Two months after Josh moved the last box into the farmhouse, he began shoveling the path to his jeep. An unusual amount of snow had come down during the night. He looked up to see his brother's truck pulling into the drive. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he leaned on the shovel and waited.
“Good grief old man, no need to shovel this away. It'll melt by tonight.” Ben told him, a huge grin on his face.
“Didn't expect to see you today.”
Ben tromped through the snow and shook Josh's hand. “Well, got a little news to share with you, Bro.”
Josh raised his eyebrows and waited. Ben was almost red in the face and about to burst with his news.
“Jody's pregnant! It's a boy.”
A smile spread across Josh's face. They had waited a long time for this happen. “Happy for you man. Really.” He reached over and hugged his brother, a man hug, arms across the shoulders but no body touching.
“You've been working hard, the place looks great. I would have never thought to change the paint color. How'd you come up with this...tan color?” Ben leaned back and looked up at the house. “Is that a new chimney?”
Josh smiled. “Yeah, I replaced the old wood stove with a gas fireplace. I don't think Gran would mind. She always fussed about the mess the wood made. Plus, my allergies didn't get along with it to well. Come on in, I'll show you.”
He'd managed to side-step Ben's question about the paint color for the moment. He'd let him take in the whole house before he let the cat out of the bag.
They went into the house, after taking their shoes off on the porch. Ben noticed the old glider had new covers on the cushions and a paint job too. He reached over and gave it a shove. Not a squeak, it went back and fourth without any noise. When the door to the kitchen opened, a dark wood floor greeted him.
He turned to Josh, “Wow...this is something. New cabinets and sink too I see.”
“It's the old sink, I had it refaced. I installed Gran's hutch over there by the table. Sort of keeps it the same, yet brings it into this century too. The island suits today's cooking better than the table. But look, old Mr. Combs refinished it. It's the same table.” He lovingly ran his hand across the glistening wood, proud of the work he'd had done on it.
Ben laid his hand beside his brothers. The wood was smooth and stained to match the new cabinets. “It's beautiful, Bro. You've done a great job with this place.” He watched his brother's eyes light up. They held a light he hadn't seen in a long time. “It even seems bigger...” He looked around the newly constructed room and realized Josh had enlarged it by adding on an addition.
“Coffee?”
“Sure. Snow on the ground calls for it all day long in my book.” Ben told him. He noticed the doorway to the living room was now an archway. He walked through it, an amazing sight greeted him. “Oh my gosh! You took out the wall.” He stared at Josh. “I thought I would find you wearing one of Gramps old sweaters, cuddled up to the wood stove. This is...unbelievable.”
Josh leaned his head back and laughed. “So, I've finally impressed my little brother.”
“Impressed? Yes. I'm in shock.”
“The rooms were so small, I decided to move the bedroom upstairs and open this up. I needed space to set up my office, but I couldn't stand being in that little room with only one window. So, no walls and new windows. Actually, I gutted the whole thing and insulated it all when the addition was put on.” Josh stopped, almost out of breath. “Sorry, didn't mean to brag.”
Before Ben could open his mouth to reply, the back door opened and Mel walked in. “Hi Ben, I wondered whose truck that was.”
A red scarf around her neck emphasized her blond hair and rosy cheeks. Her welcoming smile took him by surprise. “Hi Mel.”
She and Josh exchanged conspiratorial looks. Hanging her coat on the hook by the door first, she walked to Josh and kissed him.
Ben clapped his hands together. “Man, you're just full of surprises. And I thought I had the good news.” He stepped to his brother and laid his hand on his back. “Ya could'a told somebody you know.”
Josh tucked his head down, wrapping an arm around Mel. “You didn't really think I had the creative juice to think all this up, did you?”
Her hand laid on his arm lovingly. “We were talking this morning about calling you to come up...so we could tell you about things.”
I know I've been out of touch for awhile. I did call though.” He looked at Josh, the lines around his eyes and mouth had disappeared. He looked like a new person. “How...when did all this happen?”
“I'll get the coffee, you guys sit.” Mel told them. “I brought a pie home, anybody want to try a slice?”
In unison, both brothers said they did.
Mel brought the coffee and pie in on a tray. Once they were settled with their plates and cups on the huge trunk used for a coffee table, Ben said, “Okay, spill it.”
Mel smiled. “Well, I guess it started with my curiosity. After seeing you two at the diner, I hesitated coming over to check on things. But I just couldn't keep away, hoping he would be here. I found Josh sitting in the boat, staring out over the river, lost in thought. He didn't even hear me come up.”
Josh smiled and rubbed his mouth. “She scared me to death. I was so embarrassed I couldn't talk.”
Mel continued. “Well, I decided right then and there that this was the man I would marry. Actually, I'd been waiting all those years for him.”
Ben settled back on the sofa to listen to the story, his arms stretching across the back of it, a look of disbelief on his face.
Mel began the story.
##
“Hello.”
Josh was so startled he knocked his shin against the metal seat in from of him. He was sitting in the bass boat, watching the waves lap onto shore, his elbows leaning on his knees. He'd thought about taking the boat out, but couldn't find the energy. So he sat there lost in absent thought.
When he got his balance back he looked up into Mel's smiling face. She was trying to stifle a giggle, but it found it's way out anyway.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snuck up on you. Are you okay?” She glanced down at the shin he was rubbing.
Josh turned red and replied, “Yeah, it only hurts...a lot!” He smiled at her. “It'll be okay in a minute. Guess I was daydreaming.” He took note that she was dressed in shorts and a top that tied around her bare midriff, yellow with polka dots and almost as bright as her smile.
