As Fate Would Have It

Jocelyn ran her pale-painted fingertips across the old wooden door, sighing. She loved this place and now she had to sell it.

She grabbed the cold, rusty handle on the heavy door and pulled hard. The smell of hay, old wood and the crisp winter air encompassed her. She closed her eyes for a moment and took in a deep breath. It was a sweet reminder of her childhood, playing innocently with her brother and sister, having the time of their lives.

The inside looked exactly like she remembered. There were some small stalls on the left-hand side that never had animals in them, just bales of hay. On the right was a workbench her father used to sit at to make wood carvings. One of her favorite memories was her father showing her how to carve wood. He went into detail and was patient with Jocelyn. It became her favorite activity with him.

In the back was a tractor that her father had been excited to buy. It was new and he was proud of himself for being able to purchase it for their farm. It seemed like he was glued to it for the next few weeks.

Now its covered with a tarp.

“Excuse me,” A mans voice came from behind her, breaking her out of her increasingly gloomy thoughts. “Are you Jocelyn?”

She turned around to see a tall, brown haired man with a short beard, a little unkempt. He looked to be in his late twenties and in good shape. He wore a red and black, long-sleeved plaid shirt that nearly matched Jocelyn’s.

“Yes, I am,” She replied as she gave her hand for him to shake. “Are you Henry?”

He shook her hand and nodded. “Is this the tractor here?” He pointed and slowly walked towards it.

Jocelyn nodded and crossed her flannel-clad arms over her chest in attempts to stay warm. She’s regretting leaving her coat at home, not realizing she’d need it this badly. “Thank you for taking it. I don’t know what else I would have done with it.” She said almost sheepishly.

He waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s not a problem. It’s a great price, too. I would have neve been able to find this anywhere else for this amount. You’re doing me the favor here, really.” Henry smiled at her, trying to make her smile. He could feel how solemn she was.

Jocelyn smiled back at him. She could feel his attempt.

She was still trying to wrap her mind around selling everything. It seemed unreal. She was sad she had to.

“Thank you again,” Henry said as he examined the tractor. “Why are you getting rid of it anyway?”

He didn’t know what that question meant to her, but it struck her harder than she thought.

“My parents…” She looked down at the ground, trying to hide her face with her long brown hair. She didn’t want to cry in front of a stranger that’s just there to buy a tractor, it seemed like too much. “They were in an accident. They passed.” She didn’t want to say anything else. It was still too new.

Henry stopped looking at the tractor and instead, at Jocelyn.

She was small, but seemed even smaller once he realized she was grieving. She looked like she could crumble any minute.

Her hair was long, slightly hiding her face. He liked the fact that their shirts nearly matched and even though she was wearing boots with heels, she was still at least a foot shorter than him.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Henry said sincerely. “I didn’t know…” He trailed off, not sure what else to say in this situation.

Jocelyn shook her head. “It’s okay. It happened a few months ago. I was just left with a lot of things to take care of and it’s a little overwhelming.” She vented, not having many other people to talk to.

“Did you have something in mind for the barn? It seemed like you were in a daydream when I got here.” He smiled, wanting to lighten the mood. He looked around the structure surrounding them. It looked old and worn. It was two-stories tall with a pointed roof that had some of the wooden slats caving in. There were windows that lined the sides of the cabin and brought in a good amount of light. There was hay everywhere and it seemed like it just hadn’t been used in a very long time.

Jocelyn shook her head again. “I’m selling the place,” She said with a defeated tone. She started to walk over to her father’s work bench and stared and the dust covered desk.

“My parents got married in this barn,” Her tone was soft. “I wanted to get married in this barn, too.” She looked down at her hands, facing away from Henry. A tear rolled down her cheek as she realizes her father won’t be able to walk her down the aisle.

Henry just looked at her, not sure what to say to mend the situation. Not that he could, really.

“You still can,” He offered.

Jocelyn let out a small chuckle and turned to face Henry. “My fiancé actually just left me,” She smiled in disbelief. “I was ‘spending too much time mourning my parents’ according to him. Absolutely ridiculous.” She rolled her eyes and looked at Henry.

