Stormy Surrender

He wasn’t feeling nearly as cranky as he was at lunch by the time they met to lay tile. The nap hadn’t hurt. And seeing Marti looking so excited helped more than he cared to admit. She met him on the porch where he was smoking a cigarette while working on his phone. It had taken her seconds to pull in and jump out of her vehicle. Her pony tail was bouncing behind her. In the past, he would have viewed someone like Marti as plain, but now after years of experience, she looked natural and fresh to him. It was a welcome change from having someone high maintenance around.

Joe brought her into the bathroom to show her the progress thus far. He proudly pointed out that there was a new sturdy sub-floor. He showed her how close they really were to having a functional room.

All she saw was that there was already tile on the walls and in the shower surround. “Hey!” She complained. “I thought we were doing tile! I thought I was helping.”

Shaking his head he responded. “We’re doing the floor. I told the tile guy to leave us the floor. I figured that was the place we could do the least amount of damage.”

She sighed. “Well this won’t take long. Then what am I supposed to do with the rest of my night.” She studied the floor and realized that the lines were already on the floor. “I do like the diamond pattern. Have you ever laid tile that way?”

He shrugged. “How hard can it be? The lines are already there.” He could see that she wore an uncertain look on her face. He laughed. “Come on. This floor isn’t going to tile itself.”

After just a few hours it was good and dark. The floor was as finished as it could be until the thin set had dried and they would be able to grout it. The grouting was a much faster process.

She glanced at the time on her phone. “Nine o’clock,” she mourned. “Great.” And she started toward her vehicle.

“You want to come over, sit by the bonfire, and have a drink?’ He had already walked in that direction.

“I know I don’t have to go far, but I really shouldn’t drink and drive.” She shrugged.

“Well, I was going to offer a hot chocolate…” He smiled at her and soon discovered that she had caught up to him and was walking companionably beside him.

Since he had started logs and everything was stacked and ready to start the fire, he showed Marti to the kitchen to see if she could get the hot chocolate started. She had happily set to work on it. And before long there were two mugs of hot chocolate and one roaring fire with a big blanket spread out on the damp grass. He sat beside her and took one of the mugs she offered.

“This is really nice back here,” she commented. “Have you lived here long?”

Smirking, he said, “I can tell you are working at making conversation.” He winked at her. “This was my father’s house. I inherited it and all the problems along with it. This house was never my dream, but sometimes it’s nice to have a fallback. And I’m working on a ten year plan. Then I’m out of here.”

“Oh,” she said, sounding surprised. “I guess not everyone comes here on purpose.”

“Why did you come here? Lose a bet? Think that you had a shot at Mayberry? I’m baffled.” He stared closely at her while he waited for her answer.

Marti took a deep swig of the hot chocolate. He could see that she was hesitant about sharing what was going on in that mysterious complicated mind of hers. Slowly, however, she began to open up. “Well, I had a miscarriage…”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” If there was anyone who looked like mother material, it was her. Just something about her seemed like she was meant to have a baby riding her hip and a toddler playing around her feet. He leaned back. Where that image came from was beyond him.

“Yes, well these things happen. Only, most of the time when these things happen, the husband is by his wife’s side, I’ve heard.” She shrugged.

“He wasn’t?” He could feel the twitching start in his eye. It was impossible for him, as protective as he was, to imagine that there was any man who would let his wife or girlfriend go through that alone. He didn’t. Not even when it was Finn’s fault. And then, when it was obvious that the experience hadn’t affected her like it had him…well, then he left, but never before.

“No. He didn’t visit or send flowers or even try to keep up appearances at the hospital he had surgical privileges at.” She sighed and drank some more of the sweet warm liquid. “I checked myself out, drove myself home, and announced when he finally returned for a moment days later that I wanted to move south.” She looked up at him and even in the dark the sadness was obvious on her face.

