“He paraphrased it. You’re not wrong, Bear. Use this time to see where you want your relationship with Luukas to go once he comes back, but more than that, figure out whatyouwant to do with your life. If it’s still marketing or something else completely. Or a combination of marketing and something else.” He chuckled warmly. “You’re a smart guy, cub. You’ll figure it out.”
“Thank you.”
“Now, tell Jamie and Mal I said hi, and call me if you need anything.”
“Will do. Bye, Uncle Allen.”
“Bye, cub.”
When I went back inside, Jamie was already fixing the first pizza to his liking. I joined him and told him what Allen and I had been talking about.
“Oh, hey, I think I have a friend and his Daddy coming over for a visit when they’re in town at some point soon,” he said while the first pie was in the oven.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, they are on a road trip on their RV for their fifth anniversary. They live in southern California and they’re making their way up here on their way to Canada somewhere, I think.” He helped me with the second pizza while he continued, “They’re Mal’s friends originally, but I occasionally email the sub about all the neat Little related stuff we find online and such. They won’t stay long in the area, but they’ll come over for dinner one evening or something. I don’t know, I let Daddy do the scheduling.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, sounds like something you should leave to Mal.” I stuck out my tongue.
Mostly I felt relieved these strangers wouldn’t be coming over and needing the room I was staying in.
“If they want to stay in town longer, our place is empty. I’m sure Luke wouldn’t mind.”
Jamie shook his head. “I think Oakley said that if they want to stay somewhere not in the RV, it would be a really nice hotel for a change, but thanks for the offer.”
“Makes sense. RVs are probably cool but also a bit… basic.”
“Oh yeah.” He finished placing some small mozzarella balls on top of my pizza. “This look good?”
“Yeah, it’s perfect, thanks.”
“Okay, go shower and I’ll keep an eye on those. Then Ralph time!”
Grinning, I headed for the bathroom. I really had the best friends now, something I would’ve never thought I’d have before coming to Seattle.
Luukas
Mal had messaged me during my trip a few times. Not too often, he’d said he didn’t want to betray the trust Bear placed in him, but that he’d immediately message or call me if something urgent came up. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. Bear had gone to them for a safe space and we needed to respect that.
The first night I spent sleeping in my own bed was… incredible. I’d found that more often than not, the best part of a trip was coming home to your own bed.
I’d gotten home well past midnight because of flight delays, and Zain and I had shared a cab. After he’d been dropped off, I was ready to drop, myself. I’d plonked my stuff down near the front door, registered that Bear clearly hadn’t been at home lately, and then I’d let my clothes fall wherever on my way to bed.
I woke up after sleeping for over ten hours, which was rare for me. I felt groggy, but when I automatically reached over for Bear and he wasn’t there, the remnants of sleep evaporated.
Managing to shower and put some laundry in the machine, I started to feel more human very gradually.
On reflex, I went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, then just… stared. In the moment I’d pulled the handle I’d told myself there would be nothing inside since Bear hadn’t been there. Now, I was looking at a variety of items I normally liked to keep at hand. My favorite cheese and lunch meat, some iceberg lettuce and tomatoes. Everything was fresh.
I felt choked up. Bear had known when I’d roughly be home, but not the exact day. Nobody here had known. I made myself coffee and a sandwich the size of my head, and ate while trying to figure out my strategy.
Part of me wanted to message him, Jamie, or Mal and ask if it was okay if I came over. I missed Bear more than I could put to words. It was the thought that he mightnotlet me come by that made my hands shake with emotion. The idea that I couldn’t see him now that he was so close was too much. The delicious food lost all taste in my mouth, and I barely managed to wash it down with the coffee.
In the end after about fifteen minutes of pacing around the apartment, I grabbed my things and called a ride to go to Mal and Jamie’s.
The mixture of utter hope because of the groceries and the worst-case scenarios roiled around in my brain. I was jittery by the time I got to their neighborhood.
There was a large RV in their driveway, and I frowned. Huh. Without thinking too much about it, I decided to go directly to the backyard, because the weather was nice and—yes, I could hear Little sounds as soon as I got closer to the house. I put all of the Clarissa swag I’d brought for Jamie on the front porch so it wouldn’t distract them, and then followed the giggles and exclamations.
