Chapter Three
2009 Words
Chapter Three
Fiona
Collin Gentry wasn’t the most polite man, nor was he the most talkative. He was very handsome, though, and that made up for the things he lacked.
I blamed it on him being raised on a ranch with cattle and other animals instead of plenty of people. It was clear that he liked his solitude, never staying out past ten on none of the nights we had a date. He’d tell me that he had to get back to his dorm so he could wind down before going to sleep.
I’d had a couple of boyfriends before. They’d both had a hard time leaving me after they’d taken me out. Collin had no trouble leaving me at all.
We’d been dating for three months, and he’d never done more than kiss my cheek. He rarely held my hand, and he never told me how pretty I was or how happy I made him feel.
Somehow, I knew he did like me, though. He kept making time to see me—that let me know that I was special to him. Collin didn’t care to spend time with anyone other than me. That had to mean something.
He’d met my parents, of course, as he joined us for lunch after church every Sunday. That was another reason I knew that he liked me. He’d come to church each Sunday since we’d met, sitting next to me in the front row, despite what he’d said when we’d first talked at the football game. No man would do a thing like that unless they actually liked a woman.
I’d never known a guy like Collin. Quiet, not in a rush to get to the first kiss or second or third base. My father told me he suspected Collin was looking at me as wife material. And he’d asked me what I thought about that, should the time come that Collin went to my father to ask for my hand in marriage.
Although I couldn’t exactly explain why I felt the way I did, I still felt it. “I think I would like to be Collin Gentry’s wife. He’s a man who isn’t into things most guys his age are into. He’s rock-solid, too. Plus, he’s nice to look at.”
My father had given me a nod, and I knew that meant he’d tell Collin that he could marry me—if he ever asked.
Parents’ weekend had come at the university, and Collin had told me that his parents would be coming to Lubbock to spend the weekend there. But he hadn’t asked me if I wanted to meet them yet—which I did, of course.
Saturday morning turned into afternoon, and still no call from Collin. I tried to keep myself occupied by writing an essay for my biology class, but my head wasn’t in it. I kept looking out the window, hoping to find Collin driving his truck into the driveway.
A knock came on my bedroom door, making me jump. “Honey, you’ve got a phone call in your father’s office.”
Springing to my feet, I ran to the door, throwing it open and running right past my mother. “Thanks, Mom.”
My bare feet pounded against the wood floor as I sprinted to my father’s office at the far end of the house. There was only one phone, and my father thought it should be in his office in case he had to take calls from his work while at home. He smiled at me as I came in, and I skidded to a stop. Pointing to the phone, which lay on his desk, he said, “I’ll give you some privacy, dear.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” I picked up the phone just as my father closed the door. “Hello?”
“Hello, Fiona. This is Collin Gentry.”
I tried not to laugh, as I’d easily recognized his deep voice. “Hello, Collin. How are you doing this afternoon?”
“I’m doing well. My parents arrived a short time ago, and they would like to invite you and your parents to join us for dinner at a restaurant in town. Would you like that?”
“I would love to. Can you hang on a moment while I ask my parents if they’re free to go to dinner?”
“I can wait.”
Putting the phone down, I raced out of my father’s office. “Mom, Dad! Mom, Dad!”
My mother came out of the living room and into the hallway as I ran along it. “For goodness sakes, why are you shouting, dear?”
I stopped running and tried to control my voice. “Mom, do you and Dad have any plans for dinner tonight?”
She folded her arms and c****d her head. “Why do you ask?”
“Because Collin’s parents are in town for parents’ weekend, and they’ve invited all of us to go out to dinner with them somewhere here in town.”
“Let me ask your father.” She walked back into the living room. “Darling, your daughter would like it if we could go to dinner with Collin’s parents this evening.”
“I heard her talking to you in the hallway.” He smiled at me. “And you look as if you’d love us to go.”
Clapping my hands, I jumped up and down. “I would adore it if you would go.”
“We’re free, dear. Tell them we’d love to join them. Get the details, and I’ll get us there on time.”
Spinning around, I hurried back to the phone, nearly out of breath from all the running. “They said yes, Collin. We would love to meet you for dinner this evening.” I sat in Dad’s chair, trying to catch my breath as quietly as I could.
