Thanksgiving rolled around and I was extra excited, since Wilson had invited the Taylors over for dinner. I even helped him to fix the meals, him chuckling softly as I took some steaming vegetables off the stove.
"I should have invited the Taylors over for a meal sooner," he joked, since I never helped out that much.
I smiled at his comment, my heart leaping when the doorbell rang. "They're here," I exclaimed, racing to the front door. I composed myself as I straightened my long sleeve, creme shirt with foxes dotted over it in pale pinks and light grays. "Hey." I finally opened the door, my favorite family beaming at me.
"Hey, nice shirt," Randy complimented right away, everyone looking at him. "I mean, thanks for inviting us," he corrected, which neither phrase sounded much like him.
"Thanks," I reacted, feeling the rosy blush spreading across my cheeks. Brad nudged me teasingly as he almost laughed out loud as we all squeezed through Wilson's narrow hallway.
"I think it's pretty obvious Randy has a crush on you," he whispered near my ear.
"He does not," I argued in a hushed tone, their parents going into the dining room as Mark and Randy followed. I could already hear Wilson striking up a conversation with our guests.
"Yeah, right," Brad sarcastically answered.
"You're just as bad as Nicole," I accused.
"Am not," he defended, placing his hand over his heart as he glared at me. I merely smiled though, loving how he was treating me like a sister.
"Forget it. Let's just go join the others," I smiled, Randy giving us a confused face when we entered the room together.
I had a nice time conversing with everyone, and the food was delicious. I couldn't help but notice how wistful Wilson was though, as he recalled the place over seas where he first met his now deceased wife. He even shared how he had thought about moving back there one day. After everyone left that evening I found him in the backyard, working on a sculpture made entirely out of pine cones.
"Something on your mind, Katie," he wondered, the bottom half of his face blocked by the tall piece of art. He was still concentrating on gluing a pine cone in just the right spot.
"Wilson, do you really want to move back to the place where you first met your wife," I questioned, him pausing his project as he sighed softly.
"It would be nice to go back, but it wouldn't be right of me to make you move halfway across the world, and I certainly couldn't leave you here alone. There is always the possibility you could move back in with your parents, but I don't blame you for avoiding the bustling city of New York. A wonderful place, full of life, but also quite dangerous at times..."
"Wilson," I interrupted his train of thought, gaining his complete attention as his light colored eyes landed on me. "I wouldn't mind just staying here with the Taylors. I would have to ask them first, but I would be happy staying with them, and you would be happy moving, so if we did that then we both could be happy."
I could tell Wilson was smiling by the way his eyes crinkled. "You are a remarkable, young lady, Miss Katie. I might just take you up on that offer. You know, the Taylors won't take it lightly my leaving, and I'm going to miss them too."
"I know, but I think they'll understand when you explain why you're leaving," I replied, him nodding his head faintly.
The Taylors agreed to my request, and I sat on their couch in between Randy and Brad as Wilson took out the last of his moving boxes. We had already helped him with most of it, and decided to take a brief break before he was really gone. The Taylors helped me to get my things into their house the previous day, so their living room was pretty cluttered.
"I can't believe Wilson's leaving. Who am I going to talk to," Tim asked as he gazed out the long window on their door.
"You can talk to me. I am a certified psychologist now," Jill reminded him from the kitchen.
"I can't talk to you when the issue is about you," Tim emphasized.
"I can't believe Wilson's really going to be gone," Brad commented as he stared into space.
"Yeah, he's like one of the family," Randy agreed.
Just then Wilson let us know it was time as he held up a piece of paper with information for the airport over half off his face. We all trudged outdoors, me watching as the Taylors bid their tearful goodbyes. When Wilson faced me, I didn't expect for tears to prick at my eyes, since I had been with him less than the others. I threw myself into his arms as I hugged him, sobbing almost silently against his shoulder. He gently let go of me as he produced a sad smile, finally showing his whole face that day.
"Goodbye, Miss Katie. I'll try to visit soon," he promised, me nodding my head some with a feeble, half smile. I watched as he finally got into the moving van that would transport his packages to be sent by air. We all waved back after he did, us observing in silence how the big vehicle noisily drove away.
We all drifted into the living room similar to ghosts, Randy being the first to speak up. "So, where's Katie going to sleep?"
"The couch is fine. I'm surprised your dad didn't find an excuse to make me a room," I joked, but then it seemed a lightbulb went off in Tim's depressed mind.
"That's a great idea! We can make it a special edition of "Tool Time." We already did Randy's room as a boy's room, now we can do a girl one. I think there's still enough room in the basement for another room."
"Sounds great. Just make sure you fireproof my room before starting on it," Randy cut in with his usual, sarcastic tone.
His dad gave him an unamused look as Jill stepped up to her husband, leaning her chin on his shoulder as she gently touched his chest on the opposite side to comfort him.
"Tim, you need to talk about what just happened. You can't just keep your feelings bottled up."
"Honey, I don't need to talk about my feelings. I need to build this room. It'll be great," he promised with a grin.
"Are you sure you're okay," she double checked.
"What's with you women always wanting to get to the bottom of things? I'm fine. Now, let's go build a room!" He was already dialing the cord phone in the kitchen, me and Randy exchanging nervous looks as we could only imagine what disaster could pursue with this project.
A/N: Hey guys, I was trying to find an excuse for Katie to move in with the Taylors in this story, but I didn't expect the part with Wilson leaving to be that sad. I'm going to miss writing about him, but I'm also looking forward to the new ideas I have with this plot. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to comment, vote, and follow if you did. Thank you so much! <3 And also I have no idea how people move overseas, so sorry if any of the moving information was inaccurate. I also can't remember where Wilson first met his wife, but I knew it was in a different part of the world. <3
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Invisible String (Home Improvement/Randy Taylor Love Story)
Fanfiction"And isn't it just so pretty to think, all along there was some invisible string, tying you to me"
