This Was Meant To Be

Harrison nodded, and knew that he did have to go home. He couldn’t let this go on without resolving issues with Samuel.

Harrison turned up two days later with a bottle of Samuel’s favorite single malt.

“Think you can bribe me with that?” asked Samuel when they were both seated.

Martha had decided that she needed to run out for something. She probably wanted to leave them to punch it out without worrying, thought Harrison, amused.

“Call it a peace offering. I know you’re angry. I’ll take it on the chin.”

Samuel considered it for a while.

“You’re happy. I thought I’d never see you happy again. You did well enough, and you’ve been comfortable enough. But I thought I’d never see that joy in you again. I hadn’t seen that joy in Leigh for a long time, too.”

Harrison waited, wondering if he was going to get out of this without a black eye after all.

“I never liked that Carl. He took her for granted. Be sure you never take her for granted.”

That, Harrison knew, was as close to approval as anybody could hope to get.

“Do you think I will?” he asked, keeping his eyes on Samuel’s steadily.

Finally, Samuel poured them each a drink and raised the glass.

“No. Take care of each other. Tell Leigh I said so.”

Harrison nodded.

“We’ll be here next Sunday for dinner. You can tell her yourself,” he told Samuel, and they drank.

*****

“You really think this isn’t too soon?” asked Leigh as they drove home for Sunday dinner.

Though really, now it felt like she might have too many homes. Maybe she should considering subletting her old apartment.

“It isn’t, Leigh. Besides, I have Emily on my side.”

Leigh grinned. Emily’s reaction had been pretty expected – ‘Finally!’ she had said, declaring that it was well past time it happened.

“Emily always goes through things logically. She doesn’t really think of emotions like we do.”

Harrison shrugged.

“Too late now. Martha has already cooked.”

True, she had.

“Leigh, don’t you trust me?”

Leigh smiled when he asked that.

She didn’t need to think twice about that. She did – she trusted him with everything she was, and it was a miracle to know that he deserved that trust.

She looked at him and wondered at how much she loved him.

“I do.”

“Then trust me. It will be fine.”

And miraculously, thought Leigh a few hours later, it was fine.

It was better than fine.

It was perfect.

The End.