His mouth was agape. “What a…”

“I know,” Jocelyn laughed. “A little unreal.”

Henry shook his head. “Unbelievable. Wow. Well, I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that so quickly.” He felt so bad for this poor girl who couldn’t be older than 26.

She shrugged. “It’s okay. Maybe the new owners will let me rent it out one day.” If that day ever came, she thought.

Henry had a thought cross his mind that he didn’t know if he should say out loud. He looked at Jocelyn and started to speak before he changed his mind.

“You can still get married in this barn,” He said, seeing the look of confusion come across her face. “You and I can get married.”

Jocelyn looked at him like he was crazy. She didn’t even know him!

“I’m sorry, I don’t know you and what if you’re a serial killer?” She half-joked.

Henry laughed, not having thought this out at all. “You’re right, you don’t know me. As fate would have it, I’m single and attractive.” He let out a small laugh. “Let’s get to know each other, take each other’s hands and get married. It won’t be official, but at least you can say you got married in the same barn as your parents.” He offered a genuine smile. He knew it was crazy but it would be a good memory to look back on.

Jocelyn thought about it for a moment before agreeing. She knew it wasn’t official, so what’s the harm? The more she thought about it, the more she loved the idea.

“Okay, um…” Jocelyn looked around the barn for a moment before locking eyes with Henry. “What’s your favorite animal?”

Henry smiled. “A giraffe. Their necks absolutely fascinate me.”

Jocelyn laughed. “Good start.”

“Who’s your favorite U.S. President in history?” Henry smirked.

“Wow, going for the really personal stuff, huh?” Jocelyn grinned. She was actually really enjoying this. “Teddy Rosevelt, for sure.”

“Amazing answer,” Henry gave her a thumbs up. “Exactly what I was looking for.” He joked.

Jocelyn took a step closer to Henry as she got more comfortable. “Do you want kids?”

“Two, maybe three.” He shrugged. “Depending on what my lovely wife would want. What’s your favorite constellation?”

Jocelyn paused and thought for a moment. “Orien’s Belt. What’s a sport you’d never play?”

“Jousting. Really just don’t see the point of it.” Henry tried not to smile. “Favorite mythical creature?”

“Hippogriffs,” Jocelyn smiled. “How old are you?”

Henry took a step towards Jocelyn. “28, how old are you?”

Jocelyn took another step towards Henry. “25. Not much of a difference.” She smiled and got as closed to him as she could without actually touching him.

“Jocelyn, will you marry me?” Henry smiled as he rested his hand on her cheek, gently holding her face.

With a smile on her face, Jocelyn nodded.

“Now we have to seal the marriage with a kiss.” Henry lowered his face to hers and waited for her to move into him.

Jocelyn stood on her tip-toes, tenderly touching her lips to his. The kiss was soft, sweet and short. It was over before she realized and if she was being honest, she wanted more.

Henry sensed her hesitation and leaned down to kiss her again, longer and more passionately this time. He held the small of her back with one hand and the top of her back with the other as he leaned her over to deepen the kiss.

When they came up for air, they both had smiles plastered on their face.

“Thank you for marrying me in my parents barn. It means more to me than you know.” Jocelyn placed her hands on Henry’s chest and looked up into his dark green eyes.

Henry stared right back into Jocelyn’s deep brown eyes. “Anytime, Jocelyn Durrow.”

Jocelyn furrowed her eyebrows. “Durrow?”

Henry nodded. “That’s my last name. You are taking my last name, aren’t you?” He joked, getting a laugh out of Jocelyn.

“I’m glad I married someone with a sense of humor.” She joked back.

Henry took a moment and just looked at Jocelyn. She was beautiful, and he knew they were just playing around but he wanted more.

“Would you want to go get a drink with me?” He asked hopefully.

Jocelyn nodded immediately. “Yes, I would love that.”

The breakup with her fiancé was still fresh, but Henry made her feel good and even if nothing came out of it, at least she could say she got married in the same barn as her parents.