The Face In The Mirror (18 page)

We had a quick bite to eat, and finally Mitchell pulled up in front of a
furniture store. When I looked at him, he said, “We have yours, we have mine,
I think we need ours.”

Two and a half hours later, we’d found something we loved and set up for
our new bedroom furniture to be delivered the following Saturday. We ran to a
paint store to get started on the walls before the furniture would arrive.

We made a quick stop at Walmart and Mitchell bought a carpet steamer to
get the bedroom carpet ready too. It was after eight, by the time we pulled up
in front of Two Wrong Fools. Mitchell ran in to order. When we returned to
the condo we curled up on the sofa with our dinner, anxious to read a little
more. I picked up my fortune cookie after a while, and broke it open.

“Wow,” I said.
“Read it out loud,” he laughed.

The world will soon benefit from your gifts
, the little strip of paper read.
“Between the sheets,” he roared.
“Whatever,” I laughed.
He broke into his and laughed harder. “You get a good one, and I get,
a fool

speaks first, then thinks
.”

We were in the middle of the third volume of my mom’s words when we
decided that we were ready to call it a night.
“Oh,” I said, leaning to pull the card Cassie had given me from my pocket.
“Don’t want this to go through the wash.”
I put the card on the table and Mitchell picked it up. “Did you look at
this?”
“Nope, she said to call her when the business was ready, that she’d be my
best customer. When you came back to get the furniture, I just stuck it in my
pocket and forgot about it. Why?”
“Maybe you’ll be hers,” he said. He flipped the card to me, and I read,
Design Works – Your Dreams and Vision – My Art.
The beautifully designed card showed that Cassie designed brochures,
business cards and announcements.
From birth to brides to business.
“Wow,” I said,
as I read the card. “Fate.”

I woke around one in the morning, my mind was racing 90 mile an hour.
Finally, at two, I slipped out of Mitchell’s arms, and out of the bed. Looking for
an off switch to my thoughts that I couldn’t locate, I went to the office to see if
I might accomplish something while sleep eluded me. I’d surfed the Internet
for design ideas for the business – I knew I wanted it retro. I researched
tableware and explored recipes. At 5:30, I stretched, looked up, and saw
Mitchell standing in the doorway, his hair tousled from sleep. He looked like
God’s gift to the world, only I realized that he was actually God’s gift only to
my world.

“Why are you up?” he asked in a sleepy voice.
“Couldn’t turn my brain off – seems there’s so much going on in there.

Why are
you
up?”
“Because you’re in the room.”
“I meant awake!” I replied, but my eyes shifted to what he was insinuating,

and all of a sudden, going back to bed was the best idea I’d ever had.
n

Sunday we painted, and that evening curled up on the sofa to read. It was
the first weekend in November, and cool. We opened the patio doors and
spent the evening finishing the third journal. Eventually, we were ready to
move on to the fourth journal. “Your wish,” I said, “is about to come true.”

“How on earth can you even imagine what my wish is?” he asked
suggestively.
“Oh my God, is that all you think about?” I giggled and punched his arm.
“It is now,” he laughed. “I’m making up for nine years without you,
Renie.”
“You said you wanted to read about us meeting at Granny’s,” I said,
changing the subject.
“Read on!”

My girl is growing up… you came in from Granny’s today floating on some
cloud, deliriously excited, and I loved experiencing it.
“What has you so happy today, Renee?” I asked, but I knew. Mother
called earlier and asked if it was OK if she introduced you to a ‘sweet young
man,’ the son of a friend from church who she had coming to do some yard
work, and she called again after the meeting.
I hope you pay attention to her, Renee. Granny is a far better judge of a
man’s character than me, I thought, as you shared the experience with me.

I thought about those words. Was she referring to my dad?
“Mitchell, what do you think she meant by that?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” he replied. “Lets read and see.”

“Mom,” you said as your cloud floated past me, “I met the cutest, nicest,
cutest, sweetest boy today!”
“Well, with all that and ‘cutest’ twice, he must really be something!” I
laughed.

“Cutest, nicest, cutest, sweetest boy,” Mitchell repeated with a chuckle.

I put the book down and looked at him very seriously. “I was fifteen! That
was young-girl lingo for ‘Oh my gosh, he’s hot, and I want him so bad!’” I said,
batting my eyes, sighing. I picked up the book and continued reading.

I listened as you went on about him, and smiled inside thinking about it,
wishing I’d been there to experience it myself.
“He’s so nice, but he’s three years older,” you said, cautiously. I knew that
look - you were watching me to see what I thought.
“I told you, if he treats you the way a young lady should be treated then three
years isn’t a lot.”
I thought about a young man’s desires and decided that I would talk to him
if this looked as though it would grow into more than a simple meeting at
Granny’s. I wanted his attention before your father would get a hold of him,
but you’d just met, so I’ll wait and see where this road leads.

