Tonight, the television wasn't on and neither were Major and Nanna sitting at her dining room table chatting or having their meal or cup of tea. It was very quiet and the only light was cast from the blazing fire. Nanna hadn't said much since Major had gotten the phone call from his grandson, Travis. That had Major very concerned. She sat leaned against his shoulder.

"I'd thought you'd be happy about it, Arabella."  Travis had proudly informed them that he'd challenged the contractors to complete the house six weeks early, with $25,000 for an incentive. 

"I am happy, my love." Her eyes were warm and gentle. "But the pleasant shock that I got today, knowing that Jas and Aiden are finally getting married, and the finality that the only life I've known in Ellijay is really about to be over—I'm overwhelmed."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I never looked at it that way. Hell, I've been around the world more times than I could ever count and you've never been out of Ellijay." It was hard for Major to imagine someone that had never travelled. Nanna had been married to the inn. "If it means that much to you, I'll just move here. I can turn most of my responsibilities over to Trey. We'll sell the house and make another bundle of money..."

"No, no, that's not what I want. I'm so looking forward to being with you in Dallas. In Ellijay, I've been a big fish in a little pond. Now, I'm about to become a little fish in a big pond." She stroked the side of his face. "It's going to be a huge adjustment, Major, but I'm up for the challenge. My mind is just absorbing change."

"Are you sure, Arabella?"

"I have no doubt that all I will need for the rest of my life is being Mrs. Arabella Stallworth."

Major's face lit, like the sun rising at dawn. "I think it's time, then."

"Time?"

"We've put it off too long. You need to speak with Jas, sunshine."

***

Troy sat at the desk. His fingers flew across the keyboard looking for properties around the region. Surely, something had to be for sale. He wanted the flyover that he'd scheduled with Billy Bob Johnson to look legit.  But, when he saw the scarcity of property in the area, he had two very good thoughts.

Perhaps he should actually buy some property so that Deanna could be close to Aiden when all the misery wrapped up? He kind of expected that Aiden would split time between New York and Ellijay. And scarce property would increase demand in the real estate market.  If he was lucky to find something, he could use it for investment property to rent or sell.

It was frustrating seeing that the closest available properties were in Nashville. That was 166 miles from Ellijay. He kept scrolling, page after page. It was four a.m. Every time the weight of the day tried to pull his eyelids shut, he had only to imagine that cigarette-smoking loser in his head to push him to dig harder.  Silent anger rose with in him, forming a thunderstorm in his mind.

"The audacity of that bastard giving me a two-hour minimum for a ride that should only take fifteen minutes," he whispered. That fueled his storm even more.  Troy would fork over four thousand dollars for that plane ride. He'd make sure he got more than his money's worth out of the trip.  Finally, when his fingers were raw, he found a small cabin in Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia that sat on one hundred twenty acres of land.

He zoomed in to look at the home. "Perfect," he said. "Less than an hour away from Ellijay." It was priced at something he could pay cash for, and had enough land for him to build investment cabins if he ever decided to do that. For now, his thought was for the well-being of his wife.  He wanted to keep Billy Bob in the air as long as possible, so he found a couple of areas in the Nashville area just for show.  Troy was exhausted. He finally climbed into bed knowing exactly what needed to be done. He leaned over and kissed Deanna on the cheek. I've got this, darling.

***

Four days into the flu, Aiden and Jas were as sick as they were on day one. Anna was very concerned that she'd seen no measureable improvements.  She called Dr. Hayden for the umpteenth time and he said the same thing—give them the medication he'd prescribed, keep the liquids going, the temperature down, and wait it out. The break normally didn't come until the seventh through the tenth day.

She tipped into the room carrying another tray of chicken broth and crackers. Every day, she'd put on a nose mask that Aiden insisted she wear, air the room out by leaving the windows cracked for about an hour and sanitize everything with Lysol.  Then, she would sponge their faces with cool water. That would normally wake them enough to drink the broth and eat the crackers.   Today, as she cooled Jas down, she felt her weak hand try to squeeze hers. Jas' lips were chapped, and in barely a whisper, she said, "Thank you, Anna.  You're worth everything to us."

