like that, Colby."

"Me, too," she said. "Oh. I'm so sorry. Can I offer you something? Food? Coffee? Anything?"

"It's a little late for coffee, but maybe we could just sit and talk one of these days?" he suggested.

The suggestion completely surprised her, and before she could answer, Emma said, "Can we, Mom? Please?"

She looked at her daughter and saw her smiling again and gave in.

"That sounds nice," she told him, finally smiling a real smile again.

"Yeah, it kind of does, doesn't it?" Wade replied in the same tone as before, and this time, when he smiled at her, it caused her to feel something she hadn't expected to feel.

"Let me give my friend a call this evening, and we'll set something up to check out your house. Did you maybe want to wait until after the memorial service?"

"Oh, right. It's not critical, but I suppose that makes sense. And he probably has a full schedule so..."

Wade smiled again and said, "Not this time of year. Summer maybe, but he's gonna have plenty of time to inspect your house. How about this? I'll give him a heads up, and you text me with the date and time that works best and we'll make this happen? Will that work?"

"That...that sounds perfect, Wade. Thank you. Again."

"Let's exchange numbers then, and we'll be all set."

Colby grabbed her phone and tapped in the digits as he spoke them then gave him hers.

"Got it," he told her with another smile. "Okay, ladies. You have yourselves a wonderful evening."

He looked Colby then said quietly, "In our little podunk town."

He winked just as her mouth opened in disbelief.

"I'll walk you to the door, Mr. Funny Name!" Emma said as her mother stood there shaking her head.

But when she saw Emma take Wade's hand, as well as the way she looked up at him, she realized he really was a very nice man who clearly loved life, and as far as she could tell, other people. Nothing he'd said had been rude, and she realized Susan was right. It just took some time to get used to him.

Colby quickly walked toward them and caught up just as Wade was getting ready to walk out.

"Oh, hey there," he said when he noticed her.

"I...just wanted to tell you again how much I appreciate everything you've done for..."

She looked down at her daughter, put her arm around her shoulders then said, "Us."

"Anything I can do to lighten the load," Wade told her.

He smiled at Colby then winked at Emma and said, "Take care of your mom, okay?"

"I will!" Emma promised as he turned to leave. "Bye Mr. Funny Name!"

"Bye, Miss Emma! And Miss Colby."

He stopped and looked at her, smiled then asked, "Or...are you a 'Ms.'?"

"Hah-hah. Very funny!" she replied assuming he was being sarcastic again.

When she realized he wasn't she felt bad yet again and said, "Sorry. I thought you were referring to my 'big-city attitude'."

"I wasn't," Wade said quietly.

"Oh. Um, well, again...I apologize. I...I'd kind of like it if you'd just call me Colby," she said, smiling a bit herself.

"I will. Goodnight...Colby," he said just as politely before saying it to Emma who waved and called him 'Mr. Funny Name' again.

Colby hated the cold but was unaware of the temperature as they stood there with the door open watching Wade get in his work van and drive away. She had her arms around Emma who was standing in front of her mother and waving as the guy with the funny name drove off.

This time it was Colby who said, "He really is a nice man, huh?"

Emma looked up at her mom who was 'upside down' to her and smiled.

"See? I told you!"

"Yes. Yes, you did, didn't you?" her mom said before a shiver caused her to get back inside.

It was around 8pm when Colby's phone rang. The usual sense of disgust hit her when she saw who was calling.

"Hey, Mom," she said flatly after accepting the call.

"Don't worry. I'm staying with a friend," her mother said immediately. "Can you tell me when the service will be?"

"It's the day after tomorrow at 2pm at the church," she replied. Colby had called the funeral home minutes after getting in to set a time and date.

There was a pause before her mother said, "How's Emma?"

Normally, Colby would have felt her blood boil because her mother never called to ask about her granddaughter let alone make time to see her.

"She's fine, Mom," Colby said rather tersely.

"Are you doing okay?"

"Me? Yeah, just peachy."

"All right. Well, I guess I'll see you at the church then."

"I guess so," Colby replied before ending the call, and for some reason, feeling guilty.

Fifteen minutes later, she heard the buzz indicating a text and took a look. She wasn't even aware she smiled when she saw it, but she did.

"Hi, Colby. I called my friend and he said he can do this tomorrow. That's probably too soon, but he has the entire afternoon clear. Please let me know if that works, and if not, he can do it the day after the funeral."

It wasn't signed, but the text said his name so it wasn't necessary.

"Wade. Hi. I don't really have anything to do tomorrow. Believe it or not, my grandmother already picked out her own casket. She paid for it, and the funeral costs plus her burial plot ahead of time. I told her that was kind of creepy, and she said, 'One day you'll thank me.' I guess that day would be now. So, anyway, tomorrow would be wonderful."

