I headed down the hall to the restroom and freshened up.
Back in the kitchen, Denise and Kiara grabbed items off the charcuterie board, so I grabbed a plate and followed suit.
"Hey, Gisselle, did Liam ever tell you he set our backyard on fire?" Kiara asked.
"Wait, what? Mr. Firefighter?" I asked, popping a piece of cheese in my mouth.
"No, he actually tried to contain the fire, but it got out of hand. He joined the Junior Fire Department Program after that," Denise explained.
Kiara and I burst out laughing. "Mama, you always defended that man's foolishness."
Denise shook her head with fondness. "I mean, he did turn out to be a respectful lieutenant."
Another thud came from downstairs. "Yo, pass me the wrench."
"I bet you ten dollars we end up calling a plumber," Kiara offered.
"Twenty says they'll fix it, but not without flooding the basement first," I countered.
"I put my money on Liam," Denise replied loyally.
"Gisselle, it's only because Mama's drinking mimosas." Kiara laughed.
Moments later, the men came back from the basement, carrying the old tank.
"Let me open the front door," Kiara declared, hopping off the barstool.
After putting the tank out at the curb, Michael and Liam went back to the basement.
"Gisselle, I really want to thank you for saving my Liam. He's been in a shell for so long now. I didn't think we would ever get him back in this capacity," Denise explained.
I smiled. "Liam did the same for me. I moved to Goodwin Grove to start a new life, but I never expected to find love."
After another twenty to thirty minutes of getting to know each other, the men emerged from the basement.
"Is my floor flooded?" Denise immediately asked.
"Come on, Mama, I know what I'm doing, or you would've hired a plumber. We turned the water back on," Liam responded.
"Liam, we need to flush the faucets to push the air out," Michael stated.
"I'll get the bathroom upstairs. You get the one down here," Liam instructed, turning on the kitchen faucet first.
"Thank you, boys, so much for fixing my tank. Hell, I was tired of taking hoe baths." Denise laughed.
"Mama!" Kiara laughed.
I giggled.
"What? I'm telling the truth. You boys get cleaned up to eat," Denise ordered when Liam returned.
We sat down to eat, and seeing Liam like this, surrounded by the people who loved him, made me fall for him even more.
Later that evening, at home, I propped a pillow up behind me as I chatted with my parents virtually. Liam observed from the kitchen doorway with a beer in hand.
"Look at you, settled into your new place," Mom exclaimed.
"Yeah. How are y'all doing?" I asked.
