I couldn’t sleep very well that night. Ellery had come over halfway through my parents surprise visit. While the garlic bread baked, we drank wine and watched the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy. After she left and Asher went to bed, I cleaned. Almost obsessively. I dusted every surface, washed every pane of glass, trying desperately to shut off my brain andnotthink about tomorrow as I moved through each room.
But trying not to think about it was still thinking about it, and physical labor was the only way I could disburse the restless energy that accompanied my rumination. I stayed up until two in the morning. I went to bed when I had run out of chores to do. Even then, I’d laid awake in bed for hours.
Asher let me sleep in, quietly occupying himself with a bowl of cereal and the television. When I finally cracked my eyes open at ten, I’d panicked, and spent the rest of the day silently fussing over everything, rearranging throw pillows and straightening pictures.
It was nearly six o’clock—the time I’d told Calum to come over for. I’d spent the last hour trying to hide the bags beneath my eyes and make myself presentable.
I leaned forward, triple checking my reflection. The concealer did its job, masking my sleep deprivation and making my complexion appear dewy and healthy. I accented my brown eyes with a dark plum eyeliner and mascara. That was the extent of my primping. This wasn’t a date after all—it was me, painting on a mask, desperately pretending I had it together when I really didn’t.
The doorbell rang, and Asher called out that he’d get it. Deeming myself adequate enough, I put away my makeup kit and left the bathroom, descending the stairs as Asher swung the door open.
Calum almost filled the doorway. He looked every bit the rock star he was, what with his black leather jacket and Eddie Bauer boots. The crisp dark blue shirt he wore fit snuggly against his firm body. In one hand, he held a bouquet of flowers in a light pink glass vase and in the other, a wrapped present. Tucked beneath his one arm was a brown paper bag from the liquor store.
For a moment, I forgot to breathe. Calum smiled hesitantly down at our son. “Hi, Asher. I’m…Cal.” He swallowed, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob with the motion.
The sound of his voice somehow reset my ability to breath—and move. I finished descending the stairs and stopped on the landing, giving them a little space for this moment.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Asher replied politely, while his blue eyes took in every detail of his father. I wondered if he was picking out the similarities between the two of them—or more focused on the present in Cal’s hand.
“Ah, this is just…a little something. I heard your birthday was coming up, so…” Calum trailed off, his eyes darting to me as if he needed to check that I was okay with it. All I could really do was nod—I was too choked up for more.
Calum shifted the items in his hands so that he could pass the wrapped present to Asher, who shook it.
“Is it…LEGO?” Asher knew the tell-tale sound of LEGO in a box. Calum grinned at the excitement in his voice.
“Open it up and find out,” he encouraged. Asher didn’t hesitate. He sat down cross-legged in the foyer and ripped into the wrapping paper, revealing a sleek black box.
“Why don’t you come in?” I suggested, rubbing my damp palms against my jeans. He nodded, and Asher let out a huge gasp that caught my attention with a snap.
“Mom…it’s the Imperial Star Destroyer!” he exclaimed, jumping up to show me the rare—and extremely expensive—set.
“I see that,” I swallowed while Calum stepped completely inside, pulling the door shut behind him.
Asher turned his attention back to his father, his eyes bright with excitement and wonderment. “Thank you! It’s really awesome.”
Calum smiled back, his own eyes swimming with emotion, and held out the bouquet of flowers to me. “What’s this now?” I asked him, trying not to be swayed by the beautiful arrangement.
Stargazer lilies, snap dragons, pink gillyflower, pink roses, and pink miniature carnations were nestled amongst green miniature hydrangea. Accented with lemon leaf, ming fern, and spiral eucalyptus, the fragrant bouquet—and the hesitant uncertainty in Calum’s expression—made me swoon.
He had a look in his eyes that sent me back all those years, to the romantic, thoughtful gestures, to how it felt to fall in love with him the first time; how easy it had been…how right it had felt.
“Flowers and wine,” he replied, a slight smile lifting the corner of his lips. I narrowed my eyes, not finding him amusing—but Asher giggled, and I couldn’t help but smile. “Consider it a…hostess gift.”
“Thank you.” I hesitated. “Make yourself comfortable. Dinner is almost ready,” I added, walking through the living room and placing the pretty vase down on the island in the kitchen. Glancing over my shoulder, I caught Calum shrugging out of his jacket. He hung it up on the coat rack by the door before Asher led him on a very short tour of the main floor.
They paused between the small dining area tucked beneath the stairs, and Calum’s gaze went around the room, slowly taking everything in while Asher chattered happily and gestured to things around him. His gaze rested on the photographs on the living room mantel. He eyed the artwork and assignments I’d displayed on a wire along the dining enclave.
My clear view of them through the peek-through window allowed me to see the gift of seeing the awe and bewilderment flickering through Calum’s sea-blue eyes as helistened to Asher.
There were a lot of places thatCalumhad to duck to avoid cracking his head on, and I couldn’t help the small bubble of laughter that spilled out. I watched him duck and weave around the stairs when Asher dragged him over to look at a recent assignment he’d aced, clipped to the wire that hung on the east wall.
Calum heard and shot a look at me through the peek-through window, lifting his brow at me. I cleared my throat, vanishing the traces of amusement from my face, and busied myself opening the oven to check on the lasagna.
“And this is from my first school concert.” I heard Asher say proudly. When I looked up, he was pointing at the photograph of him sitting at his school’s piano dressed in his fanciest clothes last spring.
“You play the piano?!” Surprise colouredCalum’s voice, and he glanced at me for confirmation.
“He does. I read a study that said playing piano helps improve speech, reading ability, listening skills, and creativity…” I shrugged, feeling a little silly. The truth was, I’d known his family had a rich history with music, and I’d wanted to honor that. “I wanted him to have the best advantages, so I enrolled him in lessons when he was four. He took to it like it was in his blood, funnily enough...”
