My mother managed not to vomit for the rest of the ride home. The porch light was on when we arrived, and I scolded myself for forgetting about it all day long. I felt like there was so much going on between the two of us that a miniscule task of running to the store for another lightbulb seemed almost impossible at this point. But even then, I was glad we had some light to light up the driveway as I helped my mother out of the car and to the front door. I reached for my keys to unlock it. But as I put my key in and turned, I realized it was already unlocked.
“Mom, did we leave the house unlocked?” I asked warily, praying to a god I wasn’t sure I believed in that we hadn’t been robbed.
“No,” she said weakly, and I hesitantly pushed the door open, poking my head in. Many of the lights were on, and I heard food cooking in the kitchen. Down the hallway, laundry was going. “Hello?” I called, walking my mother to the couch so she could sit. As I considered whether or not to find my mother’s gun from the back room, Korbin poked his head out of the kitchen with a smile. He wore a stained cooking apron around his waist, and he was drying his hands with a dish towel as he looked at us.
“The spare key hasn’t moved,” he said, seeing the shocked look on my face. “I knew you said there was nothing I could do, but I knew I could do something.” He hobbled across the living room and reached for me, drawing me into a hug that he probably had no idea how badly I needed right then. When he released me, he looked at Susan, reaching for her hand to squeeze it. “I made dinner; it’s almost finished. Laundry is started, I’m on the second load.”
“Korbin,” I said, and tears pressed against my eyeballs. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know,” he said. “You already said that.”
“Thank you,” Mom said, and actual tears slid down her face as she nodded at Korbin, squeezing his hand between hers. “Thank you, Korbin. I don’t know what I would have done without you and Peyton here to take care of me.”
“Don’t be silly, Mom.” Releasing Korbin, I sat down next to her on the couch, grabbing the throw blanket to tuck it in around her lap. “You’ve always taken care of everyone else. It’s our turn to take care of you, okay? Just rest here and I’ll get you some dinner when it’s ready.”
My mother nodded, closing her eyes, and I rose from the couch to follow Korbin back to the kitchen where the savory aroma of cheese and broccoli soup filled the air.
“This is her favorite,” I told him, peering into the instant pot. “How did you know?”
“She used to make it for us all the time in college,” said Korbin with a smile. “I never liked this stuff until I tasted it from your mom. She turned me onto it and I never looked back.”
“Hopefully she’ll be able to keep something down,” I said softly. “I’m worried sick about her.”
“It’s normal with chemo, right?”
“So I keep hearing.”
“Hey.” Korbin turned to me then, his eyes searching my face quietly, reading me like an open book just as he always had. He reached his hands out and placed them on either side of my shoulders, holding me firmly. “It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly. “No matter what happens, I’m here for you, okay? You have so much support, and so does Susan. She’ll get through this.We’llget through this.”
I nodded and swallowed the painful lump in my throat, finding my body moving forward to sink into Korbin’s, seeking comfort that I didn’t even know I needed. Korbin’s arms folded around my body, bringing me into him, and for a moment that I never wanted to end we just held each other, in the silence of the kitchen, unmoving and unspeaking … justbeing.
“Thank you,” I murmured after a moment, closing my eyes to inhale the familiar scent of him. “Thank you for being here, thank you for doing this.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Korbin. He pulled his head back a little bit to look into my eyes once more, and one hand reached up to touch the side of my face. His fingers lingered there for a moment as an overwhelming buzz of desire traveled through me. His head came closer to mine, and I met him there, my lips touching his with a burst of longing. His tongue slipped between my lips and I moaned, bringing my hand up to tangle it in his hair, holding onto him for dear life as we kissed, hands all over each other, completely caught up in this blissful moment.
A small gasp from behind forced us apart, and I wheeled around to find my mother standing in the doorway of the kitchen, eyes wide and lips tight when she saw us.
“Jesus,” I muttered, backing away from Korbin. “Sorry, Mom.”
Korbin opened his mouth to say something, looking as flustered as Korbin Butler could possibly look, but my mom held up her hand, lips curling into a soft smile.
“It’s about time,” she said, pattering to the cupboard to pull out three bowls. She set them on the table and got spoons, setting them out, too.
“What do you mean, it’s about time?” I asked her, turning to check the crock pot. I sneaked a glance at Korbin over my shoulder; he was standing on the other side of the island still looking mildly embarrassed, which I somehow found endearing for the situation.
“It’s about time you two reconciled,” my mother said, gently hip bumping me out of the way so she could check the soup herself. She stirred the pot and turned off the heat, and I handed her the bowls one by one to fill.
“We’re just friends, Mom,” I said softly. “Nothing more and nothing less.” From the corner of my eye I saw Korbin look up at me, but I couldn’t gauge his expression. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
“That didn’t look like just friends to me,” my mother said, sitting down at the table. Not knowing what else to do, I sat down too, and Korbin finally took a seat next to me.
“Well I’ll be damned,” my mother said, digging into her soup. “This is almost as good as mine!”
Korbin smiled, and a chuckle escaped from his mouth, lightening the mood at once. Shaking my head, I took a bite of the soup and moaned as the cheesy concoction hit my tongue.
“Okay,” I said, glancing over at Korbin. “It’s pretty good.”
“Thank God,” he said. “Because I was really worried about how this might turn out.”
