“Patti.” I cough a couple times as she caught me mid-drink of water.
“What?You’re two grown adults and I know you’ve been single for a while. Handsome man, beautiful woman, it only makes sense that you’re?—”
“I wouldn’t have this conversation with you on a normal day but I’m especially not having this conversation with you in front of your entire household,” I say, swinging my eyes to the table where almost fifteen kids are laughing, singing, playing, and frosting.
“Well just know that I’m happy for you, Miles. You’re a good man, you deserve this.” She rests a hand on my arm and gives me her signature warm smile. Behind Ivy, Patti is the closest maternal figure I have in my life. It makes me proud knowing she likes Hanna almost as much as I do.
“Deserves what?” Hanna’s voice cuts in and we both turn to look at her.
Patti waves a hand at her. “Oh, nothing. I was just saying what a good man Miles is.”
Hanna beams up at me and wraps her arms around one of mine. “I can’t argue with that. I think he’s a very good man.”
Looking between us, Patti looks like she’s about to burst.Her cheeks are so filled with joy and happiness I worry they might actually pop.
“Patti,” Hanna starts, “I was wondering if you’d be okay if I went up and saw Nolan? I have something for him.”
She lifts the gift bag she’d brought with her.
“Of course, but he’s not in his room. He’s in the study. That artist you connected him with sent over an old drafting table for him to practice on. It was too big for his room so we tucked it into Sam’s old study. You’ll find him in there.” Hanna and I took Nolan to his lesson a few days ago like we promised. He was still a little closed off when we came to pick him up but once we brought him home after his lesson? It was like he was a completely different kid. A fresh light was in his eyes and he kept telling me to drive faster so he could get home to practice what he learned.
“Here, I can show you where it is,” I instruct, slipping my hand into hers and pulling her away from the chaos. Patti winks at me as I turn away.
Keeping her hand safely in mine, we walk down a series of halls. Over the last few weeks, Patti, Sam, and the kids have worked hard to decorate the old home for the holidays. Lights, ornaments, and garland are strung up and illuminated, making the house feel even more cozy. When we reach the door at the end of the hall, I pause and look at her.
“Thank you for coming here with me tonight. It means a lot to me that you did. And to Patti and Sam.”
“Of course,” she says, reaching up and framing my face with her hand. I lean into it and close my eyes, letting the feeling of her hand there consume me. “Thank you for sharing this place with me. I know how special it is to you.”
“You’re special to me, doc.” I rest my hand on her waist and peer down at her.
“And you’re special to me, Miles.” She pauses for a beat before looking at the door. “Let’s go and see if Nolan’s inside. I’m excited to give him his gift.”
I wave a hand towards the door and let her do the honors. She knocks a few times out of respect and slowly cracks the door open. The more it does, the more the room comes into view. I feel my jaw go slack and hear a small gasp come from Hanna. The entire left side of the room has been papered with drawings and sketches which are slowly crawling towards the other side of the room. He’s made clear progress from the first time we met him with these sketches being more defined and cleaner than the originals we’d seen the last time we were here. Human figures in different poses, dancing, laughing, even running, can be seen on the pages taped to the walls. Some with faces and some without. Each page with a new person, frozen in art, waiting to be admired. Against the back wall is the old drafting table Patti mentioned with Nolan plucked in front of it, hunched over and feverishly moving his arm across the surface.
“Hi, Nolan, sorry to interrupt,” Hanna says softly, stepping further inside the room.
He turns and when he sees her, his smile rivals mine anytime I look at her. He tucks the pencil in his hand behind his ear and stands from the stool he’s sitting in.
“Hey. I’m so happy you’re both here—Merry Christmas.” He gives us both a hug and takes a step back. Still wearing the black oversized hoodie he had on the last time, I make a mental note to bring him something a little more his size the next time I come by.
“Merry Christmas, bud. You’re making progress, I see,” I reply, waving a hand at the sketches on the walls.
“Yeah.” He chuckles awkwardly. “Steven gave me afew pointers and it really helped. That, and enough paper to last me a lifetime.” He turns to look towards the corner of the room where three large boxes of sketch pads and reams of paper sit. “He’s given me an assignment to do before I see him again at the start of the year.”
“What’s the assignment?” Hanna asks. He didn’t mention anything about an assignment when we brought him home from his first lesson.
“To draw something that inspires me,” Nolan answers matter-of-factly. He pinches his lips into a line and glances towards the drafting table behind him.
“Is that what you’re working on now?” I ask, leaning over and trying to take a look at his work.
“Yeah, but it’s not ready yet,” he answers nervously.
“Are we allowed to see what you’re drawing?” Hanna asks, tucking her chin into her shoulder, giving him a small smile.
He sighs heavily and steps to the side, raising a hand and inviting us to take a closer look. My throat goes dry when I see what he’s started to sketch out. Hanna grabs onto my arm when she sees it too. It’s rough, but having seen it for what feels like a hundred times, I know what it is in an instant.
Old stone walls with ivy crawling up through its cracked facade. There’s an open field on one side with a playground set off in the distance. Picnic tables with kids sitting at them and a large oak door that’s been left open like it always is. The more I stare, the more I take in—how there are kids running around in the open field, one of them holding a football and the others chasing him. There are kids laughing and playing with an older couple sitting on the front step of the house, holding hands and smiling at theviewer. At the bottom the words‘where new beginnings start’is scribbled out in messy handwriting.
