Late Fall by Noelle Adams

Author:Noelle Adams [Adams, Noelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC044000, FICTION / Contemporary Women, FIC027020, FICTION / Romance / Contemporary, FIC000000, FICTION / General, FRD, Adult and Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 978-1-942083-27-6
Publisher: Brain Mill Press LLC
Published: 2016-02-23T16:00:00+00:00

The next morning, I wake up almost an hour early, thinking about Dave.

Yesterday was lovely. We listened to a very interesting talk about folklore in the region. Then Dave, Marjorie, and I went to have tea out on the veranda. At dinner, Dave even came over to sit with Gordon and me instead of heading to one of his normal tables with Gladys or Kathy.

I actually feel a little sorry for those two ladies. They both had such high hopes, and they both worked so hard to snare the man they wanted. It must sting like fire for someone else to come in out of nowhere and swoop him up, right out of their clasp.

Not that I’ve swooped Dave anywhere. I’m not silly enough to assume that one day means anything. But I’m more excited than I was the day before yesterday—there’s potential I didn’t believe was possible on Friday—so my mind is whirling with it on Sunday morning, as I look out at the dark gardens and drink my tea.

The sun is rising a little later now than it did when I first arrived. It’s already the second half of September. Some of the leaves on the trees in the woods are starting to turn brown.

A few are even falling off the branches.

When it’s finally time to dress and leave for the walk, I put on a pair of pants, since it’s feeling rather chilly outside, and I take my cane instead of my walker.

I did just fine yesterday. I think I’m finally rid of the walker.

I’m a few minutes too early, and Dave isn’t waiting when I go outside. I feel a sharp drop in my chest—an old, familiar knell of Appalachian gloom, reminding me that bad things happen whenever you get too happy.

Maybe Dave won’t come out for the walk this morning. Maybe he’s already gotten tired of me.

I tell myself not to be stupid, and I wait two minutes until Dave appears at the back door of the building.

He looks surprised when he sees me waiting. “You’re early.”

“I know,” I say. “I woke up early and got bored of sitting around.”

This is mostly true, and it’s all the truth he needs to know about my state of mind.

“It’s a little nippy this morning,” he says. He’s wearing a light jacket, and he adjusts it so it’s falling smoothly around his hips. “Are you going to be warm enough?”

“Of course. This is a warm sweater.”

Frowning, he reaches out to feel my sweater between his fingers and thumb. “I guess it will be okay.”

I give him a narrow-eyed look. “I told you it was fine.”

“Well, I don’t want you to be cold.”

I can’t help but laugh softly, fondly. “I won’t be cold. This is my favorite time of the year. There’s nothing like autumn.”

“Yeah. Nothing like it. The time when everything dies.” His voice is dry, but he’s smiling as he begins to walk.

“But it dies in such splendor. Even the air feels fresher somehow, like it’s putting on its best clothes for the fall of the leaves.

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