Anna smiled. "Just get better soon, okay?"  She turned to see Aiden stir.

"Yes, she is everything to us. Hi, Anna," Aiden said, thinly.

"Your eyes look better today, Aiden," Anna said.

A painful laugh trickled up. "Please make sure to spare me any mirrors, I must look like a craved wolf at this point." He reached up to touch his face. "Hey..."

"I sent Ted in earlier this week to give you a shave."

"How thoughtful," said Jas. "How long have we been in bed?"

"Four days, and Dr. Hayden said the worst will be over after seven to ten days."

She brought the tray of food over to the bed. Anna helped them both to get comfortable and then she placed the tray on the bed. "Oh, Jas, I hope you don't mind but your cell phone was downstairs so I picked up a call.  It was Nanna. I told her that you had the flu and she begged me not to disturb you."

"That's fine, Anna. She'll call back."

"She did. She called two more times. I told her that I would bring you the phone and she said no, let her get her rest."

Jas smiled. "That's just like Nanna. My head hurts too bad to hold a conversation right now. But would you call her and ask if she needs anything, or if it is an emergency?"

"I sure will."

***

Nanna placed the phone to the side and whispered to Major, "What should I tell her? This is the third time that Jas asked her to call me. They are still sick."

Major didn't answer the question. "Arabella, what's this other bottle of pills on the shelf—did you order me more medication?"

"Major, help me! Don't touch that other bottle...that's the..."

"Oh, that's the trophy, alright. Arabella, you need to make this decision. I've already told you what I thought."

Nanna stamped her foot. "Anna, dear, please assure Jas that everything is fine. They need their rest, okay. Goodbye now."

Nanna walked into the bathroom where Major was shaving. "You're really some help."

"I did help. I told you to call her a long time ago and tell her. You're the one using their flu as a bypass to the inevitable."

She picked up a wet towel and swatted him with it.

He laughed. "Our first spat—loving it."

***

"What do you mean that you sent out all of the invitations?" Jas said. She sniffled. Aiden passed her the box of tissues. "I thought we agreed that Nanna was the only one to get the invitation."

"No, babe, that's what you said. I said that I wasn't inviting my parents and that's not up for negotiation."

Jas snatched the tissue out of the box and then rolled over, turning her back to him. "That just may be a deal breaker," she accidently said, hoping it was low enough and thinking that he wouldn't hear it.

Aiden saw flames. As weak as he was, that sent a shot of adrenaline roaring through him that made him want to pound the rebel. He seized Jas' shoulder and flipped her around. Aiden's ears still burned. 

"What...did...you...say?"

He looked down into the pools of molten lava in Jas' eyes, knowing she was just as angry as he was. He clamped his hand over her mouth when she angrily voiced, "I said..."

Aiden bellowed, "You will not repeat that, Jasmine Arabella Stone."

Jas' eyes widened when she heard him call her by her full name. Her heart started palpitating. That name was only used when she was in the rarest incidence of deep, deep shit. She'd rarely heard it in her entire existence coming from her beloved's mouth.  Jas gulped. Aiden watched the sudden shift of emotions on her face.

He felt his lip twitch. Surely this was not the time for laughter. He was trying so hard to hold it in. Maybe he should have called her that name the day that she brazenly walked out into the freezing cold, half dressed and with no shoes on—perhaps they wouldn't be lying in this very bed today.

Aiden felt the rapid rise and fall of her chest against his. Despite the laugh that was exploding up like a geyser, he held it in and kept the fiery glare.

"You will not repeat that," he said firmly.  Aiden lifted his hand and Jas said nothing. "Our wedding day is reserved for those who have loved and showed loyalty towards us, Jas."

"Aiden, but..."