“And I guess the divorce came as a shock?” He pulled her head so that it was resting on his shoulder. He leaned his head on hers and tried to offer some sense of comfort as they spoke about some of the most intimate details of their lives.

“Losing the marriage…that doesn’t really bother me. I haven’t loved him for quite some time. I was pretty much over that before the marriage.” She cleared her throat. “I just wanted to grow up so badly. I wanted this life that I thought I was supposed to have. And a big part of that was having a baby. It’s the loss of our child that bothers me. He would have been a lousy father, but the baby was for me.”

They were quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the crackling of the fire, the closeness that had developed between them that could only come from sharing secrets. And that’s when they heard the sirens. He heard the air brakes out in front of the house as the fire truck came to a screeching halt. He jumped up and rushed to the front yard. Marti soon followed.

“What’s going on?” She asked, surprised.

The firemen were hauling hoses off the truck, preparing to hook them to the nearest hydrant just one house away in front of Miss Gracie’s place. Suddenly he worried that the poor senile woman next door had started a fire. “Is everything okay?” He shouted.

One of the firemen called from on top of the truck. “Well, Joe, we heard your house is on fire!”

They glanced about. “My house?” He asked. And then he growled as he looked up at the window of the house next door. The blinds snapped shut the minute that he made eye contact with Miss Gracie. He looked at the firemen collected around the truck. “Sorry, guys. Looks like another false alarm. Maybe I should just call you when I decide to have a bonfire?” He chuckled and shook hands and clapped the firemen on the shoulder as they packed up to leave.

“One of these days I’m going to have a talk with the old bat,” the fire chief announced. “I know she means well, but I was just getting ready for some time with my wife, if you know what I mean. And I don’t get enough time with my wife.” They all laughed and minutes later pulled away from the house.

Joe grabbed Marti’s hand. He walked her back to the blanket. “Where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?” He ran his hands from her shoulders down her arms until he had both of her hands in his. They laced fingers for a moment and stood there staring at their hands linked together.

She broke the silence by clearing her throat. “I think I was just about to go…”

He could actually feel her fear. He could feel that she was trembling slightly. “Huh, and not so long ago you were trying to figure out how to kill the rest of the night. He pulled her close to his chest and held her there while he listened to her breathing slow finally.

“Nights are the longest part of the day,” she admitted finally. “It’s the one time I am most acutely aware of my aloneliness.”

“Aloneliness?” He chuckled.

“What? I can make up a word if I want. I make up lots of words.” She stuck her chin out at him.

“Okay, how about this.” He lifted her chin so that she looked at him, but he didn’t give her a bit of space. “What if you call me if you are ever lonely or bored at night?”

She shook her head. “I could never do that. I wouldn’t want to wake you.”

“So, what if it’s a visual? You’ll be living across the road soon enough. What if I leave the light on for you? If the light’s on, you know I’m here for you.” He watched her face for a reaction. He could tell she believed the idea had merit. He smiled. “It’s settled. For you, I’m Motel 6.”



Laying tile was harder than it looked. That was the only way she could explain the amount of sleep she had required. By the time she rolled out of bed it was after 8am and she knew she was never going to make it over to the house by 8:30am to start the demolition of the porch. And really, she had a bit of a grudge against that porch. It had, after all, tried to eat her. Complete and utter destruction was no less than it deserved. While she was banished, the plumber had installed a new hot water heater, and started to replace all the plumbing in the entire house. The roof had been replaced. The windows were nearly done. And another crew was following behind to complete the siding. Since it was Color Plus Hardie, the look was already stunning. She loved the Sail Cloth with the Glacier White trim.

There was no way she wanted to be late for demo day. Joe had promised that she could use the chainsaw. Oh, and there would be pictures. She had been taking pictures every step of the way, even when she wasn’t allowed to be there. She would sneak into her own home at the end of the work day. If Joe knew, he hadn’t mentioned it. All that mattered was flipping through her phone and seeing the progress made her happy. She felt more comfortable with her decision. Grumbling a little, she dressed in jeans and a long sleeved thermal shirt and pulled on her sneakers. She pulled her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head, briefly considered make up, then scoffed at the idea of wearing lip gloss while wielding power tools and headed out the door.