She thought for a moment, then smiled again before adding something else.

"And truthfully? You've been pretty wonderful, too."

She thought some more then ended it with "Colby."

She got an immediate reply asking if 2pm was okay and letting her know it would take between 2-4 hours—depending.

The 'depending' scared her, but she texted back that was fine. Wade said he'd see her at two and signed off. Colby didn't bother asking if he'd actually be there. She assumed 'we' meant his friend as Wade had a full-time job and had already spent too much time helping her—for nothing.

As she lay in bed that night, the 'sounds of silence' didn't bother her. In fact, it was peaceful to the point of being...heavenly.

She hadn't prayed since she was Emma's age, but she silently thanked her grandmother for all the wonderful memories and let her know how sorry she was for not being there all those years.

"I know it's too late to change things, but I was young and in love. And, yes, I was pretty headstrong back then, too. Okay, I still I am sometimes, but I really am working on it."

She felt the warmth of tears as she said, "I'm sorry I wasn't here when you needed me, Grandma, but you know I loved you."

Not sure what else to say, Colby finished with, "And if it isn't too much to ask, can you watch over us while we're here? I don't know how much you can do, but anything would be appreciated. Well, goodnight, Grandma, and if Johnny's up there, please tell him I love him and I'm not angry anymore."

She thought for a few seconds and realized she wasn't done.

"Well, not with him. But I'm still so angry with Mom. If there's anything you can do about that, well, I'd be much obliged. Oh, and Emma could really use a friend, so while I'm piling on, that'd be nice, too. So...I guess that's it. Oh, um...amen."

Unable to sleep in, Colby was up early the next morning again and having a second cup of 'joe', her late grandmother's other favorite word for coffee, when Emma walked in.

"How'd you sleep, honey?"

"Really good," she said rather cheerfully before saying she was hungry.

Colby scrambled some eggs and made some toast for them, and then she asked Emma what she thought about the house and John Day.

"I LOVE this house! And things aren't crazy here like they are back home."

"Crazy?" her mom asked, pretty sure she knew what she meant.

"Uh-huh," Emma said as she finished chewing a bite of toast. "At home, nobody looks at you or ever talks. Ever. But here, everyone smiles and says 'hi' or 'hello'."

Her mom kind of smiled then said, "Yes they do, huh?"

"And my bed is soft and comfy. And I never hear sirens or people hollering or the neighbors fighting."

Emma was too young to fully compare city and country life. She was just telling her mother what her impressions were with no hint of anything deeper in her words.

After breakfast, Colby called the funeral home to see if there was anything she needed to do.

"No. Your grandmother bought our Neptune Deluxe package," the funeral director assured her again. "It covers absolutely everything, and if you're ever interested in our help we can..."

Colby cut him off before he could say anything more.

"No, thank you, and...thank you very much," she said before abruptly ending the call, a shiver running down her back.

Wade surprised her when he texted around 10am, and asked if he could possibly take her and Emma out for lunch.

"You know, so we could sit and talk."

Colby smiled again then wrote, "You know what? That sounds very nice, Wade. Where should we meet you?"

"Do you remember where the Squeeze-In is?"

She laughed at the name of the local restaurant and told him she did.

"How about there at noon?"

"Okay. We'll see you then," she replied before asking Emma to get ready to go out while she did the same.

She didn't own many nice things, and only brought two dresses with her, and one was black for her grandmother's funeral service. The other was pretty, but it was too cold to wear a dress, and this wasn't a date, so there was no reason to dress up. And yet Colby thought it about fairly seriously before deciding a pair of jeans was good enough.

She did, however, put on makeup, and after initially thinking some mascara was enough, she added a touch of blush and some eye shadow that went with the off-white cable sweater she wore. It was a scoop neck so to fill in all the bare space, she also wore a silver necklace and some matching earrings. But...this wasn't a date.

When she and Emma walked into the Squeeze-In, she saw Wade immediately. At 6'2", he was easy to spot, and when Colby saw him, the pretty, young hostess was standing next to him laughing and smiling.

Colby didn't want to admit that annoyed her, and as she walked up, she could hear the young girl clearly flirting with him.

"Oh, here she is now," Wade said, a smile on his face as he turned toward Colby. "And look. That pretty young girl is with her again. Huh. Talk about a coincidence."

Emma giggled yet again as he said 'hello' to her mom and told her she looked amazing.

The hostess stopped smiling, looked Colby up and down, then rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," Colby told him as the younger girl gave her a look then led them to a table.

The hostess never took her eyes off of Wade, and once they were seated told him, "Sarah will be with you shortly...Wade."

"Is it cold in here or is just me?" Colby asked once she was gone.

"Oh, Heather doesn't mean any harm," he said as though he was unaware this Heather pretended to be unaware Colby and her daughter were even there.

