“No,” I say firmly, before waving the scissors in his face again. “And make sure these get put away in the future before I chop something off that won’t grow back!”
He just smiles a soft smile at me, his eyes filled with affection.
“What?” I demand.
“You called me babe,” he says, a little too pleased with himself.
“Shut up,” I say as I turn away from him and walk back to the living room in search of Rain so I can talk him off the ledge.
As I leave the kitchen, I hear Nash’s quiet words.
“Fuck, I adore you, Corey.” And just like that, I’m not annoyed anymore.
April and May
Dear Corey,
My little rabbit, I miss you. Having you for those couple of days last week was so perfect, but now if it’s possible, I think it hurts even more being apart.
I realise we never got to have a conversation about where we’re going, but if it wasn’t clear from the way I didn’t want to let go of your hand even long enough for you to go back to Aid’s to sleep, I still want us.
I can wait for you. I will wait for you. You’re worth everything. And when you’re ready, I’ll be here with open arms. And until then, we’re friends who care about each other very much. No labels for now. No pressure. Just fondness and affection. And fuck, so much attraction.
The way I wanted to devour you when you got out of that taxi. I’ve never before wished I could disappear my whole family just so I could take you upstairs and kiss every inch of you. Something for us both to look forward to.
But I digress. How have you felt about getting back into therapy this week? I know you said you’d beenfinding it challenging thinking about your grief. Have you been OK? I worry. I know, I know… my default setting.
Nancy has been doing great since the party. She’s really found some confidence, and she loves nothing more than being surrounded by her family. The way they surround her with love must be so reassuring for her, I can only imagine.
Drew and Caitlin, her foster parents are coming over for coffee and cake today, and we’re heading over to Poppy’s. Abigail suggested not bringing them into her home just in case she gets concerned about being taken away. Best to keep boundaries I guess. She’s been a bit quiet this morning but she says she’s looking forward to seeing them.
Although, if they give her another life-sized stuffed animal, they won’t be invited again.
Write back soon, I always look forward to your letters.
You’re in my heart, little rabbit. Every day.
Nash
xx
April and May seem to disappear in a flash, a simple routine of work, rest, and play. The weekend at home with Nash, Nancy, Rain, and everyone else filled my heart with so much joy that I’ve been floating on air since then. Having Em with me was just the icing on the cake. She was a smash hit, as she is everywhere she goes. She and Rain text every day about The Traitors, a TV show that I have never watched and have no interest in, so they leave those discussions out of our group chat.
Emma and Nash had a deep and meaningful about different models of education, and after a few glasses of wine, Emma’s passion for Steiner’s educational philosophy – whereby the focus is on developing the whole child, intellectually, artistically, and practically, through creative methods – was enough to convince Nash that automatically opting into mainstream schooling might not always be the best choice for every child.
He told me afterwards that while he’d been a little intimidated by her fierce intelligence paired with Scots passion, he appreciated that she was able to show him that,especially given how successful art therapy has been with Nancy, something like Steiner education, at least for pre-school, might be something to consider.
That’s one of the things I love about Nash. He knows so much about his own area of specialism, but he doesn’t allow that to feed his ego so much that he’s developed a God complex like some doctors. He respects and values others’ knowledge and expertise and holds them in the same regard as his own.
Another thing I love about Nash…
I catch my train of thought even as it comes to me. When did I start thinking about Nash in terms of ‘love’? And when did I start considering Fenside Common ‘home’?
Home is where the heart is, I suppose.
Deciding not to explore that too closely, so I don’t end up doing something rash and moving back before things with Dominic are resolved, I go back to polishing the workout racks and cable machines.
June