He shook his head. "I don't want to hear it."

"So, is this how it's going to be when we're married? You shut down and I can't voice what's tearing me up on the inside? I can't come to you with a problem?"

Those words pierced Aiden's heart. He certainly didn't want Jas to feel that way. They'd always talked about everything...but his parents.

"It's not like that, Jas."

"It's exactly like that," she snapped.

He released her and rolled over, onto his back. "That's not fair. We have a very open relationship and talk about everything. We always have. My parents are the only thing I've ever limited."

"But that could also be the rift that can destroy something beautiful, Aiden." She reached across the bed and squeezed his hand. "Everything that we have is beautiful, but there is a rage that comes over you when it relates to your parents. I don't want that in our marriage. Can't you see that?"

"What I see is that out of sight is out of mind."

"That's the problem, Aiden, they're not dead...one day you're going to see them."

***

A few days had passed. Nanna was walking through the inn checking on the staff and guests. She was surprised to see Deanna standing in the hall, looking at the shelf where she had the picture of Harvey and some other very important photos in frames. Most of them were pictures of Aiden, Jas and Flannery together enjoying life.  The odd thing was that it appeared Deanna was crying. Nanna startled Deanna when she called out to her.

"Good morning, Deanna. Is everything okay?"

Deanna jerked around. She quickly wiped her tears and mustered up a smile. "All is well. Seeing the children in the picture reminded me of happy times I'd missed in my life. I wish I could have been a part of days like this."

"Rough upbringing, huh?"

"Yeah, not very ideal."

Flannery sauntered down the hall. She brushed up against Deanna's leg and purred. Nanna reached down to pick up the cat. "Come, Flannery." She was surprised that Flannery didn't let her pick her up, she went behind Deanna and contentedly snuggled against her.

Nanna glanced up at Deanna. "That's so odd. She's not really friendly to people she doesn't know. She never cuddles with guests."

"Oh, my goodness, that's the same cat that is in the pictures.  She must be..."

"Old as these hills," Nanna interjected. "Don't know what I'd do without that precious cat. Her name is Flannery."

"Hi, Flannery." Deanna bent down and patted her on the head.

"Flannery thinks that she's human. When the kids were young, she hung out with them just like she was a little girl. Yeah, Jas, Aiden and Flannery were inseparable."

Hearing Aiden's name ripped through Deanna's heart. Her voice was trembling but she managed to say, "So, those are your children?"

"In a way, yes." Nanna was happy that someone wanted to hear about Aiden and Jas. She hadn't shared with anyone about the wedding and was bursting to talk about it. "Come on with me to my room. I want to show you the beautiful wedding invitation I just got from them."

Deanna's eyes snapped up. Wedding?

"I'm so excited that I don't know what to do," said Nanna. "I've been waiting for this all my life."

The two of them walked towards Nanna's quarters.  Deanna felt excitement bubbling up on the inside. Somehow, she felt hopeful that she would be attending that wedding, not as Aiden's enemy but his friend. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but she was determined to grasp it anyway. Then it suddenly dawned on Deanna why she'd been in the hall. She was trying to find Nanna before the pictures ambushed her.

"Nanna, I was looking for Troy. Have you seen him?"

"Yes, dear," she said, patting Deanna's hand. "We got so caught up with Flannery and the pictures that things slipped my mind. Troy left the inn about seven-thirty this morning. He told me to tell you that he had to take care of some business concerning your son and that it would be a surprise."

Deanna shook nervously, knowing that he was speaking about Aiden. What could Troy possibly be doing? Her hand jumped.

Nanna turned. "You're pretty jittery, Deanna. Are you sure that you're okay? I mean, I did see you crying and all."

I wish that I could talk to you. I just can't, not now.

"Really, Nanna, I'm fine."

"I'm not sure that I believe it, but I think we'll both feel better when I tell you about my babies and you tell me about yours."

Deanna looked away from Nanna and arched her brow. "Sure, that will be nice."