Never Far Away (The Never #2)(11)
His meeting with Ella couldn’t really have gone any better and he was sorry he hadn’t taken the initiative to do it sooner. He told her most of everything there was to tell and she hadn’t called him crazy or run away from him, but seemed to understand him. He felt like she was waiting for him to find her.
His drive to Portland the next day to meet her was vastly different than the day before. He was no longer nervous for what the future held, but hopeful and excited. Something about the way Ella had embraced him yesterday made him feel like there was still something between them, even if she didn’t remember the all-consuming love they had experienced together.
He parked his truck and walked along the waterfront when he saw her leaning against the railing looking out over the river. Her hair was down and every few seconds it fluttered in the breeze coming off the water. The June sun was illuminating her golden hair and radiating off the cream-colored skin of her shoulders. She wore a purple tank top with khaki shorts and he felt a tug in his stomach at all the bare skin she was showing. She hadn’t seen him yet and he enjoyed taking a few extra seconds to admire her.
“Hello, Ella,” he greeted her once he’d felt like he’d gotten a good enough look at her.
“Porter,” she said as she looked up at him, holding one hand up to shield her eyes from the mid-morning sun. “I’m so glad you could make it. I’ve wanted to peruse The Saturday Market for a few weeks now and it’s always more fun with someone else.”
“I’ve never been.”
“Really? Well, you’re in for a treat, so long as you aren’t put off by the acquired taste of the Portland Hipster. They seem to run rampant in these parts,” she said with a smile.
“I think I can manage,” he smiled back.
The Saturday Market was a permanent fixture on the waterfront of Portland and hundreds of people came out every weekend to spend an afternoon browsing. Vendors of every craft imaginable came every weekend to set up their booths and sell their goods. You could find street performers, food trucks, psychics, palm readers, and the ever-present hipster. Porter stuck close to Ella, stopping with her when she paused to admire handmade clothes and frilly things she would like to decorate her house. A few times she spoke to the vendor about their products and offered a card, telling them to come and see her. He was proud to see her networking confidently. In their ten days together, he never really got to see her in her element and it was very attractive. And he was pleased when she would stop with him to take a look at pieces of woodwork that caught his eye.
“Oh, do you mind if we stop here?” Ella asked him, motioning towards a particular jewelry booth. He smiled at her and motioned with his hand that he would follow her. “I really am a sucker for jewelry, especially stuff that isn’t really typical or mainstream. All this handmade stuff is so fun to look at.” She fingered through trays and trays of rings, all laid out with no real order. “Oh wow,” she said with raspy voice, holding up a single ring.
“Find one you like?” Porter asked.
“This is perfect,” she said quietly with awe and she tried to put the ring on the middle finger of her right hand. “Damn, it’s too small.”
Porter caught the eye of the vendor who ran the booth and waved his hand at him. The vendor approached with a smile.
“Hi, can I help you with something?”
“Yeah, do you happen to have this same ring, only a little bigger?” Porter asked, showing him the ring.
“Let me check,” the vendor replied. Porter took a second to look at the ring. It was silver, and there was hardly anything to it. It was an arrow that wrapped around, but never met in the middle, and actually overlapped a little creating a sort of coil around the finger.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Ella asked him. He met her eyes and smiled, but didn’t answer because he didn’t really have any thoughts on it. It was a ring. “The arrow makes me think of going in one direction. Kind of like, forcing your way through everything that stands in your way, and heading in the direction you were meant to, regardless of anything that poses an obstacle. Most importantly, going in the direction you want to, and not letting anyone else shoot your arrow for you.”
Watching her eyes light up, giving the ring more meaning then even the artist could have probably intended when he made it, made Porter’s heart swell for her even more.
“It suits you,” he said softly.
“Here we go,” the vendor said as he returned. “Try this one on.” Ella slipped it on her finger, gliding it all the way down.
“Oh, it fits!” She smiled happily and she started reaching into her purse.
“I’ve got it, Ella,” Porter said as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.
“We’ve got a matching men’s ring,” the vendor said with a smirk, his eyes darting between the two of them. Ella laughed nervously and Porter shook his head.
“We’ll just take hers today. Thanks for looking for this one for her.”
“Porter, you don’t have to buy it for me,” she said placing her hand on his arm.
“I know. I want to. You should have seen your face when you described it to me. That ring was made for you and I want to give it to you.”
“Thank you,” she said, blushing slightly.
“Are you ready for lunch? Dodging all these hipsters is making me hungry.” Ella laughed and he was immediately reminded of the gulf that was still between them. Her laugh, something that he had taken for granted, shot through him. He would do anything to hear her laugh every day for the rest of forever. He only hoped that being here with her was helping get closer to getting them back to the spot where her laugh was a constant in his life.