Chapter 28
Chapter 28 — The Cedar
Alex wakes early Saturday and drives to Holloway's Hardware to buy cedar for Maya's bookshelf. Gene helps him design the piece, recommending joinery techniques and dimensions. Alex insists on paying for the materials himself to make it a true gift. He meets Eleanor at the creek at noon, where they have a quiet, intimate encounter that feels different from the others — more deliberate, more final. Afterward, Alex calls his mother and tells her he's staying in the area for Gillespie Community College and the apprenticeship. His mother is surprised but supportive. He spends the afternoon and evening cutting, sanding, and assembling the bookshelf in the workshop area near his cabin. After dinner and kitchen cleanup, he walks to the Large Oak and finds Maya already there. He asks her why she started something with him when she knew she was leaving. He was told or shared with him. She tells him the truth.
Alex woke before the light. The cabin was gray. The pine knot eye was still there. The two notes were still on the wall. Eleanor's note and the Gillespie note. Side by side. Two doors in a hallway.
He sat up. The bed creaked. He put his boots on. He laced them. He splashed water on his face from the basin. He looked at himself in the small mirror above the sink. He looked like he'd slept hard. He looked like he had things to do.
He did.
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