Keely tried to stop her to talk when she hit the entrance, but she simply shook her head as she rushed to explain. “I can’t be late today and I overslept,” she explained as she rushed to the door.

“I know,” Keely said with a laugh as she blocked the door. She held out a brown paper bag. “Here’s breakfast and lunch. And I may have thrown in a snack or two. This is for you, not Joe. Now have a nice day!” With that, she shoved the bag into Marti’s hand and opened the door to send her on her way.



As Marti drove over to her house, she marveled at how easy it had been to feel loved and wanted in this town. Keely had become her family. They dined together most nights. It was nice to have somebody looking out for her, even if the advice wasn’t always wanted…like Laurel’s. She had very nearly forgotten about that.

Then she pulled up in her driveway and saw Joe standing there with the chainsaw, getting ready to start without her. She slammed the vehicle into park and hopped out angrily. “You couldn’t wait for me? I told you I’d be here!” She stomped across the yard.

Joe looked up at her and smiled. “Guess someone didn’t have her hot chocolate this morning.”

And his response completely threw her. She stopped in her tracks, unsure of what to say after that. Just when she was in the mood for a good fight he wasn’t biting. “I want to do it,” she said quietly. “This porch needs to be taught a lesson. And I’m just the chick to do it.”

He studied her. She was all fired up this morning. And he was rather concerned about her using the chainsaw. He had secretly hoped that she would be good and late and he could have that part done before she arrived. Instead, despite a call to Keely asking her to stall Marti, she was here and a little too eager to handle the chainsaw for his liking.

“Listen, baby,” he began sweetly, “you have trouble walking. I don’t know if you should do this part. Just let me get it started. You can do…anything else.”

“I want to run the chainsaw.” She had her hands on her hips and a defiant look on her face as her chin jutted out. “And don’t call me baby.”

“It’s heavy and smelly and dangerous.” He set the chainsaw down in between his legs and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I WANT TO RUN THE CHAINSAW.” She spoke angrily through gritted teeth.

Exasperated, he made an impulse decision. “Fine, if you can start it, you can use it.” And with that, he backed up, bowed, and gestured for her to give it a try.

“Thank you.” Her voice was crisp. She walked over confidently and bent to pick it up.

He watched as she hefted it up into her arms. Her face suggested it was heavier than she anticipated. She yanked on the cord. Nothing happened. It didn’t even sputter. She yanked again. Still nothing. He could hear her muttering words that he never would have imagined could come from her mouth. “Want me to get that for you?” He asked smoothly.

“No. I can do this.” She struggled more. He could tell the chainsaw was starting to feel heavy the way she was shifting it from one arm to another. It could have been disastrous.

“We are on a time schedule here. Didn’t you just warn me that you wanted to move in next week, even though we wouldn’t be done with everything? Come on. Let me do this.” And he reached for the chainsaw.

Angrier still, the frustration mounting, she begrudgingly handed him the chainsaw. He took it from her, walked to the porch, set it down, and opened the tank to add gasoline. He was facing away from her on purpose. He knew what was going to happen. He heard her shriek. He heard the sound of her feet rushing toward him. And before he had time enough to really brace himself, she had toppled him over and they were rolling in the wet grass while she punched at his chest and arms. He blocked and laughed. This was the most fun he’d had in some time.

“You tricked me! You knew it needed gas! You knew it wouldn’t start!” She was laughing, embarrassed and upset all at the same time.

He wrapped his arms around her. “Calm down. I had to save you from yourself.”

She settled down, stopped fighting him, and enjoyed the closeness for a moment. “I don’t need saving,” she said quietly.

