Her sadness has morphed into tears of joy, and I feel comfortable ending our conversation here. This won't be the last one we have. There will be some traumatizing sessions in my future, and I know I will be dependent on her to help me with the closure I'm seeking.
But I leave my room lighter than when I came in.
My tolerance for Bruce will grow. Not overnight. This is something I'll need to work on, too. I'll add it to the list, but I am hopeful, with time, we won't even remember how it was before.
TheoandMollyreturndownstairs as my dad and I try to salvage the food that spilled out of the In-N-Out bag. I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat some fries straight off the floor.
It's awkward as all hell as the four of us are reunited in the same room. And thanks to my dad, he makes it worse.
"Family hug?" he suggests.
"Oh my God, Dad? Really?"
"Group hug! I meantgrouphug!"
"Bruce, you ruined it, honey. No." Molly waggles her pointer finger, and I burst out laughing.
Maybe Theo was waiting for my reaction to all of this, because he cracks a smile and claps at the unintentional dad joke.
"That was good," Theo compliments.
"Well, thanks. Have you two eaten yet? Our burgers are cold and the fries are soggy. Molly, maybe we should umm—" He gestures with his head toward the garage, his eyes leading the way.
"Oh yes. We'll go get fresh burgers. Theo, text us your orders. We'll be back in a while."
A not so subtle way of giving us all the necessary moment to reconvene and discuss what happened behind closed doors.
They both leave in a hurry, and soon enough, Theo and I are alone in the kitchen.
"Did your talk go okay?"
"Let's go outside," he suggests.
Theo leads the way, and I follow behind like his shadow. Did it not go well? What did my dad say to him? What the hell is going on?
Theo strips out of his shirt, pulling at the collar and slipping it over his head.
"What are you doing?"
"Going swimming."
"Now?"
"Yeah, are you coming?" He's naked for a brief moment before he grabs his swim shorts that were left outside. He laces them up and waits for my answer.
"I'm not wearing a bathing suit."
Wrong answer.
He gathers me up in his arms and hauls me over to the edge of the pool.
I'm shrieking and snorting and kicking my legs like a kid. "Theo, don't do it!"
But he does. And I want him to. For as long as we live. I want him driving me crazy, making me laugh till my stomach hurts, annoying me, holding me up, falling with me, and loving me.
We disappear below the water, and when we surface, an entire conversation is said with one look. We have a lot to talk about, a lot to plan, a lot to look forward to.
But for now, we embrace each other and kiss like no one is watching.
