Haunted(39)

“You know, Beth, it sounds like you do believe in God to me,” Berg whispered gently.

“I think I must in some ways…like when I hear ‘Oh Holy Night’ every Christmas. I wonder if I don’t believe because when I hear the choir sing, ‘fall on your knees,’ I always cry. I don’t know why, but I do. It’s like I want to love him, but why is Joe dead? Why are my parents dead? Why did he let Joey be autistic? But yet…some tiny part of me believes…” I wiped the tears off my face.

Berg pulled me to him, and I laid my head on his shoulder. We sat like that for a while until I got back to myself.

“Well…we need to finish learning this routine. You know we could have a New Year’s Eve party and show everybody how sick we are. They will be in awe of our awesomeness.” I smiled at Berg and, in turn, he smiled back.

Berg was one of the coolest guys I had ever met. I could see why Roman loved him so much. Berg was nothing but personality and cuteness. I grabbed the remote control to the TV and went to YouTube and typed in Friends—the routine.

“Okay, if we are going to do this in front of our friends, we have to get this down pat. You don’t want to look like a douche in front of Eve, do you?” Berg paled and I had to laugh. “You are having trouble after the end of the moonwalk where we click legs. We need to work on that part to get it perfectly synced.”

“You know, you are one of the weirdest chicks I have ever known.”

I looked at Berg as though I was going to slaughter him with a cleaver.

“I meant that in the coolest sense.”

“If I am the coolest weirdest chick you know, I will try to consider that as a compliment. And here I thought I was not extraordinary.” I laughed. “Alright you ready to try again?”

“Yup!”

I went over to the iPod and hit play for the song “Trouble with Boys” by Loreta. We stood in position, and Berg did the eye point and we both started snapping.

“Five, six, seven, eight,” we called out.



Chapter 31 – Beth



“Wake up, sleepy head.”

I felt Roman at my back, kissing up and down my shoulder blade. I knew what this was leading to, and I had no objections to it. I turned over and kissed up and down his neck like I usually did before morning sex.

“Oh, Mrs. Reed, are you trying to seduce me?”

I looked at him a little confused. “I thought that is why you woke me up.”

“Not today. Today is the day I show you your wedding present.” He smiled at me.

“You found a house?”

“I found the house!”

I smiled and jumped out of bed. I had been looking forward to this for a while. Finally a house of our own. We could bring Joey home. I was ready.

“Last one in the shower is a rotten egg.” I giggled. He jumped up on the bed and leaped for the bathroom, but I was two steps ahead of him. We both jumped in the shower, washing up as fast as we could. I could tell he was as excited as me. This was the day; I could feel it.

***

We drove down Highway 61 and Roman turned on his right signal. This was it. This was going to be our house. He drove a little ways into a driveway until we came upon a beautiful iron-clad fence. I knew we would have to live in this type of house—a guarded one—but considering the events that we had been through lately, that was fine with me.

Roman hit a button on a remote and the gates opened. He drove up the drive and closed the gate behind us. I couldn’t see anything except for a hill. Once we reached the top of a hill, the view absolutely took my breath away. There was nothing but land as far as the eye could see. The driveway was at least half a mile, and then we arrived at the house.

I was speechless. The front of the house alone was a sight to see. It looked as though it was two and a half stories high. It was made out of brick and grey vinyl siding, adorned with black shutters. The vinyl siding was the expensive kind that resembled wood. There was a massive covered front porch. Where the porch ended, there was a huge bay window and another bay window above it on the second floor. The landscape was immaculate and even though I could see rolling hills for miles, the front part of the yard was flat with vibrant maple trees scattered around the property.

It was autumn, and the landscape resembled a picture on a perfect Tennessee postcard. The house was lit up, even though today was a cloudy day. I wondered if Roman had the realtor come over and have it prepared. The trim was a bright white, which made the house pop. Roman did stick with the deal; it wasn’t a mansion. It was a home—a big home—but still a home. And I could already tell that it would be our home.

I jumped out of the CRV before Roman could even turn off the engine. I ran up the three steps that led to the front porch, and as the wind blew, I removed my hair clip. I stood still and let the wind blow through my hair. I closed my eyes and smelled a storm rolling in. I felt a set of arms wrap around my waist.

“What do you think, baby? I was thinking about putting a porch swing right here.”

I opened my eyes and saw the view from the porch. All I could see were trees and rolling hills. I really couldn’t even see the gate from there.

“I want to go in.” I walked to the front double doors. The doors were decorated with beautiful glasswork so I couldn’t see in. Perfect. Roman came up behind me with the key and unlocked the door.