“And I’m going to keep going to therapy. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it brings up things I’d rather avoid. Because I want to be healthy. For me. For us.”
“Also good.”
“And—” He pulled out his phone. “I’m going to show you my calendar. See? I blocked off every weekend for the next month. And Tuesday and Thursday evenings. That’s time for us. Time I’m not available for work except in absolute emergencies.”
Nora looked at the calendar, and fresh tears spilled over. “You actually scheduled us. Into your calendar.”
“I did. Because you were right. If something matters, you make time for it. You don’t just hope it fits into the gaps. You prioritize it.”
She leaned into him, and Carson wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They sat like that for a long moment, just holding each other, both processing what this meant.
“This is going to be hard,” Nora said against his chest. “Learning to trust again. Learning to believe you’ve changed.”
“I know. But I’m not going anywhere. I’ll show up for every date. Every check-in. Every moment you need me. I’ll prove I’m different.”
“And if you slip up? If you fall back into old patterns?”
“Then you call me on it. And I fix it. And we figure it out together.” He pulled back to look at her. “But I’m not going to slip back. Because I finally understand what I was doing wrong. And why. And I can’t unsee that.”
She studied his face, searching for something. Whatever she found must have satisfied her because she nodded.
“Okay. Let’s try. Slow. With clear boundaries. And honest communication.”
“Deal.”
“And Carson? I’m going to keep staying at the apartment with Lila for now. Just until I’m sure. Is that okay?”
“It’s okay. Whatever you need.” He meant it. Even though he wanted her homewith him, wanted to wake up next to her every morning, he understood. Trust had to be rebuilt. And that took time.
“Thank you for understanding.”
They stayed at the park for another hour, talking about the past two weeks. Nora told him about her new client, about starting her business, about the fear and excitement of building something that was entirely hers. Carson told her about therapy, about the fishing trips, about the breakthrough moments and the difficult realizations.
It felt different from their conversations before. More honest. More vulnerable. Like they were actually seeing each other clearly for the first time.
“I should probably go,” Nora said finally, though she made no move to leave. “Lila’s making dinner. She’s been amazing through all this.”
“I’m glad you had her. That you weren’t alone.”
“I wasn’t alone. I had you. Just...at a distance.” She stood, and Carson stood with her. “So when’s our first official date? Now that we’re starting over?”
“How about Tuesday? Seven PM? I’ll pick you up from Lila’s. Take you somewhere nice. No work calls. No distractions. Just us.”
“That sounds perfect.”
They walked to the parking lot together, and when they reached her car, Nora turned to him.
“Can I kiss you? Or is that moving too fast?”
Carson smiled. “I’d like that. Very much.”
She went up on her toes and kissed him—soft and sweet and full of possibility. Not the desperate, passionate kisses they’d shared before. This was gentler. More tentative. Like they were learning each other all over again.
When they broke apart, both were smiling.
“I’ll see you Tuesday,” Nora said.
“Tuesday. I’ll be there.”
