“Oh no, I tried to back out of coming but you wouldn’t hear it, so nope, I don’t owe you nothing. Have any more marriage proposals been coming through?” I glanced up at Dean and saw his perplexed glare and shooed him off.

“You better believe it, every day this week I’ve gone home wielding a bouquet of flowers and a corny poem or a box of chocolates. I even had a singing telegram show up today for you. Some of these guys think they know how to romance a girl, but if they are regular listeners to the show they know that you’re not here so why bother?”

“Glad I’m missing all of that,” Tillie emerged from the kitchen holding a steaming plate in each hand, “listen, I’m at lunch with a friend so I’m going to have to call you back later. Hold the fort down and don’t kill Ryan.”

I said my goodbyes just as Tillie was setting our plates in front of each of us, “Thank you, Tillie, this looks and smells fabulous.” I said as the aroma from the crisp, smoky Applewood bacon filled my nostrils.

“I second that, thanks Tillie,” Dean followed.

She nodded her head and gave a sideways smile before leaving us with our monstrous plates of food. “I’m sorry about that, Blaine is with a guy that he really can’t stand so he was just trying to give me a hard time about it.”

“What did you mean when you said something about marriage proposals?”

“Oh,” I chuckled as I wiped my mouth on my paper napkin, “well, my mom has been harping on me to start going out on dates. Somehow Blaine caught wind of the situation and thought it’d be funny to have a segment where I would actually go out on a blind date on a Friday and then come back the following Monday and talk about how it went and yada, yada, yada. Well, the day I actually got the email from Baylor, which ended up being from Norah, I was reviewing a horrific date; the guy was utterly clueless so I asked Blaine on the air to marry me. It was all a joke but he turned me down and now all of these men have been vying for my attention by sending in flowers and other asinine gestures, trying to propose to me. It was really bad that week but I thought it had mostly died down; I guess I was wrong. I don’t really know why men would propose to me. I mean without knowing me really. They could all see me out and about when I do on-location broadcasts or see my face around town on billboards, but I just don’t get it.”

“Eden, are you fishing for a compliment or just obtuse?”

I reared back as if he had smacked me in the face; he might as well have. “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I certainly wouldn’t be fishing for a compliment. That’s not who I am.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” he stressed after releasing a breath. “I’m perturbed and just taking it out on you. But Eden, you are absolutely beautiful, every man in his right mind should be fighting in line just to get your attention. Lord knows I did.”

I wrinkled my brows and pulled my lip in between my teeth, then released it and sighed. “What do you mean?”

“Eden, was there ever a time that you saw me before you did Baylor? Did you ever have feelings for me like you did him?” He looked almost nervous as he awaited my answer.

“Dean, you were one of my best friends. Of course I loved you, but only as a brother, I’m sorry.” A wave of penitence consumed me for not giving him the answer that he anxiously wanted to hear.

“You didn’t?” he said flatly, his mask slipped for a moment before cementing itself back into place. “I did everything that a gentleman should, I crammed myself in the back of Baylor’s car so many times. I took you to prom. I was just hoping that something would’ve been there. I guess the old saying is true, nice guys finish last, but then again I can’t deny that you and Baylor are perfect for each other. I just have to put my old feelings aside.”

I covered his hand with mine and pulled it towards me, holding tight, “Dean, you are amazing and one of the best guys I’ve ever met. I have no doubt in my mind that one day soon you’ll find your special person who can handle all that you have to offer.”

“Gosh, I feel like such a loser. I promise I haven’t changed into this bonafide pussy in the years you’ve been gone.”

“I would never think that at all,” I said with a sly smirk causing us both to laugh. It was great to catch up and laugh with him, my heart had missed Dean too.

Pulling up in front of the old covered bridge, our bridge, I couldn’t believe that I had completely missed seeing it yesterday. I hurried out of the truck just as soon as Baylor put it in park. The area was abandoned even when I was younger; it was one of the more forgotten bridges in Cottage Grove. By the looks of things, bits and pieces of the wood had been refurnished or replaced; the area outside of the bridge had been weeded and thoroughly taken care of.

I walked over to the entrance where the railings started to lead across the little creek underneath. The slats in the railing brought back the most memories, Baylor and I used to sit right at the entrance where our feet would dangle right above the rippling stream. I unzipped my raincoat since the rain had taken a little break and sat down in between the beams just like we used to do when we were younger.

I looked back to Baylor who had his hands in his pockets and was just standing on the wooden platform. He looked off into the distance and began to speak, “I come here often and touch up on different parts that have rotted. Norah and I even make it a project to stain the wood once a year, kind of a father/daughter bonding time. But we enjoy it and it keeps the bridge looking a little less worn down,” he lightly chuckled.

“Why would you do that?” I couldn’t understand why he would take time out of his busy life to take care of a useless old bridge.

He sat down next to me, hanging his legs over the side and making some stray rocks fall into the creek. “Because this bridge has a lot of meaning to me,” he slapped a hand on a beam of wood, “it’s a piece of my youth. I remember us always coming here after school; we would sit here and talk while Dean traveled down into the creek like the adventurer he is.” He looked down at his overworked hands and spoke a bit lower than before, “It was the place I fell in love with you, and I now own it.”

I couldn’t wrap my head around what I was hearing; he loved me when we were younger? And he bought this bridge because of all the memories that it inhabited. I had to place a hand over my erratically beating heart. “You own this bridge and preserve it because of me?”

“I love this bridge,” he looked down the entire length of the structure. “When I heard that they were planning to tear it down, the boy in me couldn’t let that happen and just wash away years of memories along with it, and the architect in me couldn’t just sit around and let it crumble because of lack of attention.” He leaned back on his hands, still taking in all of the wooden beams. I couldn’t help but to watch him closely observing and admiring the structure that he helped rejuvenate.

My cell phone rang so I pulled it out of my pocket and noticed it was Julia. I needed a breather so her call really couldn’t have come at better time. “Hey, its Julia, I’m going to just be a minute,” I told Baylor. He nodded while I stood up and walked around to the back of his truck to take the call. “Hey,” I answered, my voice sounding mildly deflated.

“What’s wrong? Whose ass do I need to kick for making you sound so sad?” That’s what was so great about Julia, all I needed to say was the word and she would come running with guns blazing.

“No one’s ass needs kicked. You remember when I told you about the old covered bridge we used to go to when I was a kid? Well, Baylor bought it and has been restoring it all these years. I’m trying my hardest here to keep my tears at bay but I’m hanging on by a thread. This week is becoming more than I can handle. I am thrilled for the time we are getting to spend together but what happens when I leave?”