Love Starts with Elle(12)
Elle tucked her phone into her bag as she strode down the Jet-way. Just before stepping into the gate area, she paused to fluff her hair, adjust her top and jeans, inhale, exhale, and prepare to see Jeremiah’s handsome face searching for hers.
But when she emerged, he wasn’t there. Hmm. She checked the gate next to hers. No Jeremiah. Ah, of course, he’d need a ticket to get past security. Elle joined the rest of the annoyed and testy passengers moving toward baggage claim.
Jeremiah wasn’t in baggage claim either. By the time the carousel’s warning beep sounded and the conveyor began its slow, squeaky rotation, he’d not called or appeared.
Elle scanned the waiting passengers, then glanced out the exit doors to see if he was waiting in his car, but there was no sign of him.
All right, Jeremiah, where are you? Her stomach ached, anticipation mingling with frustration.
As her overstuffed brown suitcase appeared on the carousel, she reached for it. Her two smaller bags followed. She’d definitely over-packed. But she’d never been to Dallas before and she wasn’t sure of all she’d need. Would the days be warm and the evenings cold? Did they dress up for church or go casual with jeans and nice tops? Did Jeremiah have dinner plans for them? If so, should she dress for Texas BBQ or fine dining?
So far, she’d only heard plans for a Sunday-night potluck dinner and days upon days of house hunting. She hoped to find an old Texas ranch house rich with ambiance and cowboy heritage.
Dragging her luggage off to the side, she dialed Jeremiah again. Listening as his phone rang, she imagined a quiet evening, ordering pizza, watching a movie, and stealing kisses.
His phone bounced to voicemail again. “Hey, it’s me. I’m at the airport waiting. Call me.”
Elle carted her suitcases out to the curb and perched on top of the big bag to wait. Other passengers from her flight hopped into waiting cars or climbed aboard shuttle buses. The first few minutes, she watched folks come and go, but as time passed and the dew of the rainy day seeped into her skin, Elle grew angry and impatient.
Shivering, she dialed Jeremiah, clamping her sweater closed with her chilled fingers. Voicemail. She clapped her phone closed as a Texas-sized blue word slipped off the end of her tongue.
Jeremiah pulled into DFW forty minutes late. Elle was cold, tired, and hungry. And angry. Her first night in Dallas and they fought— from the moment he put her luggage in the trunk to the moment he pulled into Steak n Shake for a quick bite.
“What’ll you have?” The waitress glanced between them, hands on her waist.
“I’ll have a burger and fries with a large chocolate shake.” Elle’s bracelets clattered against the table when she snapped her menu closed.
“I’ll have the same,” Jeremiah said, calm and collected, making Elle feel like a loon for being upset.
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t call or text.” Elle tore at the edge of her napkin. If she looked at Jeremiah, she’d burst into tears. And frankly, she didn’t have the energy for it.
“Babe, what do you want me to do? I was late. I’m sorry. We have a Wednesday-night leaders meeting and it went long. My phone was supposed to be set on vibrate, but I’d turned it off somehow.”
“Fine, Jer, I understand long meetings and phones turned off, but didn’t you even think to check the time. It makes me feel like you weren’t anticipating my visit at all. I thought of you all day.”
“Of course I anticipated you coming. I’ve thought of you being here since we decided on the dates. Don’t make it sound like I dissed you on purpose. But as the leader, I can’t just get up and walk out in the middle of an important discussion.”
“I see, so if you’re in a meeting and I call to say, ‘Honey, my water just broke, the baby’s coming,’ I can only hope you’re not leading an important meeting?”
“Elle, that’s not fair. I can’t believe—”
“No, it’s not fair. Neither is you letting me sit there alone without even thinking to call. Why did you even go to the meeting? If I’d arrived on time, what were your plans for me?” The debate exhausted her.
“Your host family, the Farmers, were going to take you to dinner.” Jeremiah slipped from his side of the booth into Elle’s. “Babe, come on, let’s not fight. Sets a bad tone for the week.”
His kiss cooled her ire. “Please, Jeremiah, don’t make me feel like an afterthought. Ministry is important, yes. Any career takes a certain level of commitment. But not at the expense of our relationship.”
He wrapped his fingers with hers. “You are far from an afterthought, Elle.”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “I guess it feels like it tonight.”
“Let’s forget tonight, then. Start fresh in the morning. We’ll go out to a nice brunch, see a little of Dallas.”
Elle lifted her eyes to his, kissing him. “Best news I’ve heard all day.”
Seven days of house hunting. Seven days of headache. Elle walked the length of this brand-new home’s living room listening to the sound of her heels click against the hardwood and bounce from the beige wall to the sculptured ceiling.
At what point had all of her expectations started falling apart? Could she rewind to where they were intact and start over? To the day before she arrived?