“Hey, want to go fishing? I know where we can dig some good worms,” she asked. She didn't wait for his answer. Running over to a tree where a shovel leaned, she grabbed it and dug up a shovel full of dirt. “Bring me the can, it's under the seat.”
Josh was still sitting in the boat, trying to come up with a good excuse to not go fishing. The last time he'd gone, he went flying overboard-- to his brother's delight. “Ah...okay.” He found himself taking the can to her, then helping to shove the boat down the path into the water. Reaching around to his back pocket, he was glad his wallet was safely back at the house with his cell phone.
The splashing of the ores in the water was the only sound between them. They sat on the same seat, each with an oar moving in and out of the water in rhythm. Josh was impressed by Mel's strength. She rowed right with him, the muscles in her arms rippled with each thrust. A small shadowy cove beckoned, so they maneuvered the boat close to shore.
Mel quickly began to load her hook with bait, her mouth tightly shut and eyes narrowed.
She seemed to Josh to be serious about this fishing business. He watched her toss her line in, the ripples in the water encapsulating the area where they moored, by a small anchor hooked on the bottom. Josh began to run his fingers along his line, supposedly getting it untangled. His dislike of touching the worms prevented him from baiting his hook in any kind of hurry.
“What are you waiting for?”
Knowing he couldn't put it off any longer, he couldn't let a girl bait his hook, his fingers dug through the dirt in the can for a worm. His hook baited and his line in, he washed his hands in the water. The sound of Mel's low giggle made him smile at himself. “Okay, I don't like baiting hooks. Ben always did it for me as kids. I'd rather scramble egg yolks with my fingers, than touch a worm.”
A picture of him doing that entered Mel's head. “Now that I'd like to watch. How about showing me sometime?” She heard the words coming out of her mouth, inviting herself to a meal with him. Her cheeks glowed red and she glanced down at her line in search of something to focus on. A fish was tugging on it. Grabbing the pole she jerked it up with more force than she'd intended. A fine catfish came flying up out of the water-- landing right in the middle of Josh's lap.
Mel's hand flew to her mouth to cover her gasp. She stood up and reached for the fish, tripping over the worm can. When she made contact with Josh, it was with the full force of her body. Her hands reached out for his shoulders and they both fell over the side of the boat into the drink.
The water was so shallow they both stood up quickly. Mel took one look at Josh and fell into peals of laughter. He looked like a drowned rat, his hair flattened against his scalp and his mouth drooling with river water and spit.
He looked over at her, shirt undone from it's tie, clinging to her middle, one pig-tail still in tact and the other one undone. Her hair dripping over her shoulder. Her laughter caught him off guard, slowly he started to smile. Then completely out of character for him, he dunked her back under. Pulling her up out of the water, she clung to him with one hand, wiping water from her eyes with the other.
They both began to splash and throw water on each other. Josh didn't want this moment to end and had no idea why. He felt free to have fun with this amazing creature in his arms. She managed somehow to transfer the laughter from her to him. He could feel it emerging throughout him, and liked the sensation.
Back in the boat, rowing home, he glanced over at her. She tucked her head down and smiled back at him. Mel wasn't mad or the least upset about her clothes and hair getting messed up at all. Shaking her hair and running fingers through it to dry it, she looked beautiful. Her confidence amazed and confused him, yet empowered him at the same time.
“I'm starving. How 'bout I scramble up those eggs for lunch?” Josh asked, a bit timidly.
“Sounds good to me. Fingers or whisk?”
Grinning back at her he said, “Whisk.”
Mel laughed and slapped her jean shorts. Water flew out from them in a spray.
After a lunch of eggs, toast and sliced tomatoes, Mel got up to leave. “You know Josh, I'd be glad to help you move in here if you like. I mean, all this stuff is yours isn't it?” She tapped a box that sat near the door. “Are you deciding whether you want to stay before you unpack?”
Without hesitation he replied, “Oh... I'm staying.” His thoughts while sitting in the boat earlier had been about whether to stay or go back to his old house. He hadn't even unpacked most of his clothes, feeling more alone than ever.
Mel came everyday after work and helped him unpack. Cooking together in the old-fashioned kitchen was fun, but a challenge as well. The electrical didn't suffice for all the gadgets they were accustomed to using. Josh was afraid they would start a fire.
One day when Mel arrived with supper in hand from the diner, she found Josh in the kitchen, or what was left of it. All the cabinets, even the floor had disappeared out to the yard. She stood for a minute and stared at the debris on the floor, before she burst into laughter.
“Hi Mel, what do you think?”
“Think I need a broom.”
Josh went to her and took her in his arms. “I figured we needed some improvements to this old kitchen.”
“We?”
He pulled her close. “Yeah we. If you'll marry me, that is.”
##
“So Ben, that's how we got engaged. In a kitchen full of dust and debris,” Josh said. “After she said yes, Mel really got into the decorating and designing...and this is what we got.”
Ben had listened to the story in amazement. “So whens the wedding?”
Josh and Mel looked at each other, then turned to Ben. In unison they said, “Last month.”
Ben's shock wore off after a few seconds. He jumped up and went to them. “Happy for you, Bro. For both of you.” Regaining his composure, he asked, “Why didn't you guys tell somebody? I thought you were up here all alone, depressed and turning into an old man.”
Mel smiled. “We had so much to do with the house, we didn't want a big wedding, so we went to the preachers house on a Friday night. It was lovely, just Pastor Knight, his wife and us. We'll have a party soon, in the spring maybe.”
Josh laid his arm around his brother's shoulders. “By then we can have a double celebration, your son will be here.”
