“She does,” I answer and set my ball down.
“And how are you feeling in general? Everything with Mika, your mom? Are you finding peace?”
“I am,” I answer. And that’s almost a strange realization, as I hadn’t realized my life was lacking peace. I’d thought I lacked nothing. How wrong I was. I line up my putt and shove the ball into his desk. Shit, I’m terrible at this. “I like how feeling internally at peace is allowing me to focus on what Scottie needs and deserves in her life.” It reminds me of how my dad loved our family.I miss him.And I wish he’d gotten a chance to meet Scottie. They’d get along very well.
“Has she found peace?”
I set my putter to the side and take a seat on the couch. “Honestly, I think she has. I’ve seen a change in her. No longer is she second-guessing herself or turning down compliments. She accepts them wholeheartedly. She has more confidence, she’s feeling herself, and she’s made great progress with her coworkers too, which I think is a big deal.”
“Why do you think that’s a big deal?” Sanders asks, lining up another putt.
“Because at first, she just kept to herself, and I think that was from a lack of confidence and not wanting to engage with men since the last one she was with ignored her. But now she goes out to lunch with them and has truly made some more friendships, which I think is great.”
“Interesting observation.” He putts the ball, and I watch it sail over the carpet and right into the cup. Sanders does a subtle fist pump and then takes a seat across from me. “Maybe I should hire you as my assistant.”
“I don’t have a degree in the matter, so I would fit right in.”
“Hence why I asked.”
“When are we going to start jogging?” Scottie asks as we walk hand in hand through Central Park.
It’s a perfect summer day in New York City. Not too hot, a light breeze, and partially cloudy with the sun peeking out every once in a while. Everyone is out of their apartment buildings having picnics, tossing Frisbees, and going for walks.
The laughter of kids chirps in the background, the promise of ice cream in the air. I couldn’t have picked a more perfect day.
And oddly, I had to con Scottie into coming out with me today. Her idea of a perfect Saturday was to lie around her apartment naked and order food in. And I agree. That is the perfect Saturday. But I have one thing I need to do with her, and once we do that, then we can go back to the apartment and do what she wants to do.
To get her out here, I told her I wanted to go on a jog through Central Park. It’s lame and I’m sure not what she wants to do on a Saturday, but I was telling her I was cramping a bit, and I thought it would help limber me up.
She asked if we could take a shower together when we got back to her place, and that was an automatic yes for me.
What are we really doing though?
Well, finishing out the bucket list of course.
We turn the corner toward the Central Park Boathouse, and I tug her toward the rentals.
“Wait.” She stops and turns toward me. “Are we really going for a jog?”
I smirk and nod toward the paddleboats. “What do you think?”
“Eep!” She pulls me into a hug and kisses me on the jaw. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Pips.”
We walk over to the boathouse rental and rent out a paddleboat, Scottie beaming the entire time. She’s so fucking adorable. The way she accepts and displays her joy for the world to see, it’s so goddamn cute.
I pay for the rental, and we are escorted to the boat, where we carefully get in, me first and then Scottie. We’re given a bit of a push, and then together, we start peddling.
“This is so…ridiculous,” she says on a laugh as we move around the lake.
“Ridiculous?” I ask. “I thought it was supposed to be romantic.”
“You’re not holding my hand. How is that romantic?”
“Ahh, you’re right.” I pick up her hand and entwine our fingers. “That better?”
“Much.”
