Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 11 by Chautona Havig

carried a ridiculously long garden hose from beneath the steps all the way down the hill from the house into a slight valley to one side of the house. His forehead furrowed in confusion as she trudged back to the house, turned on the spigot, and hurried inside.
    “ What are you doing? ”
    “ Ice skating! I have all of my old skates. Surely we can find a pair to fit them .”
    Pulling off her coat and boots, she handed them to Chad and hurried upstairs. Breakfast in a robe might be comfortable , but she had work to do and didn ’ t intend on lounging around in her pajamas while she could be working. Within minutes she was dressed in jeans and a sweater, had her hair braided and out of the way, teeth were brushed, and her face washed.
    As she left the bathroom, Chad met her at the top of the stairs , carrying an air mattress and foot pump. “ I thought you might want to make up Ellie ’ s bed before — ”
    “ Oh good! Bring it in here .”
    The doo r to the spare bedroom was open, leaving the room reasonably warm. Chad started pumping the mattress , but Willow shooed him out of the room. “ I ’ ll do this; can you go up into the attic and bring down my dollhouse? I ’m going to set it up between those windows on —” she hesitated. “Well, that little table up there .”
    “ What table? ”
    Willow explained where the table was and what it looked like. By the time Chad returned with it, the mattress was pumped and ready to make up for Ellie ’ s arrival. “ I think I want some bricks and those two old doors mother has out in the barn .”
    “ Why? ”
    “ How can Ellie possibly make the bed properly with it sitting smack dab on the floor? Besides, it ’ s too cold down here. I should have bought a bed for her .”
    “Smack dab?” Chad shook his head as he left the room to retrieve the dollhouse. Only Willow would think of buying a bed for a two-week guest stay.
    He found her in the guest room deflating the mattress and talking to his mother. “ What? ” he mouthed as she waved her hand at him , silencing his questions.
    “ Thanks , Marianne. I knew you ’ d remember which one I meant. Just let me know when you find it , and I ’ ll send Chad .”
    Nothing they ’ d said or done until this point felt more ‘ married ’ than hearing his fiancée making plans for him —without consulting him . Though slightly annoying, it also amused him . “ Do I get a say in this? ”
    “ Nope. Bringing them out here was your idea ; now you can go get her a decent bed… when your mother finds it .”
    “ What if I had to work? ”
    “ But you don ’ t. Not until ten tonight. You told me that last night when I tried to make you go home early, using your need for sleep as an excuse. Remember? ”
    Chad threw up his hands. “ Uncle! I ’ ll go. Actually, I ’ ll go now so that I can get back as quickly as possible .” Just outside the door, he turned back and said, “ I like what you ’ ve done in here , by the way. It always seemed like the poor relation. Sent to the back of the house and forgotten .”
    “ I ’ ll work on your room once the children are gone, ” she promised.
    “ My room? ” He hadn ’ t imagined her changing anything in her mother ’ s room. “ Why? ”
    “ Well, I assumed you ’ d rather have something that suits you rather than my mother .”
    Willow tried to hide the pain her words caused her , but her slightly pursed lips and the way she refused to meet his eyes told him more than she ’ d intended to share. Chad started to reassure her that he liked the room exactly the way it was , but she pushed past him and strolled down the hall. “ If you ’ ll just take a look and see what color you ’ d prefer —”
    “ I ’ d rather, ” he said as he followed, resting his hands on her shoulders. “ Leave it just as it is. It ’ s cheerful, not prissy, and —” he added quietly into her ear. “ I ’ m not ready to see your mother ’ s room dismantled that way. If I