“You’re not going to believe this,” I say, kicking off my shoes. “She’s a fucking artist. A tattoo artist. She’s amazing. Creative, colorful. Bold. I just… She’s incredible. She really is something.”
Austin is quiet for a second. “I’m happy for you, Ryder,” he says. He walks to the kitchen, where pictures colored and signed by Cora, Luke, and Gracie decorate the refrigerator. “This is her?” he asks, pointing to the menu from Benito’s enhanced by the pair of swallows she drew at lunch three months ago.
I nod. “That’s her.”
Austin whistles. “That’s talent.” He picks up a small note that has a train sketched on it. A handmade card crafted from textured paper with a small, highly stylized image of a boy riding a train into Mrs. Lee’s classroom. “She did this? For Luke?”
I grin. “Yeah.” There are little signs of Gracie’s presence in our lives everywhere. “They say opposites attract, but we’re not opposites,” I tell him.
“Does she want kids? Has she ever been married?”
“No to the marriage thing. I don’t know about kids. That’s one thing we haven’t talked about. It seems like putting the cart before the horse when we haven’t even had an overnight date yet.”
Austin wanders to the art and looks closer. “You weren’t even like this with Elizabeth,” he says softly. “Not even when things were good.”
“I know.” I join him in the kitchen to pour us something to drink. “I’m happy. I like her and…I don’t know. Since I have my kids already, I don’t feel in a rush to figure out what this is. If it could be forever. It’s so different dating women now, you know?”
Austin slaps his hands together and crows out a laugh. “God, remember that one woman? She wanted to meet your kids on the first date?”
“Correction,” I tell him. “She wanted my kids to try calling her Mama Colleen on the first date just to see if she could imagine herself being their stepmom someday.”
“I don’t get women,” Austin says.
I know better than to poke that sleeping bear. But still, I’m concerned. “You doing okay?”
Austin still doesn’t talk about the one who got away. People do some shady-ass shit, and when you’re a trusting, sweet guy with loads of money, you can make some bad choices. Or get tricked into making bad choices. Either way, Austin brought it up, so I feel like it’s fair game to at least ask.
“I feel better than I have in a long time,” he says excitedly. “Still not dating, but…”
That’s probably as much as he’ll say on the topic, so I move on.
“You want a beer?”
Austin shakes his head. “Just water.”
When we sit back down on the couch, Austin’s attitude has shifted. He doesn’t seem nearly as excited as he did.
“I’m glad you’re happy,” he says. “So, you think it’s serious with Gracie?”
I nod. “Hope so. Think so. But you know, we haven’t really dated. I don’t know how to date a woman without babysitters and family around. But in time, I hope it all happens for us. That’s one of the craziest parts about this. She doesn’t push. Never makes me feel guilty. Never puts her needs above the kids, but doesn’t act like a martyr about it either. I always know where I stand with her. I’m happy.”
“I want that for you. I do.”
I’m not sure why the mood in the room has changed, but I want to hear more about what’s going on for him. “So, tell me everything. Catch me up. Why the visit? How’s your mom? We’ve got less than fifteen minutes before somebody’s going to want Uncle Austin to play trains.”
He chuckles and leans back against the couch. “I don’t want to burst your Star Falls bubble,” he says. “But I came here hoping I could talk you into moving home. Sounds like the girlfriend complicates that.”
Move home? I don’t know why I’d do that now. If I’d never met Gracie, there’d be nothing other than the great food and quaintness of this small town to keep me here. And that’s a lot, but not enough to build a life around.
He’s right. Gracie is the reason I feel at home in Star Falls. But still, I’m curious what Austin has in mind.
“Why do you want me to move back?” I ask. “What’s going on in Columbus?”
Austin sighs and leans back against the couch. “I’m done with the corporate shit, Ryder. I’m happy with the money, but the work I do every day is just… I don’t care anymore. Maybe it’s me getting older, but… I’ve applied for a management spot three times over the last year.”
I nod, remembering two of the times he’d tossed his name in the ring. “Well, the first time you were passed over…”
“Right. Because they hired someone outside they’d been trying to recruit away from our biggest competitor for a year. Fine. But these last two times? Ryder, something isn’t working for me anymore. My numbers are good, but my heart’s not in it. That’s basically what they said when they let me know I didn’t get either of the last two promotions. I’m good at what I do, just not good enough for a corner office.”