“Good. We’ll see you at seven at the Fiesta Grill, then. Bye.” And then he hung up, Collin-style. No sweet words of how he’d miss me until he saw me again, nothing but a solid ‘bye.’
“Mexican food,” I said quietly as I began nibbling my fingernail.
Spicy food and my tummy didn’t get along well. And pinto beans gave me gas. But I was sure I could find something on the menu that wouldn’t end up making my tummy rumble.
My parents, like most parents, had a steadfast rule—eat everything on your plate. That meant I would have my work cut out for me, finding something to order.
Hours later, with my hair teased so that it stood high and pulled away from my face with a black headband and my bangs pulled forward, I put on a modest amount of makeup. My blue dress made my eyes pop, and pair of black flats finished my ensemble. Mom had put her strand of pearls around my neck to make me look even better.
My parents were dressed nicely as well. We all wanted to make a good first impression on Collin’s parents. I’d never been so nervous in my life. “I’m shaking.” I held out my hand, and my mother took it into hers.
She held it as we walked into the restaurant. “There’s absolutely nothing to be nervous about, Fiona.”
She could say that all she wanted, but it didn’t make the butterflies inside my stomach swarm any less. “There they are.” I spotted Collin, who had just sat down with his parents at a table for six.
Gulping, I looked at the back of his father’s head. Dark hair, thick and wavy. I could easily see from where Collin had gotten his. And his mother had a sharply pointed nose—Collin had inherited a male version of it.
As soon as Collin saw us, he stood up and walked to us, shaking my father’s hand. “Thank you for coming, Mr. Walton.” He nodded at my mother. “Mrs. Walton, thank you for coming.”
I waited for him to say something about how nice I looked. “Do you think this dress is okay, Collin?”
He smiled and nodded, then took the hand my mother had just released. “Come, let me introduce you to my parents.”
After the introductions were over and done with, Collin pulled out the chair next to his, and I sat down. “Thank you, Collin.”
He wasn’t always such a gentleman. Often, he’d forget to open the door of his truck for me to get in. He rarely opened doors for me. But he didn’t seem to think of doing such things, so I hadn’t been completely offended.
He sat down next to me, and the smile he wore told me he was incredibly happy. Collin didn’t smile often. And he never smiled for no reason at all. “Fiona is going to become a teacher.”
“Is that so?” his mother asked me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I smiled at her. “I love children and can’t wait to begin my teaching career.”
Collin looked at me with a bit of confusion in his dark eyes. “Well, I’m sure you won’t always teach. I wouldn’t call it a career, Fiona. Someday, you’ll have a family to take care of, and you won’t be able to work and do that at the same time.”
Although what he said bothered me a bit, I was sort of thrilled he was talking about this. “Well, of course my family would always come before anything else. When I have one. If I have one.”
My mother laughed. “Certainly, you will have a family someday, Fiona.”
My response pleased Collin, and his smile grew even bigger. “Certainly, you will. You would be a great mother.”
My cheeks heated with embarrassment as I ducked my head. “Thank you.”
His fingers touched my chin, lifting up my face to look at him. “And you’d make a great wife too, Fiona.”
My heart stopped. Is he going to ask me to marry him right here—right now?
His father spoke, pulling my attention, “In the future. She must finish college and get her degree first.”
“Of course,” Collin said as he removed his hand from my face.
My flesh burned where he’d touched me. The touch was the most intimate thing he’d ever given me thus far. It felt more intimate than even his chaste kisses on my cheek.
I’d been much closer with the boyfriends I’d had in the past, especially after seeing them for as long as I’d been seeing Collin. I’d talked to them tons in the first few months. But Collin and I didn’t talk a whole lot.
When we had a date, we spent the entire time eating, sitting out on the porch swing, listening to the chirping sound of birds, and watching the sun setting in the evening sky. And then he’d bid me goodnight and leave.
All Collin really needed was someone to show him tenderness. I could do that. I could bring out the caring, sensual man in him. If only he’d let me.
As I sat there, talking to his parents and feeling at ease with them in record time, I knew this was something special. This was meant to last. Things like this didn’t happen all the time.
It almost felt as if we were already family. Collin’s parents were happy we’d found each other, and mine were too. Everyone agreed that Collin and I were a good match for each other. And that made me incredibly happy.
And the way Collin’s smile hardly left his face told me that having both of our parents agree on our relationship meant the world to him.
And it meant the world to me too.
- Writer