And before he could argue with her contention, an unfamiliar voice interrupted their play. “I’m looking for Martha.”

They paused, stood, and looked particularly guilty while brushing themselves off. “I’m Martha,” she said seriously to the man wearing the generic black suit. “How can I help you?” She walked towards him with her hand outstretched, ready to shake with a formal introduction. Instead, a manila envelope thick with papers was thrust into her hand.

“You’ve been served.” And he turned on his heels and walked back to his dark colored sedan that was parked just down the road.

He watched her. She was clearly standing there in shock. Her arm was still extended, her hand clutched around the papers. Slowly, with a pained look on her face, she dropped it to her side. Without speaking, she walked around to the back of the house to enter through the kitchen. He followed quietly behind her, waiting for a reaction, waiting to see if she needed him. He had his suspicions about the contents. He could tell she did, too.

If she knew he was behind her, she didn’t show it. She let the screen door snap shut after her. She was about to shut the door, too, but he caught it and followed her in. She walked through the kitchen, down the wide empty hall, and then dropped the envelope on the stairs. She eyed her bare hand, and then she touched her wrist.

“You’re wearing the bracelet,” he said quietly.

She laughed, but it sounded hollow. “I never take it off.”

Somewhere inside, that thought warmed him immensely. “I didn’t want to ask, I didn’t bring it up, but I’ve noticed you haven’t been wearing your rings.” He watched her for a reaction, but she gave none. “I know I didn’t mention it at the time, but when we went to the beach, it was because I knew you needed it. And the bracelet…I,” he inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. “Well, I thought you might need that, too. Let’s treat it like a project…like your house.” He shrugged. I thought maybe this piece of jewelry, this memento…it might make you feel less naked, less aware of your loss. I hoped that maybe you would see how you were changing and growing and you’d recover faster, be stronger and happier than you had been.” She was just standing there watching him, listening to him go on and on and for some reason, he couldn’t’ stop talking. He was so desperate to make her understand. He was just blathering on and on. “I guess it sounds stupid.” He sighed. He just wasn’t explaining it right. That was all.

For her. He was doing all of this for her. He didn’t have a reason to care, but clearly he did. And that was the only excuse she needed to turn towards him. His arms were out around, extended away from his side. That made it all the easier. She just walked into him. She walked until she was flush against his chest. She could tell he wasn’t sure how to react, where to place his hands, what he should do. She rubbed her face against his chest until she fit against his heart perfectly. She reached up and ran her hands down his shoulders until she found his forearms and wrapped him around her.

A word was spoken in her head. She didn’t recognize the voice as her own or even know where the idea originated. Still, there it was. Home. This could be home, if only she would surrender. The thought stirred fear in her. Instead of pulling away, Joe pulled her closer, she could feel one arm wrapped around her lower back and waist. The other hand was knotted in her hair, pressing her closer and closer. It felt like home, like home should feel; only she had never experienced this before. This was natural. This was nothing that could be taught or trained. They simply…fit. She couldn’t think about it. If she did, she could be too scared to continue, too bothered to carry on.

He spoke. “So, now what?”

Though she couldn’t be sure what he meant, she knew what had to be done. “We have to finish the house. I need to move in as soon as possible. I’m hemorrhaging money and I no longer have the supply I did before. I have to go to Vermont. I have to move my stuff down here…what’s left of it. I’ll have to meet with a lawyer up there…” Her voice trailed off. She was still leaning into him, tucked neatly under his chin. Her growing list could have been overwhelming, but somehow she felt like she could handle anything from the warmth of his arms.

“Would you like me to go with you?” He asked.

“No, I’ve got this. Thank you for offering.” She sighed and pulled away. It was time. “Let’s get to work.”

He looked her over for a moment. She could practically see the wheels spinning in his head. “What?” She asked with a shy smile. He didn’t say anything. “What?” She was more insistent the second time.

He finally opened his mouth. “Have you thought about changing your hair?”

