We Both Reborn And I Let Go This Time Chapter 06

We Both Reborn And I Let Go This Time Chapter 06

The marriage came together faster than I expected.

Arthur moved like a man on a mission. Every form that needed filing got filed on time, every detail that

needed handling got handled.

Once Mom got over the initial shock, she started coming around. High rank, good family, generous with money. What mother wouldn’t be satisfied?

Dad came around too. He had no reason not to.

Our family’s name hadn’t carried much weight for years, and having a son-in-law like Arthur meant he could finally hold his head up at work.

No one mentioned the work placement out in the country anymore.

It was like the whole thing had never come up.

Arthur and I were set to marry in two weeks. Clara and Raymond’s wedding was scheduled a week before

ours.

Mom kept saying how wonderful it was, both daughters getting married one right after the other, but I could see where her attention really was. It was still on Clara.

The day Clara got married, Raymond came to pick her up.

He wore his dress uniform, a boutonniere pinned to his lapel. When he walked through the door, his eyes found me, and the look he gave me was cold as river water in January.

I didn’t look back. I kept my head down and helped Clara with the hem of her dress.

Clara held my hand, her eyes rimmed red. “Eleanor, after today we’ll have our own families…”

“Yeah,” I said.

“That Arthur you’re marrying… does he treat you right?”

“He’s all right.”

“As well as Raymond treats me?”

I paused. “It’s not the same.”

Clara searched my face for a moment, then let it go.

When he helped her into the car, he looked back at me one more time.

There was something extra in that look, something I couldn’t put a name to.

It didn’t matter anymore.

A week later, Arthur came for me.

He wasn’t in uniform. He’d put on a dark navy suit, his hair combed back, and standing at my front door he

was barely recognizable.

Mom did a double take. “Oh my, Mr. Sterling, don’t you look sharp…”

Arthur smiled and held out an envelope with cash inside. “Mrs. Vance, for you and Mr. Vance. A small

thank-you for today.”

Mom took it, felt the weight, and her smile warmed up by three degrees.

Arthur stepped in front of me. “Ready?”

The word came out so quiet it was almost careful, like he was afraid of startling me.

I nodded.

Outside, I realized he hadn’t arranged anything fancy. Just the same jeep, the same driver, Peter Higgins.

Someone had tied a white ribbon to the antenna, and that was about it.

I climbed in. Arthur followed.

The jeep pulled out, and the wind came through the window carrying the first cool edge of fall.

“Nervous?” Arthur asked.

“No.”

“Really?”

“That was a lie.”

He smiled and pulled something from his pocket.

It was a watch.

It wasn’t new. The band was worn soft, and there was a fine scratch across the face, but someone had polished it until it shone.

“This was my father’s,” he said. “He died when I was sixteen. I’ve worn it for ten years. Now it’s yours.”

I didn’t take it. “That’s too much.”

“It’s not much,” he said. “I just want you to know I’m giving you the best thing I have.”

I took the watch and slipped it over my wrist. The band hung loose, too big for me.

Arthur glanced down. “I’ll adjust the band for you when we get home.”

I didn’t say anything.

The wind kept pouring through the windows, and the trees along the road filled the silence for us.

A quiet thought settled over me. Maybe this life wouldn’t be so hard after all.

The days after the wedding were simpler than I’d expected.

The house the base assigned to Arthur was in officer housing. Two bedrooms and a small yard. It wasn’t big,

but it was enough.

He’d set the whole place up before he came for me. The bed had fresh sheets, the kitchen had mugs and a coffee maker on the counter, and he’d even hung curtains, a soft floral print that someone had clearly sewn

by hand.

I stood in front of those curtains for a long time.

When I married Raymond in my last life, the base gave us a house with nothing in it but a bed and a table. I made four trips to the store myself, buying fabric to sew curtains, tablecloths, pillowcases, all of it on my

own.

Raymond came home, glanced around, and said, “Why bother with all that?”

It wasn’t about the work.

It was that he didn’t think I was worth it.

Arthur was different. He even knew I liked floral prints.

The day I brought home extra fabric to make matching cushions, he happened to be there. He helped me measure, handed me the scissors, ran the iron back and forth without once calling it too much trouble.

“Have you been watching me?” I asked, pressing the pedal.

“I’ve seen you plenty of times.”

“Where?”

He thought for a moment. “That little shop near your old neighborhood. You used to go there a lot.”

I tried to remember but couldn’t.

“It’s been five years,” he said. “Of course you don’t remember.”

My foot froze on the pedal.

“You watched me for five years?” I said. “And never once said hello?”

“I couldn’t find the right moment.”

“What about the day at the river?”

A beat passed. “That was the first time we ever spoke.”

I turned and looked at him.

He sat on a low stool, folding the fabric I’d already cut. His hands weren’t practiced, and the folds came out uneven, but he worked at it like nothing else in the room mattered.

“Why were you at the river that day?” I asked.

He went quiet.

“I was passing by.”

“You’re lying,” I said.

Arthur didn’t answer right away.

He set the fabric aside, dusted off his hands, and stood up.

“All right,” he said. “I won’t lie to you. I was actually on my way to your house to propose. I got to the river and saw you fall in.”

I froze.

“You were coming… to propose?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“You.”

The room went quiet.

The sewing machine spool was still turning, making a low, steady hum.

I lowered my head and pressed the pedal again. Arthur sat down and went back to folding.

After a long time, I said it. “Then why didn’t you come sooner?”

Arthur’s answer came soft. “I was afraid you’d say no.”