Chapter 7 - Two Worlds, One Home
They bought the farmhouse.
Together.
Not immediately.
Not dramatically.
Mary kept the garage.
Grant kept his apartment in Manhattan.
They learned the interstate between their two worlds better than either of them expected.
Some weeks Mary came to New York.
Other weeks Grant worked from Pennsylvania.
Mary attended corporate dinners occasionally, usually terrifying executives by asking direct questions nobody else dared ask.
Grant spent Saturday mornings at the garage, where Earl continued calling him Moneybags even after Grant learned to change brake pads without supervision.
A year later, Grant proposed beneath the maple tree behind the farmhouse.
Mary stared at the ring.
Then at him.
“You’re sure?”
Grant smiled.
“That’s supposed to be my question.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
She looked toward the barn, where Grant had spent three weekends helping rebuild the doors.
“Do I have to become Mrs. Callaway at charity galas?”
“Only if you want to.”
“Do I have to stop repairing cars?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Can Earl come to the wedding?”
Grant sighed.
“I suppose.”
“He’ll call you Moneybags during the ceremony.”
“I know.”
Mary smiled.
Then became serious.
“One more question.”
“Anything.”
“If you lost all of it tomorrow, what would you do?”
Grant looked toward the farmhouse.
Toward the muddy boots beside the back steps.
Toward Mary’s grease-stained work jacket hanging over the porch rail.
He thought about the man who had driven away from Manhattan because he believed losing money might make him unlovable.
“I’d probably need a job.”
Mary nodded thoughtfully.
“I’m hiring.”
Grant laughed so hard she started laughing too.
Then he kissed her.
They married five months later in the field behind the farmhouse.
No celebrity venue.
No society pages.
No private island.
There were folding chairs, wildflowers, children running through the grass, mechanics beside executives, and a buffet prepared by the same restaurant where Grant and Mary had gone on their first date.
Sabrina wasn’t there.
But a card arrived that morning.
Mary handed it to Grant without opening it.
Inside was one sentence.
I hope this time both of you know exactly what you’re marrying.
Grant stood quietly for a moment.
May you like
Then he smiled.
He put the card in a drawer.