“Well, for the record, Renie, I thought you were the cutest, nicest, cutest,
sweetest girl I could ever imagine. I fell in love with you at the first glance.”

Several weeks in Mona’s writing passed, with various tidbits about life, her
work, and Renie. I was reading aloud and suddenly stopped and closed the
book, marking the page.

“Before I read what comes next, I want to tell you something.”

Curious, Renie leaned back and looked at me, her eyes meeting mine in a
questioning stare. “OK?”
“It’s nothing bad. I just want to tell you the next part in my words first, not
hers. Granny had called me to come over to help with something. The thought
that you would be there excited me, but you weren’t.”
“Come have some tea, Mitchell,” Granny said and invited me in when I
arrived. She led me to the kitchen table where I thought she was going to tell
me what she needed help with, but your mom was sitting there waiting. I knew
I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I had no idea what to expect. I gotta tell ya, I
felt a little ambushed when I realized what was going on.”
“She’s only sixteen, Mitchell,” your mom had said.
“Yes ma’am, I know,” I replied, and remembered sitting with you at the
pool dangling our feet in the water, sneaking kisses after everyone had gone,
after the birthday party.”
“I don’t want her to grow up too fast.”
“I understand what you mean, Mrs. Ridgeway.”
“Do you, Mitchell?” she asked, and raised an intimidating eyebrow, and
made me squirm a little.”
“Well, I think I do, and I can tell you that I won’t do anything to encourage
sex, but I will tell you that I like her, a lot, and I would sure like to keep seeing
her.”
“Good,” she told me, and then she’d paused. I swear Renie, I thought I
was going to pass out, waiting for what came next.”
“Mitchell Donovan, if sex ever does come into the picture, you’d better be
responsible, because I am telling you right now, you do
not
want to deal with
her father, and you certainly won’t want to see me in family court fighting for
child support. It’s what I do, Mitchell, and I’m very good at what I do.”
“My mouth was hanging open, and all I could think to say was ‘yes,
ma’am’.”
“Oh my gosh! My sweet mama called you out!” Renie snickered.
“With Granny standing right there nodding her head the whole time! And
honestly, all I could think was ‘thank God we haven’t already done anything’,
because I knew your mom would’ve known!”
“So, is that why you waited so long?” Renie asked.
“Well, yeah! I was afraid of that woman!” We both roared at my comment,
thinking of tiny Mona being fierce! And I thought of a quote from Shakespeare,
‘And though she be but little, she is fierce’.
“I hope it was worth the wait.”
“It still is, Renie,” I said. “I fell in love with you, and I would have waited
forever if that’s what it took, and I wouldn’t have done
anything
to mess it up. I
loved you then, and I love you now more than I can even tell you.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment; I watched her and saw that she was
struggling with her emotions. She opened the book and read the passage, and
we found her mom’s words to match mine. After a while, she marked the page,
closed the book, and snuggled closer to me.
“Done?”
“For now. There’s this incredible man I want to sleep with.”
“Ah, but do you want to sleep, or do you…”
“Let’s just go see what happens,” she said, curling into my arms.

n

When we reached the bedroom, Mitchell reached for my hand. “Wait,” he
said, and pulled me back to where he stood. The look on his face had my
insides doing somersaults. He put those big hands on my cheeks and drew me
closer for a sweet, passionate kiss.

“Mitchell,” I said in a barely-there voice.
“Renie, wait. I have something important to say.”
“What is it?” I leaned back to look at him.
The look on his face was very intent. His gaze was deep, his thoughts

causing his eyes to show the emotions in his heart and I waited – curious, but
anxious. “What is it?” I asked again.

“I want you to know that making love with you is the most beautiful,
emotional, sensual experience I’ve ever had, even more so now, than before.
Maybe it’s so special now because I prayed for these moments with you.”

I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes. His words stirred me in a way I’d
never felt before. I thought I’d have an orgasm just listening to him – it was
that passionate. He leaned closer, kissing my tears away, his eyes sucking me in
as he did.

