Page 51 of That One Summer
"Yeah."
"Did you not look in it?"
"Well,no."
"Why not?" EJ touched the side of her arm and pulled them out of the way. They took a step to the side so some parents could go along the edge of the pool. "Did you not think to look inside?" he asked.
"Of course not. It's a secret."
He smiled. His hand was still on her arm. Touching her felt like home. Her skin was so soft.
"Savanna, the top-secret thing was a joke. It was set up to be over the top so you would see it and find it and look at it. There was no whistle."
"There was no whistle? I mean, I know there was no whistle, but that was on purpose? No wonder Becca looked at me like I was crazy."
"That's hilarious that you didn't open the folder. The whole thing was set up as a surprise."
"It looked so professional that I just trusted it was a secret. It was, like, leather-bound. I would never have thought that was fake. I thought you were part of the CIA or something."
He laughed. "The folder being so over the top was supposed to be funny. The name plate at the bottom had our names engraved… the Real Australians."
"No, it did not!" she said.
"Yes. Did you not see that? Our real names are on it, too. Along with a bunch of funny stuff. I can't believe you didn't open it." He laughed and shook his head. "Becca was probably freaked out when you showed up with a whistle."
"Shewas. She said 'thanks' like it was a question. And she already had a whistle on. I thought it just took me too long. That folder looked so official. I saw that it was top-secret, and I tried to turn my eyes away. What was in it? Should I go back?"
"Yes, but you don't have to right now. It's the blueprints of our house."
"It's the what?"
"There are house plans inside. There are plans for a salon, too—a separate structure. We have to talk about where we want to put everything, as far as land goes—whether or not you want them connected. I was thinking maybe we could build the salon over here by the gym and the house somewhere else. We'll have to talk about it. I have some property saved for you to look at, but we'll talk about it once this is all said and done."
He could see her start to take him seriously. He saw her gorgeous sparkling eyes get glassy as tears filled them. Then he spoke to her in a quick tone because he knew he had to give his attention to the action around him. He leaned in and spoke near her ear.
"I want you here with me, Savannah. I couldn't get the plans done fast enough. I want you here faster than I can build the house. If you like the plans, I'll show you some property and start building the house right away. I would also like to go ahead and get you an apartment or something in themeantime, because building it will take about a year. I can't believe you didn't look at it. There were clues on that folder telling you to look inside. That's hilarious."
"I averted my gaze while I was searching all around for that whistle." She shook her head. "Probably better this way because I'm already holding back bawling as it is."
"Probably shouldn't tell you it's your dream house, then."
They had talked about things she liked and dreams she had, and so many of them were in the plans for that house. EJ could not help but smile. It was hilarious that Savannah hadn't even looked at the plans, and yet she still came up to him smiling from ear to ear after delivering the whistle.
They would look at the house plans together later, after the events of the day had finished. For now, the gym needed him.
"Thank you, EJ," she said.
He grinned at her.
His shoulder was being actively tapped from the other side. He smelled the chlorine and heard the chaos, and there she was, outshining all of it. EJ squeezed her hand. He knew she'd be there until the race was finished. Then he'd take her into his office and show her the plans. He considered her reaction, and it made him think maybe they needed to talk to a Justice of the Peace at their earliest convenience.
The End
