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“We loved having you,” I said.
“We loved being there. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m a good dad, whether we should have stayed as just friends because I need more of them, but then when we kiss, I forget…”
“What?”
“Fox deserves a better version of me, and I wonder if, maybe, I’m doing things wrong.”
“You’re a great dad. I don’t know what went down with his dad, but Fox is a credit to you—polite, happy, focused, and determined. You did good.”
“I think I needed to hear that.”
“Also, your dessert was fantastic.” I caught Noah’s eye, and his face lit up with a smile—a genuine expression of gratitude—and some of the introspection and sadness I’d seen there vanished.
“Thanks,” he replied. He didn’t move, even as I stepped closer, an unspoken understanding hanging in the air between us. I reached out and pulled him, not into a kiss, but into a hug. I thought he needed it. Noah relaxed into the embrace, and after a moment, we separated—it might not have lasted long, but it felt right. Then we kissed, but it held so much emotion my heart ached with need.
“Good night,” he said, then watched patiently as I collapsed my wheelchair and limped towards the driver’s seat of my car. There was a quiet warmth in his gaze, and I gave a hint of a wave.
“Good night.”
I followed Noah’s car into town, our vehicles moving in tandem through the quiet streets. As we reached a junction, I waved again, our paths diverging as I headed to my place. We’d shared a connection tonight when I’d told my brothers about Noah—enough so that, by now, I was sure the entire family knew—and the thought of seeing him again made me grin like an idiot. All the doubts and worries that burrowed into me slid away as I drove the short distance home.
I loved my house. It wasn’t big; adapted with wider doorways and a ramp at the door, and it was perfect. If I was lonely sometimes, then I wouldn’t admit that to anyone, because admitting it would mean I actually cared about being alone. And until meeting Noah, it had never bothered me, only now it did. Seeing him at my brother’s house, watching him bake and how he was with Fox, my stupid heart was catching so many stupid feelings.
I wasn’t long inside when the texts arrived in the family chat.
Scott: Tell us everything.
Daniel: What Scott said
At least Mark wasn’t online, but Michelle was right there with a green dot.
Michelle: What happened?
Scott: Chris brought a date to dinner
Michelle:What? Who? Do I know her?
Daniel: Him.
Michelle: Oooohhhhhh. Spill the tea
Scott: Noah, from the diner
Chris: I’m going to bed
Michelle: He’s with you now? Ohhhhh
Chris: I’m going to bed. ALONE
Michelle: :(
Daniel: I give it a week until he’s not alone ;)
Scott: I give it three days
I shut the group, closed my phone, and put it on silent, then worried I’d miss an important middle-of-the-night call from one of them, or worse, my parents, so ended up ignoring all the buzzing, which after twenty minutes, tailed off.
I love my family, but sometimes, when all I wanted to do was go to bed, they were just a bunch of annoying assholes.