As she picked up a menu, a woman closer to her age came over and said "Hey, Wade. Haven't you see you here for lunch in a coon's age."

Colby blanched at her choice of words knowing that in LA, the use of that word would have drawn looks or even comments. Wade didn't even notice as he replied.

"Hey, Sarah. You're looking beautiful as ever today."

She wasn't unattractive, but Sarah was certainly not 'beautiful'. Colby couldn't help but notice the way he took the time to make her feel good, and she although she wouldn't admit it, she saw him a bit differently after that.

Sarah thanked him then asked, "And who are these two beautiful ladies?"

Wade waited for Colby to introduce herself, but she looked at Wade who did the honors.

"Oh. Okay. Your Ethyl's granddaughter," Sarah said. "What a dear, sweet woman, and I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you. She was all that and more," Colby said before Sarah took their orders.

Wade carefully asked about the service again to make sure there was nothing he could do, then the conversation soon turned to the house and getting it sold.

"Have you seen a lawyer yet?" he asked, causing Colby's eyes to open wide indicating she had no idea she even needed to.

"Um...well, yes. If your grandmother left the house to you, you still have to put it in your name in order to sell it. And that takes help from an attorney," he told her.

Colby realized that made sense, but hadn't given it any thought. She'd been happy to assume that 'leaving it to her' meant it was hers. As in right now...hers.

"There's no way I can afford a lawyer on top of everything else. My credit cards are maxed out, I don't have any savings, and I kind of thought I could just sell it and be done with it."

"No worries. I know an attorney in town, and he owes me a favor," Wade told her.

Colby was too upset to laugh, but she wanted to when he said he knew someone else in the little town of John Day who owed him a favor.

"You're starting to sound like a Mafia boss," she said, forcing herself to smile. "Does anyone else owe you a favor?"

It took her a second to realize who he was imitating, but she realized it was Marlon Brando from The Godfather when Wade said, "No, but if I need somethin', I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."

Momentarily, she forgot about her mounting woes and laughed.

"That was actually very good," she told him.

Wade thanked her then said, "I wanted to be an actor when I was Emma's age."

Colby's smile faded and Wade asked what was wrong.

It took her a moment to get started, but within seconds, her entire life history from growing up in John Day until her husband's passing (minus the gory details) came pouring out.

Wade told her again how sorry he was for her loss, then said, "You know, you're beautiful enough to be an actress."

Colby was flattered, but when she tried to reply, Emma beat her to it.

"You are, Mom! You're beautiful. You should be in a movie!"

She leaned her head down toward Emma, smiled, then said, "And that is why I love you so much."

Emma beamed as Wade said, "She's right, you know. You are beautiful."

Colby knew they were just making small talk, and yet the way he looked at her and the way he said it made her feel something she hadn't felt in...years.

"You two are very kind, but I don't think Hollywood's going to come calling anytime soon. Besides, I'm not exactly um...stacked up...to be an actress."

Wade wouldn't have followed her had she not looked down at her 'stack'. Her very...short-stack. When he did, he laughed, but then stopped and said, "Let me assure you, every single thing about you is beautiful, Colby."

She quickly looked down as though she needed to see the menu again when Wade said something else.

"An it'd be their loss," he told her just as Sarah came back with their food.

The conversation returned to the house, and Wade told Colby they needed to make a plan.

"Okay. What kind of plan?" she asked before taking a bite of her club sandwich.

"Well, let's see. We need to address the legal side and then once we have the inspection report, the practical side. And we're gonna need money so..."

"You don't know a banker who owes you a favor, do you?" Colby asked, now feeling a sense of despair setting in as everything revolved around the one thing she didn't have—money.

"No, but I do know the bank manager, and I bet we can work something out with him," he told her, that smile of his causing that feeling to return.

"You're definitely in the wrong line of work, Wade," Colby told him, forcing another smile she didn't feel like showing. "You could make a ton of money as a consultant."

"Oh, I'm pretty happy with my life," he told her. "I'll never be rich, but the store does well enough, and I love what I do. Especially when it comes to being able to help other people."

He smiled right at her, and when he did, Colby had to look away again.

"You're the nicest person ever!" Emma told him. "Well, except for my mom. And my grandma. And my daddy."

Wade managed not to laugh and thanked her for saying something so nice.

"And you are the nicest young lady I know," Wade told her.

"My mom is really nice, too," Emma informed him.

"Yes, but I'm not young, sweetie," her mother chimed in.

"I don't know your age, but I do know you're a nice person, Colby. And besides, I don't really care. What matters to me is that you're a kind, caring person. Okay, being beautiful too, doesn't hurt," Wade told her with stone-cold seriousness.

She was just recovering from the smile when this complement threw her for a loop.

She reached for her water glass and took a sip then looked at her daughter and asked her how her food was.