“Come on. Let me give you a tour.”
I don’t manage the property myself, but I have access to the rental schedule, so I knew the place would be empty today.
Using my key, I unlock the door, and let Reese enter first.
The furniture has all changed. The wall colors too. But the bones are still the same.
“When I adopted Miller,” I begin, closing the front door behind us, “I didn’t know much about what I was doing, but I knew Miller needed some stability. So, I bought this little house for us.”
I take her to the living room first.
“Here, I’d watch game film for the college team I was coaching. The first few years we lived here, I was not only trying to figure out how to be a dad, but also how to be a coach. At that point, I had only ever been a player, and I wasn’t much older than some of the guys playing for me. We had a coffee table right here that Miller would sit at and color while I worked.”
Reese smiles softly, listening to me speak, putting her hand in mine to follow me on this tour.
I bring her into the tiny kitchen and explain that though it’s not much, Miller learned to bake here. That she found her passion right here in this little cabin on the lake.
I show Reese where the dining table used to be. The same one I’d sit at and help my daughter with her homework. Same one where we’d eat dinner together that Miller most likely prepared because she was a far better cook than me.
Down the hall, I take her to the first of two bedrooms. I explain that Miller painted this room a dark green when she was a preteen, and that I built shelves for her and screwed them into the walls so she could display her softball trophies.
Then I take her to my old bedroom. The one where, when we first moved in, I’d lie awake at night, trying to figure out what the hell I was doing. Though later, once I gained some confidence in the parental department, I’d lie awake trying to figure out how to be a better one.
I explain how the years spent in this house were the hardest of my life, but also some of my best. And that even though they weren’t easy, I wouldn’t change the thirteen years we spent here, just Miller and me, for anything.
“And right on the lake,” Reese says, pointing out the windows on the back door of my old bedroom. “It’s beautiful here, Emmett. You did a good job. For Miller, but for yourself too.”
I push her hair behind her ears, running my thumb over her earrings. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I mean it.” She steps into me, head against my chest, and I wrap my arms around her to keep her close. “Miller is lucky to have you. And I am too. Thank you for bringing me here. This is really special to see.”
Much in the same way that she had never let anyone into her condo, I had never let anyone into this part of my life.
It does feel special.Wefeel special.
“It’s special to me too, Reese.”
“Will you show me around outside?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
Opening the back door, I follow Reese out onto the porch then lead her to the dock that’ll take us to the water.
It’s a perfect summer day. The sun is reflecting off the water, but we’re surrounded by enough trees that provide plenty of shade from the heat. The air is crisper out here than back home in Chicago. But that’s not saying Chicago doesn’t have its own charms. That city has been a needed contrast to the years of solitude I spent out here.
We walk down the dock together, and when we reach the far end, Reese kicks off a sandal and dips her toe to test the water.
“It feels nice.”
She looks beautiful, standing on the edge of the water, trees surrounding her. If we didn’t have a game tonight, I’d happily spend all day with her out here.
But we still have a couple of hours at our disposal, so I toe off my shoes and toss my socks off to the side before taking a seat on the edge of the wooden dock. “Sit with me.”
Letting my feet sink into the water, I usher Reese to do the same. She kicks her other sandal off and I settle her between my legs with her back to my front.
We’re quiet for a long while, the sounds of nature playing their own soundtrack for us. She closes her eyes, dropping her head back on my shoulder as the sun illuminates her face.
Utterly content and at peace. With me. Just me.