She stiffened.

“I’m not trying to be critical, but I see…so much potential.” He reached out slowly, making sure she understood that he was going to be touching her hair. “I think…I mean.” He dropped his hand and stared into her eyes. “If my husband had just sent me divorce papers, and in moving my things I had to risk seeing him, I’d want him to see me strong and sexy. I’d want him eating his heart out. Of course, that’s just me…”

She smiled a little, her lips still closed as she contemplated what he had said. There was more than a little merit to what he had suggested. She knew Suzette. She knew what he had left her for. And she wanted him to absolutely eat his heart out. She imagined how he might react. Her smile grew. “What do you recommend?”

“Get your things and go hop in my truck. I’ll be right there.” He turned and walked over to speak to his crew members.

Because he always backed in, she could see him as he walked around her yard. He seemed to be leaving everyone a list and his expectations. He was so certain, so confident. It was incredibly sexy. What was strange was that while Joey could come off sexy and confident, similar actions by Blaine had only served to make him appear cocky and arrogant. They were so different. She shook her head, wondering where that thought came from. Better that she should wonder what he had in mind for her. Clearly her hair was on the agenda. And sure…she wasn’t exactly known for her sense of style, but she was beautiful on the inside. That mattered, right?

He had barely opened the door when she started to question him. “Where are we going?” And before he could answer she smirked. “I need to ask you see, since I may get accused of not properly planning later.”

Luckily, he understood she was joking and he chuckled appropriately. “I thought today would be a good day for a makeover.”

“Oh, goody.” She sat quietly for a moment. “What does that mean?” They had barely pulled out of his driveway and already she was having doubts. “Am I going to regret this?”

He gave her a sideways glance as he drove. “I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t know you well enough to say. Am I going to regret this?”

“I don’t know,” she responded. “Are you paying?”

He laughed. Then he realized she was serious. “No. I’m not paying. Why would I pay?”

“Then you have your answer. If this goes badly, only I will regret it.” She smirked and stared out the window.



Hours later they were back to the house. They had driven to Charlotte. He had asked her a budget. And when she gave him a number, he decided that they should just go to the mall. The first thing he did was bring her to the salon. She stood there, feeling like an idiot while he described what he thought she should have done to her hair.

“It’s just dull and boring,” he explained to the stylist. “It doesn’t go with her personality at all.”

She had been shrinking as they spoke, feeling like less than she was. And then that one comment on the end made it all better. She was much like her house apparently, good bones, but otherwise needed a complete overhaul. One thought made the entire experience worthwhile…Blaine was going to do a double take when he saw her. She would show him that this move agreed with her. She was going to prove it by building a better house, creating a better life, becoming the best version of herself that she could be. Now, she just had to figure out what she wanted to do with all her time. The money wasn’t going to last forever, especially since Blaine had cut her off. She finally had to figure out a career path.

That was why she had been quiet on the drive home. She had bags of new clothes, some sexy underwear…on the off chance that she would ever have a man in her life to notice, and some amazing hair. She had picked up some makeup, which was an entirely new experience. She laughed as she recalled that conversation with Joe.

“What do you normally wear for make up?” He had asked it rather casually.

“Um, I use Carmex every day.” She smiled.

“What else? Don’t you have foundation? What about eye makeup? Eye liner?” He continued to name off makeup she had never purchased and never considered wearing.

“I think I wore that for the wedding…” Her voice trailed off. “I never really liked makeup. I liked the natural look. I would wear a lot of lip gloss. I didn’t work outside of the home because Blaine needed me to be readily available with very little notice.” She shrugged. “It’s not the life I wanted, but I gave up so much to make him happy and secure his dreams. I just learned to make the best of it. I did that for so long that now…I don’t remember what I wanted then. I certainly don’t know what I want now. I’m thirty-five and I have to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.” She shook her head. “I’m pretty pathetic.” She ran her fingers through her soft, sassy, highlighted hair. “Ah, but now I’m sexy and pathetic. That’s almost forgivable.” She smiled brightly at him.

