Invest In Me

“We arrived?” Bella asked bewildered.

“It seems like it.” Thomas moved from next to her his hair disheveled and his face sweaty.

As quickly as the wind, they put on some casual clothes from the suitcases and sat firmly back on the couch. The fear nestled in Bella again and she hid under Thomas’ armpits like a small child waiting for the storm to pass. Luckily, the helicopter landed fast and she felt solid ground beneath her feet.

The first second, she left the helicopter, she knew that they were in the south. The air was simply different, filled with the smell of wheat and farms. Also the weather was way hotter making Thomas throw his coat away.

“I never knew that it’s so hot here.” He wiped his forehead coming to stand next to her. The pilot said his good-byes and retreated somewhere in the hangars where they kept the helicopter.

“Now you’re in my area,” she joked taking his hand.

“Lead the way, Mrs. Graves. I’ll follow you!” He saluted jokingly as they walked toward the taxi lane.

They took the first cab they saw. After placing the suitcases in the trunk, they sat in the backseat and the car started down the street and out of the airport area. Green and yellow fields changed on the windows and Bella seemed to not be able to get enough of them. Her nose was like glued to the glass while her eyes went left and right to catch as much of them as possible.

“I’m home!” she at once said, turning to Thomas. Her eyes were teary.

“You are, my dear Bella. And you’ll never leave again if you don’t like,” Thomas said as the cab finally entered a neighborhood that was oh so familiar to her. The place where she grew up. The streets she played in the whole day.

“I can’t thank you enough. I love you so, so much,” she told him.

“You’re my wife. Our lives are forever intertwined now. If you’re happy, I’m even happier. And this place… It’s like what I’ve dreamed of. I always imagined living in a place like this and have a small family here. I’m so glad I can do that with you now. You’re my gift from destiny, Bella. I love you so much, too.” He leaned closer to kiss her, when the cabbie hit the brake and they nearly hit their heads together.

They laughed sincerely as Thomas tipped the driver and they went out of the car. Standing on the sidewalk with nothing but their three suitcases and each other, Bella once again wondered how life could be so unpredictable. In one moment you were the wife of a billionaire fake smiling at everyone and in the other the wife of an ordinary man who loved her unconditionally.

“This is my house!” she squealed at the sight of her little castle as she liked to call it when she was small. The one-story house she spent her whole life in. The house where her mother sacrificed everything to bring her up in the person she was today. “I mean, technically it’s still your corporation’s, but…”

“No. Technically it’s yours. But if you let me, I’d like it to be mine from now on as well.” Thomas smiled, handing her an envelope with her name on it.

“What’s this? Thomas?” Her heart began pounding with all its strength. She thought that it will go out of her chest.

“The documents. The proof that you own this property and it will remain yours forever,” Thomas stated the obvious as she pulled out a few sheets of paper from inside. They all had her name on them and Thomas’ signature at the bottom right corner.

“Tom? TOM!” she yelled so that everyone in the neighborhood could hear her. “I love you! I…”

He lifted her in his arms and spun her around laughing. His eyes were glassy too, and she let a few tears fall down her face, while her lips were stretched from ear-to-ear. Finally, she got her house and fields back. Finally, her life came in order. If only her mother could see her now.

Once they calmed down a little and their feet were on the ground again, Bella spoke. “I can’t believe this is happening.” They walked toward the porch together.

“Me neither. I didn’t know I had the courage to do something like this, but as it turns out you came and changed my life. Thank you, Bella. And I don’t mean only this. I mean thank you for investing in the company in the hardest times. I… I’d like to meet your mother and tell her this, but…”

“She knows, Tom. She looks at us surely and smiles to herself. After all, if it hadn’t been for her investment we might have not even met.” She fondled his hand.

“You’re right. Now… I’d like to officially ask you for a permission to live with you here until we build the biggest house in the whole south,” Thomas said and Bella chuckled.

“Sure, Mr. Graves. My house is yours, too. Everything I have is yours. Including my heart.” She kissed him passionately on the lips.

A loud intentional cough interrupted them and Bella chuckled at the sight of her best friend Amy. She was wearing the flower dress she liked most and that brought Bella to the days of her early youth when the both of them went out in the center of town to chase the boys.

“So you come here without telling me, huh? I’m mad at you, too, brother-in-law!” she teased them running into Bella’s hug.

“It all happened abruptly I promise. Otherwise, we’d have told you!” Thomas justified himself. He looked so cute like that.

“Let’s go inside. I can’t wait to see my rooms!” Bella lifted the rug before the door and took the key. They always hid it there and she was glad that no one touched it. Turning it in the lock three times, she revealed the cozy hall. The smell of her house hit her and she hurried inside. From behind, she heard Amy and Thomas following her as she entered the living room.

She didn’t know why, but it somehow seemed smaller to her. Like someone had passed through it and shrunk it with a magic wand. Maybe it was because she lived in Thomas’ huge mansion and attended all those fancy events in massive halls. However, the cinnamon scent spreading from the kitchen proved that nothing had changed. In fact everything had changed, starting from the loss of her mother to Bella herself and her marriage.

“It’s so beautiful!” She heard Thomas’ voice approaching.

“I know, right? We always joked that it looks like one of those doll houses,” Amy added and they smiled. Bella joined them in the living room.

“Honey, sit down a little. We flew over three hours, let’s take a break for a while.” Thomas crashed down on the sofa with a deep sigh. He invitingly waved to Bella and she sat next to him.

“I’ll make us a coffee,” Amy offered going into the kitchen. If Bella hadn’t been so tired, she would have helped her, but as it was, she was unable to move a muscle more.

“I’m really in love with this house,” Thomas admitted, making Bella smile.