Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks [81]
After stopping at the motel to pick up the book and the lesson for the following day, Garrett brought them both to his house. Though Kevin had planned on starting the next few chapters right away, the fact that Garrett lived on the beach changed everything. Standing in the living room and looking toward the ocean, he asked:
“Can I go down to the water, Mom?”
“I don’t think so,” she said gently. “We’ve just spent all day in the pool.”
“Ah, Mom… please? You don’t have to go with me—you can watch me from the deck.”
She hesitated, and Kevin knew he had her. “Please,” he said again, giving her his most earnest smile.
“All right, you can go. But don’t go out too deep, okay?”
“I won’t, I promise,” he said excitedly. After seizing the towel Garrett handed him, he ran down to the water. Garrett and Theresa sat on the deck and watched him as he began to splash around.
“He’s quite a young man,” Garrett said quietly.
“Yes, he is,” she said. “And I think he likes you. At lunch when you went to the bathroom, he said you were cool.”
Garrett smiled. “I’m glad. I like him, too. He’s one of the better students I’ve had.”
“You’re just saying that to please me.”
“No, I’m not. He really is. I meet a lot of young kids in my classes, and he’s very mature and well-spoken for his age. And he’s nice, too. Too many kids are spoiled these days, but I don’t get that sense about him.”
“Thank you.”
“I mean it, Theresa. After hearing about your worries, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But he’s really a great kid. You’ve done a good job raising him.”
She reached for his hand and kissed it gently. She spoke quietly.
“It means a lot to me to hear you say that. I haven’t met many men who want to talk about him, let alone spend time with him.”
“Then it’s their loss.”
She smiled. “How come you always know exactly what to say to make me feel good?”
“Maybe it’s because you bring out the best in me.”
“Maybe I do.”
That evening Garrett took Kevin to the video store to pick up a couple of movies he wanted to watch and ordered pizza for the three of them. They watched the first movie together, eating in the living room. After dinner Kevin slowly began to fade. By nine o’clock he’d fallen asleep in front of the television. Theresa nudged him gently, telling him it was time to leave.
“Can’t we just sleep here tonight?” he mumbled, only half-conscious.
“I think we should go,” she said quietly.
“If you want, you two can sleep in my bed,” Garrett offered. “I’ll stay out here and sleep on the couch.”
“Let’s do that, Mom. I’m really tired.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, but by then Kevin had already begun to stagger in the direction of the bedroom. They heard the springs squeak as Kevin plopped down on Garrett’s bed. Following him, they peeked in the door. In a moment he was sleeping again.
“I don’t think he’s giving you much choice,” Garrett whispered.
“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea.”
“I’ll be a perfect gentleman—I promise.”
“I’m not worried about you—I just don’t want to give Kevin the wrong impression.”
“You mean you don’t want him to know we care about each other? I think he already knows that.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I know.” He shrugged. “Look, if you want me to help you get him out to the truck, I’d be glad to do it.”
She stared at Kevin for a moment, listening to his deep, even breaths. He looked dead to the world.
“Well, maybe one night wouldn’t hurt,” she relented, and Garrett winked.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Now don’t forget your promise to be a perfect gentleman.”
“I won’t.”
“You sound so sure about it.”
“Hey… a promise is a promise.”
She gently closed the door and put her arms around Garrett’s neck. She kissed him, biting him teasingly on the lip. “That’s good, because if it was just up to me, I don’t think I could control myself.”
He winced.