He gave a half wave.
“What was Pax saying about a retreat center?” my dad asked, and then the conversation flowed as Nico regaled him with his plans for the business gig, making a great first impression as my boyfriend on my parents.
“Next year, you need to come here for Christmas,” Nico offered. “Everyone could come here. I have plenty of room—or I will have, when everything’s fixed up over the next year. I can block it off. I was planning on being closed during this time anyway. It’ll be fun.”
And then my mother did the most shocking thing I’d ever seen her do—she agreed to have Christmas elsewhere.
“We’ll have to make plans once we get closer because I’m not lugging a turkey all the way there. And you know how picky I am about my turkeys, Pax.”
I did know. The entire town knew…she was kind of infamous for it. “We gotta go, Mom. We still haven’t eaten breakfast. I love you. You too, Dad.”
Nico shut down Zoom. “That wasn’t too painful, right?”
“Yeah, remarkably it wasn’t. But the real test will be next year, and if she leaves little snide comments about me being gone this year. That’s the only true test.”
“I’m looking forward to it, snide remarks and all.”
“I think the coffee’s done. What would you like for breakfast?” I stood up from my chair.
“I don’t know. What do you usually have for Christmas breakfast?”
“When I was growing up, it was always scrambled eggs, but let’s not do that, because I didn’t even like them. I think it was just easy and something my father could do to give my mother her quote-unquote break before she then made a dinner that would feed about 500 that we’d be eating as leftovers for what felt like forever.”
She still cooked too much, but now she did it for the fifty-five-plus community she lived in. My mom was living her best life there, which was funny, given I tried to talk her out of it, thinking it would be boring old people. But, to her, it was like being back in the college dorms, only with people who were actually old enough to buy the liquor and with far fewer rules.
“Then I’ll try to make you something you do like.” I poured us some coffee and handed him his. “I’m sorry I don’t have any gifts for you this year.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Pax. You brought me the best gifts of all: a daddy, a partner, a future.”
I didn’t care that we were going at the speed of lightning. We’d dragged our feet for years. It was time that we took off like a dragon in the sky on the way to a carnival to see their boy.
Chapter Sixteen
Nico
When Pax had to leave after Christmas, I cried. I tried not to. I told him I’d be brave, I’d be strong, but he wasn’t even on the main road and the tears were already shedding. I hugged Oscar close that night, and the next night, and the next. I hated the part of me that feared once he left and got back to his real life, he’d change his mind and not want to be here. He’d discover he wanted to be in the city where things were convenient and local.
And then, the very next weekend, he came back. And the weekend after that, and the one after that. Each time, I worried less and less because I saw that, yes, we were going to be able to do this. It took a while for him to switch jobs, settle things with his apartment, and move in, and all of that. When he did, everything clicked into place.
Initially, his office was the dining room table, as I continued working on fixing up the cabins. But, eventually, the work was done, and we moved his office into a larger space…one that didn’t have a leaky roof, the electricity worked, and it was painted.
Pax liked his new job. He didn’t love that it paid less than his last one, but there were so many benefits, it didn’t matter. He was with me, and it wasn’t like he was paying city rent anymore, which was astronomical for what he got. It all evened out.
But best of all was his commute…thirty-six steps. He counted. And sometimes he had to work a little late, but there were far more times when he could take extended lunches or enjoy a leisurely morning.
As I started to get bookings for the retreats, he was able to work side by side with me, organizing and getting things ready. In the beginning, it was more than that, but now that we hadconsistent bookings, I hired some local part-time help to assist with the cleaning and food prep, and it made it a lot easier.
I cracked the oven to check on the lasagna. It was looking pretty good, probably about twenty minutes and it would be done. I walked the thirty-six steps to Daddy. More than that, really, because I was going from the kitchen, but I always thought about those steps and how he’d counted that day.
“Daddy, dinner’s gonna be in about twenty minutes, but it can hold if you have to work.”
“Nope, perfect timing,” he said, shutting his laptop and approaching me. “I thought I was cooking tonight.”
“You were going to, but I got done early, so you’re just gonna have to put up with my lasagna.” He never turned down my specialty.
“Lasagna!” He kissed me. His excitement didn’t surprise me at all because it was his favorite. “Why are you spoiling me so much? It’s my job to spoil you.”
“Who said I’m spoiling you? Maybe I want to eat lasagna tonight. Or maybe there’s no one here for three days.”
