Beth came out of the bedroom wearing a baggy sweatshirt and jeans. “I should take a shower and wash my hair, but we need to get you to your house for dry clothes.”
We, Theo thought. She’s thinking of us as a couple. He touched her cheek affectionately.
Beth pushed him away lightly. “Dry clothes.”
“Yeah,” Theo said. “That would feel good.” He glanced at Beth. “It won’t take long. Will you come with me?”
Beth reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Of course I’ll come with you.”
Her touch, that gentle touch, broke something open inside him. He drove to his house very carefully, swallowing his emotions, working to keep his breathing light, but something mixed with fear and hope kept punching his heart.
He parked on the street so his mother could have the driveway. He left the engine running. He turned to Beth.
“Did you mean it when you said you love me?” he asked. Doing this took more courage than riding the fiercest wave.
“Of course I meant it. Don’t you know? Haven’t you always known?” Beth’s eyes shone like jewels as she spoke. “I loved you in high school, but I was afraid of upsetting Atticus, and you were dating so many awesome girls.”
Theo shook his head impatiently. “But now. Not love in a high-school-crush way, but in a grown-up way? Because, Beth, I love you. In a very grown-up way.”
“I love you like that, too, Theo.” Leaning forward, she kissed his lips solemnly.
Then she pulled away. “You know, you are still wet and you smell a bit from the water.” Seeing his expression, she smiled. “But if you want to make out right now in the car, I don’t mind getting damp.”
“No,” Theo said, “I’ve got to shower and change, but I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want not to be with you every second.”
Beth touched his cheek. “Tell you what. I’ll stand right outside your shower door.”
Theo thought of his bedroom, which was, as usual, a chaotic mess. His dirty laundry was flung in one corner of the room, his work pants tossed over a chair. “Maybe just wait in the living room?”
“Fine.”
No one else was in the house when they entered.
“I’ll make coffee,” Beth said as Theo went up the stairs.
Theo quickly washed his hair, showered, and dressed, not in work clothes but in khakis and an old button-down blue cotton shirt.
He found Beth sitting at the kitchen table. She handed him a mug that was wonderfully warm on his hands, and the hot liquid slid down his throat, smoothly reviving him.
“I used your landline to reach Juliet and your mother,” Beth told him. “They’re safe. They were piling sandbags at the Island Home.”
“Look, Beth,” Theo said in a rush, “I’m glad they’re safe, and I’m sure your father is, too, but can we not talk about anyone else right now? Because I have something to say and if I don’t say it now, I might lose my nerve.”
“Okay, Theo.” Beth folded her hands in her lap and looked at him questioningly.
“Beth.” Theo started to sit down, but stood up again. He was too nervous to sit. “I was thinking in the storm…I’ve been in love with you for years. And you have been in love with me, too, right? So, the thing is, I want to be with you.” Pacing around the table, because his nerves wouldn’t let him stand still, he said, “I want to be with you every day. I lost you when you went with Atticus, and I almost lost you again in the harbor, and I want to be with you all the time, and I don’t want you living in another man’s apartment, and I promise I’m capable of settling down—you should ask your dad! He’ll tell you I’m a reliable worker.”
“He already has told me that,” Beth said softly. “He’s said—I think these are his exact words—that you’re a good, strong, congenial employee.”
“He said that? Man, that’s brilliant. You know, Beth, your father is the best. He’s patient, and he’s got a sense of humor, and he doesn’t mind showing me what to do, and—”
Beth cocked her head. “I thought we were talking about you and me.”
Theo stopped pacing. “We were. Well, I was. I wasn’t very smooth about it, and I’m not really sure what I mean.” He stopped talking fast and took a deep breath, gathering himself. “I love you. I’ve loved you for years. I want to live my life with you. I want you to be the last thing I see every night and the first thing I see every morning. I want to take care of you when you’re sick. I want to stay in bed with you on Sunday afternoons in the winter and, well, you could read and I could watch football. What I mean is, could we…move in together? And maybe someday, if you don’t think I’m a total slob, we could get married?”
Beth rose and faced Theo. “Wow. This is a lot. Living together…” Beth paused and studied Theo with an appraising look. “Theo, I like the thought of living with you. I can imagine coming home at the end of the day and telling you about the highs and lows, and hearing about your day, too. And sleeping with you all night would be heaven. But I don’t want to get into the whole making a nest thing. I don’t want to choose a china pattern and decide on the color of our sheets. I’ve worked hard getting my master’s degree, and I want to start a career, accomplish something, do work I love—like working on Ocean Matters. Getting married, keeping a house, all of that homemaker stuff isn’t what I’m interested in now.”
“I totally get that, Beth. I’ve got to concentrate on work, too. Your dad knows so much I want to learn—”
Beth interrupted. “And living together is full of practical stuff, like buying toilet paper and taking out the trash.”
“I can do that,” Theo said.
“Can you cook? Can you agree to make dinner half the time?”
Theo frowned. “I’ve pretty much microwaved over the past few years.” Seeing Beth’s face, he added, “But I can learn. I will learn. And you know what? I’ll do half the cooking, and I’ll make you such fine dinners you’ll be glad to live with me.” His eyes lit up. “I made an amazing meatloaf for my mom the other day. Just ask her.”
Beth laughed. “I have a feeling it’s going to be an adventure, living with you.”
“So you want to do it? Move in together?”
Beth smiled. “Of course I do.”
Theo swept Beth up in his arms and swung her around in a circle. Beth folded her arms around his neck, leaned back her head, and laughed. Their eyes met, and they kissed for a very long time, then pulled apart, expecting the door to open any moment.