“Apologize to Karan. Make things right with him. And…” I give her a small smile. “Be proud of what he’s about to do.”
Karan
We’ve already been in this house for two days, and I feel like we’ve hardly gotten through any of our boxes.
Rachel says she hates to pack but loves to unpack. She enjoys the opportunity to choose where everything goes and start clean. Well, I hate boxes, period. I can’t wait until we’re fully settled and everything has its place.
I only wish Mom and Dad could see it, too.
Cayce and Corey are already in bed, so I’m making the most of this time to unpack all my office-related stuff. We don’t have a separate room for an office, but I’ve set up a small desk in the basement living room. At least, I’m trying to. We tore the desk apart to make it easier to move, but now I can’t find the screw that’s supposed to hold the last leg to the main table.
The stairs creak, and warmth floods my chest at the thought of seeing Rachel. It thaws even my deepest frustrations about this stupid desk.
But when I gaze up at her, she stops in the middle of the stairs. Instead of the loose pajamas she’d usually be wearing once the kids are in bed, she’s in jeans and a knit lavender sweater, herhair tied back in a neat bun. And a strange expression paints her face.
“What is it?” I ask her. I immediately straighten my back and go on full alert.
“Don’t freak out, but your parents are here.”
The words hit me like a ton of bricks as I immediately start to freak out. Conflicting emotions seep into my bloodstream all at once; fear, joy, embarrassment, uncertainty.
Hurt.
Rachel completes her path down the stairs and heads to me while I’m still trying to make sense of what’s going on. She grabs hold of my arm and pulls upward; I follow her lead.
“What are they doing here?” I finally manage to say.
“I talked to your mom the other day.” I stop dead in my tracks, blood rushing to my ears. “She wanted to talk to me first. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to make yourself sick over the anticipation of seeing them again.”
“You handled that alone?”
Rachel’s gaze falls, guilt flashing across her face.
“I did.”
But I’m not mad. I grab her chin to lift her head and press my lips to hers for a soft kiss.
“I love you so much,” I tell her.
I love the way she took on that situation for me. I love the way she’s here for me now, as we both head upstairs, together.
I love her more than anything.
I grip—maybe too tightly—onto her hand when we finally make it up the stairs to see both my parents seated at our kitchen table. They stand in unison, and I remain there, motionless, the three of us—no, the four of us—at a standoff.
I don’t breathe. They don’t move. The quiet could drown us.
My father is the first to break the silence. His face crumples, and his arms open wide.
“Beta…”
I’m next, and in the blink of an eye, we’re suddenly all on our knees, the four of us, sobbing in each other’s arms. They both whisper their sorries through tears, but I don’t even need the words, because I canfeelit, draping over me like a warm blanket.
Plenty of time for words will come later. But now, in this moment, all I feel is love.
Epilogue
Karan
