The Height Of Happiness

“Someone to go home to?”

“Yes!” He smiled, reaching for her hand across the table. “You deserve someone wonderful in your life. I don’t for sure that this Eddie boy fits the bill, but he sure seems as close to perfect for you as heaven could make.”

“You think so, Grandpa?”

“I’ve known you your whole wonderful life. I have watched you love and lose a few boys when you were in school, but I could always tell they wouldn’t last. This Summerfields boy is different. He respects you, Serena. He sees you for what you are: a gift from heaven.”

Serena looked away, feeling suddenly bashful. It seemed too grand of a statement to be meant for her. More importantly, to think of Teddy as revering her seemed almost embarrassing. She’d only entertained the thought of a certain four-letter word, but as her grandfather said it Serena’s heart beat out the letters: L-O-V-E.

Serena was in love. This pain finally made sense to her. Fireworks went off in her head and the dawn broke in her mind as the internal declaration sang out again and again. For so long, she’d been seeing him in terms of foolish wanting and desperate desires to find someone, anyone to be hers. Serena had never considered that this love was a two-way street. It was not just casual for him. Serena was not a fling for Edward to write off in a few months’ time.

He had to love her too. She was sure of it. All his words and those moment between them, Serena only had to read between the lines. She thought back to that moment in the valley. He’d almost had said those three words back then, but stopped himself short. There was no more time to wonder and speculate why he hadn’t just said them. Serena needed to act.

Serena stood abruptly, knowing that she needed to find Edward.

“Grandpa, can you manage things if I leave?”

He nodded, “Oh honey, I know how things go.”

She smiled, and coming around she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, Grandpa.”

Grabbing the cooled cocoa, Serena made a plan of action for herself as she swallowed the sweet drink quickly. Running upstairs, she threw several outfits in a bag. Not good at unpacking, most of her extra toiletries and beauty supplies were still in travel cases. The difficult part was figuring out where her Teddy was without actually calling him. After much deliberation, she finally dialed up Patrick Thompson. He’d given her his number at one of those dinners in San Francisco on a whim. At the time, she had assumed that she would never need it, but tonight she did. It was the only number she had that could possibly work.

“Hello?” Serena recognized Patrick on the opposite end.

Not knowing just how to begin, she finally said, “Hi Patrick, this is Serena Beauchene. Is this a bad time?”

“Oh, no,” she heard from the other end of the telephone line. His voice was jovial and warm as he spoke. “I’m just getting back from a workout. What’s up?”

“I wanted to know where Edward was.”

“France.”

“Do you know where in France?”

“Um, yeah, he’s on a business trip to see a vineyard in Champagne.”

“If I wanted to go to him there now, do you have any idea what would be the best course of action?”

There was a long pause from Patrick’s end before he finally replied, “Do you want to use the Summerfields plane? I can have it at your airport by the morning.”

“You have that power?” Serena asked with surprise.

“I’m the Chief Financial Officer of the company, and he’s my best friend. I think I can work something out for you,” Patrick explained as he ruffled papers and began to move around wherever he was.

Confused, she asked, “I thought you were a VP?”

Patrick laughed, “I’m giving myself a promotion after this amazing gesture.”

Packing and driving in the early hours of the morning, Serena met the pilot she had seen through tears only a few weeks before. Almost a month, it seemed like so much longer as she waded through her emotional doldrums. Setting her bag in the front of the plane, Serena went to relax on the sofa in the back. They took off as the sun broke over the North Carolina hills, and Serena relaxed into her seat. Her eyes closing, she drifted off to dreamland again.

She imagined the landscape of France. It looked something like a Claude Monet painting that Serena had once seen in a public museum. The colors of the wildflowers made everything prismatic, and people were all around her dressed in crisp white linen. She herself wore an ivory dress, and it flowed out in waterfalls of ruffles cascading down to her bare feet. Her hair was loose and wild, and she felt free.

Serena looked for Edward, but instead she found another face among the blankets. Her curls, much like Serena’s, were loose. Their silvery finish to the white of her hair matched the fabric of her dress. She sat by herself on a wide floral blanket, and Serena sat down to meet the eyes she had missed for so long.

“My lovely baby girl,” Clarabelle said with a beaming smile across her face.

“Grandma,” Serena said in disbelief. “You’re dead.”

“No, I am not!” The woman laughed. “I am right here!”

“Okay, Grandma.”

“There’s been a fog in your life,” she told Serena. “But you are here now.”

“Where is here?”

Her grandmother smiled, “I’m not sure! I’ll tell you when I find out.”

The woman kissed her face, but Serena couldn’t feel the touch. She only knew it was there. The woman walked down the hillside and said hello to the one Serena had been searching for.

“Someone said that you were looking for me,” Teddy said grinning.

“Am I too late?” she asked him, reaching out.

He came closer, pulling her up from her seated position on the blanket before finally answering her.

“It’s always been you, Serena. It was only ever you.”

Her eyes shot open, but Serena felt good. The dream had relaxed her in a strange way. A piece of her soul felt healed as she rubbed her eyes and adjusted her bunched up dress. She looked around, slowly remembering where she was and where exactly she was going. It caused Serena to let a small smile grow across her face.

Looking to the table beside her, Serena noticed that the attendant had left her a cookie and water. Serena ate it as the seat belt light came on above her. With the sound of the chime, she slowly sat upright and descended into what looked no different than the South. It was green and had rolling hills, but her heart knew that she was in France.

Now, she just had to find Edward Summerfields in this strange new place. Swallowing her last drink of water, Serena faced the day.