When they had backed into his driveway, he set the brake and grabbed her arm before she could open the door. “Wait.” He reached into his jacket pocket. With a little smile, he pulled out three boxes. He peeked under the lid to make sure that he had them in the order he intended.

“First, for your bravery, for making a huge change, for introducing your hair to chemicals: a new charm. Ta da!” And he pulled out a hand held mirror charm. “Pass me the bracelet.”

“Well, I suppose I could take it off just this once.” She held out her wrist and he reached over and unhooked it. She watched as he removed the bracelet and worked to affix the new charm.

When he finished, he set it down on his pants leg. “And now…” He smiled widely, showing a neat row of pearly white teeth. Marti watched in fascination. “For your willingness to finally treat yourself right: a tiara.”

She looked at it and smiled. He bought her a tiara. Wow.

He tightened the ring so that second charm was secured to the bracelet. She gave a little clap. That bracelet was already starting to look better, just like her. Marti hugged herself at the thought.

“And finally,” he suddenly looked shy, “this is more of a reminder than an accomplishment.” He sighed as he pulled out the final charm before holding it up for her approval. It was a gleaming silver light bulb. “This is so that you remember; I will always leave the light on for you.”

For some reason, that charm actually brought tears to her eyes. It was such a simple gesture, but the consideration it showed touched her more than she had realized at the time. It was all the proof she needed that this man had a big heart. And he was showing her, even if he didn’t recognize it yet, that she had a place in it.

She stuck her wrist out for him as soon as he had added that third charm. And then he hooked it back in place. He left his hands on her slender wrist for an extra moment. Was he checking out her pulse? Did he just want to get a sense for how it looked? She was distracted by the warmth radiating from his fingers as they touched her skin.

“Lovely,” he said quietly. “Just perfect.” And then, just as quickly as he had held her wrist, he let go.

She stumbled some as she tried to get down from the truck. He had her a bit unhinged. She never knew how to take him. One minute he was a complete jerk, the next he would do something so completely endearing that she was questioning her previous assessment. She was lost in thought as she shut the truck door and started toward the street.

“Hey,” Joe yelled.

Marti wasn’t paying attention. She stopped on the curb and looked both ways when he suddenly grabbed her arm. She frowned and looked at him. “What?”

“When are you going to Vermont?” He wore a serious expression.

“Oh,” and the reason she had ended up getting a makeover rushed back to her. “Well, I guess I better head up there in the next couple of days. I don’t want to be stuck there over the weekend. Of course, I still have to move everything…” her voice trailed off while she continued the rest of the thoughts internally. “I’ll make phone calls and get everything set up.” She shrugged. “Why?”

“Give it a week. Don’t leave right away. He’ll think he still has some hold on you, that he can dictate your actions. Why don’t you wait a week or so, until you are good and ready? Then you can go.” Joe stared at her while he waited for a response.

She could feel him watching her for a reaction and she considered it. For never having met Blaine, Joe certainly seemed to have a strong sense for the kind of man he is. Or maybe that was just how all men behaved in general. “Okay,” she agreed. It wasn’t as though she was interested in rushing right up there anyway. She much preferred the weather here, and the people, especially Joe, who seemed to really understand her, maybe better even than she understood herself.

“Why don’t you meet me here as soon as you get your phone calls done tomorrow?” He was intentionally vague.

Normally that would have bothered her had Blaine done that, but it was different with Joe. She didn’t have to wonder who he was with or what he was doing when he was being secretive. He wasn’t hers to wonder or worry about. She wasn’t the least bit concerned. “Okay,” she said as she tried to smile. Why was it that she found herself constantly giving in to his requests? Heading back to Vermont was something she was dreading on so many levels.

“Good, I’ll see you then.” And with that they went their separate ways.