Tears speck my eyes as I realize—it’s the greenhouse all over again.I’ve prolonged the agony, made it sharper, forced her into a long, devastating goodbye when her way would’ve been easier.Home should be a sanctuary, not a trap.And perhaps the only place for Venus to feel free is out there, lost, away from us.
I lean into her, nuzzling her nose and resting my forehead against hers.Our hot breaths mingle, and her damp cheeks catch against my beard.“It’s too much,” I whisper.“I’m sorry.I didn’t mean to make it harder for you.”
“No, Henry, no.You haven’t,” she cries, her hands rising to my neck, as if she needs me close.“I love it.It’s…us.”
Itwasus.My brow pinches with the thought of her boarding a plane, taking off, leaving us behind.Tears slip from my eyes as she studies me.I want to ask her when she leaves, to calculate how much time we have left, but fearing the answer, all I can get out is, “When?”
“I’m not leaving, Henry,” she says softly.
I sputter a breathless, “What?”
Her eyes find mine, though our breaths fog my glasses.“I’m not leaving.Not leaving you and Olly.”
A guarded smile emerges as my hands grip her soft cheeks.“But you’re crying?”
“You and Olly, this room, your note—I couldn’t help it,” she mutters.“I’m crying because I’m happy.”
“You’re not leaving?”I ask again, sure I must not be hearing her right.
“I’m not leaving,” she says, slower this time.She pushes the passport against my chest.“Keep it.Put it with yours and Olly’s because the next trip we take will be together.”
I tuck her passport into my jacket pocket and collapse against her, blubbering with happiness and relief.With anyone else, I’d be embarrassed—the king of the ugly cry.
But it’sher.
Brilliant, bold, beautiful,her.
Brave and vulnerable,her.
My absolute, my fixed constant,her.
My best friend,her.
Partner, soulmate,her.
And she loves me just as I am.
The same way I loveher.
Tears, big feelings, and all.
She swipes her palms over my wet cheeks as I do the same to her, and laughter breaks through.Venus has never made me feel bad about anything, certainly not something as natural as tears.But joy zips through me at the thought that from now on, all those big emotions, hers and mine, we’ll experience together.It’s okay.You’re with me.Everything’ll be okay.
“I’ve never been happier,” I mumble softly.
“Me, neither,” she says, her voice catching on emotion, too.Unable to hold back any longer, I kiss her, and she laughs at the urgency of it.Over and over, kissing her.I can barely stop to ask her what she means.“So, you’re staying?”
“We’ve been apart too much already, Henry,” she says.“And with Olly at this optimal stage of his development and scientific education, I don’t want to waste another minute.”
More kissing.
“But what about your work?New Zealand?”
“That’s also why I was late,” she says breathlessly before kissing me again.“Renegotiating with Dr.McCullum.I wanted to accept New Zealand, but I couldn’t without some changes.”
More kissing.“What changes?”
“I’mconsultingon the New Zealand project.It’ll mostly be remote, but I’ll spend a few weeks there in August to get the team started.I want you and Olly to go with me.”