“I love you, Renie. I want to make love, and I want you to feel my love
from here,” he said kissing my forehead, “all the way to the tip of your toes.”
He lifted the Donovan’s t-shirt I wore over my head and kissed my
shoulder. With my hands on the back of his head, I pulled him to me and
kissed him. His hands found their way to my back, and in a flash he was
slipping the bra from my shoulders. I reached for the button on his jeans and
he did the same with mine, pushing them over my hips. There was hardly a part
of my body that wasn’t touched, admired, or appreciated before he guided us to
the bed.
He laid me back on the bed, and his eyes traveled over my body. I was so
hot I thought I would combust! But it was his hands… they roamed as though
he needed to touch me, not just wanted to. He had me quivering in
anticipation. Inside I was screaming – NOW, MITCHELL! But the slow
seduction continued and I thought for sure I’d lose my mind.
Finally, he whispered, “I want to take my time, Renie. I want to appreciate
every inch of this body that I’ve longed for, dreamed of, for so long.”
He took me to places I’d never been on this journey, and finally, we made
sweet love, my husband and me - the only man I ever really wanted, the only
man I’ve ever loved.

n

By the following weekend, the deal on Mitchell’s house closed and Dave
Moore was a ‘happy homeowner’. We were busy with plans for the business
and getting the condo ready to move in. In two weeks we’d be ready for
another new beginning.

No matter how busy we were, we still spent evenings reading at least a
small bit of the journals. It seemed that the older I got, the sadder she became.
But more so, it seemed like each entry brought our hearts closer together, and I
said many prayers, thanking God for the gift of my mom’s journals.

You’ll be going off to college soon, and the dread I feel is so much worse than
when I sent you off to kindergarten. I know you won’t be that far away, and I
know that you’ll come home, but I know that it won’t be me you’ll be anxious
to see; it will be Mitchell.

Renee, I love him. He’s good to you, respects you and treats you like a
woman should be treated. I like seeing that ‘love look’ on your faces. I miss
seeing that look in my own reflection.

“Mitchell, she seems so lonely. I guess I didn’t realize or maybe I was so
wrapped up in my own world and didn’t remember how seldom my dad was
home until we started reading these books. I still find it odd that there is so
little mention of Derek, and when there is, it’s like a comment in reference to
something in my life.”

“Maybe he has his own books and she gave them to him already,” he
suggested.
“Then why did we have to find mine? Why wouldn’t she have given them
to me?” I asked.
“Maybe she’ll tell us later.”
It was almost seven and I was hungry. “Does Two Wrong Fools deliver?”
“I’ll get the menu.”
“Not for me, I’ll just have my usual.” Mitchell called, and while we waited
for the delivery we read some more.

I’m so happy you come home frequently - glad that you chose a college not so
far away. I know it’s Mitchell you hurry home to, but I’m blessed with your
company, happy that you come here to spend time with me. I love seeing the two
of you together. I knew, Renee, I knew that day Granny and I sat down with
him that he was the one for you!

‘I knew he was the one for you…’ I heard it again and again. The doorbell
rang and Mitchell went to pay for our dinner. As he walked away, her words
had me sobbing.

“Renie, what on earth?” he asked, quickly dropping our dinner on the
coffee table, and falling to the sofa beside me.
“What happened, baby?” he asked again, and wrapped me in his embrace.
“I just kept reading that last sentence, over and over, and it hit me - all
those years with you, you
were the one
and she knew it, but I pushed you away.
We missed so much, Mitchell. I’m so sorry,” I blubbered. “Why didn’t I believe
in us? What the hell was wrong with me?”
“Renie, stop.” He pulled me closer to him, stroked my hair, and spoke
softly in my ear. “You were taking classes to finish the master’s degree that
your dad insisted you needed. You were miserable. I thought about what you
said after you explained why you left. Thinking about it, I saw your dad making
it easy for you to walk away. I wanted to learn everything possible as an
electrician’s apprentice. I wanted to learn it fast so I could get a jump on it, and
you were right, we spent too much time apart. When we were together, we
were trying to relearn each other as adults, not the love-struck teens we were
when our relationship began. We just didn’t give ‘us’ a chance.”
“I didn’t! You did,” I said, now sobbing like a friggin’ idiot.
“Stop. We could analyze this to death, but it won’t change time. Yesterday
has passed. Now, we need to focus on every today, and look forward to each
tomorrow.”
I rose from the sofa and went to the bathroom to wash my face. When I
looked in the mirror after I did, I saw my mom in my reflection.
Is that me
looking like you, or is it really you, looking at me
? I wondered. But the happy look on
the face I saw before me, told me it was her. I knew I wasn’t smiling, but the
face in the mirror
was
. And then, I heard her sweet voice in my head.
Renee, I
knew all along that he was the right one for you. Don’t dwell on the past. Make your future
make up for all that you missed.
I knew she wasn’t there. It was only my missing her, wishing she was there,
but all I could feel was a mother’s love envelop me. And I thanked her for
Mitchell being back in my life.