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A Reed man stayed busy. A Reed man stayed calm, and that was what I did for my family that night. We all had a nice dinner and fine conversation. It was over pretty late, but that was what we’d all needed.
“Let me take you home,” came my son’s voice later that evening, stopping me.
I’d stumbled across my son on the terrace of our property. I’d been taking a walk, a calming one, and caught him and Aspen Davis out there. He had his hands on her shoulders after having spoken to her.
She smiled at him. “I need to go with my mom.”
“Let me take you both home, then,” Thatcher said, a smile overtaking his own mouth. My son smiled a lot, but not usually in front of me. It gut-punched me that that was the same way I’d been with my grandpa. Smiles left when the father figure entered the room. The climate of the room changed, serious, always so serious.
Aspen shook her head with a grin. She denied him again probably knowing how silly the request was. Aspen and her mom had driven here, and they obviously didn’t need a ride.
That didn’t stop my son from asking, but his smile didn’t leave despite the denial. He simply put his arms around her, and a visible ease settled over him when Aspen touched her forehead to his. I didn’t know what was going on between the two of them, but they’d been inseparable since the hospital. Thatcher was only a breath away from her at all times.
Her hands settled on his chest. “I love you,” she said before lifting her head. She stared deeply into his eyes, and he did the same before his hands covered her cheeks. He wasn’t smiling anymore. In fact, he appeared nothing but awed before scanning her eyes.
“I love you too,” he said, and I backed away after that moment, seconds before he leaned in and the two were going to share an obviously more intimate moment. My son was going to kiss a girl who he was in love with.
My son was in love.
I made rounds through the house in thought after I left. I hadn’t done tonight very well in regards to Thatcher. I’d reacted toward him and the situation he and Aspen had been in in the typical Reed way. I’d been sturdy, unmovable, but inside a war was there. It was one my wife had seen on many occasions. At one point, Greer had even taken me upstairs after Aspen and her mom had arrived.
“It’s okay,” my wife had said to me, the two of us sharing our own stolen kiss. “It’s okay. He’s safe.”
I didn’t know what I’d do if our son wasn’t. If I lost him too…
I’d kissed my wife back then, and I didn’t make it brief. Actually, it was only because we had people downstairs that I’d allowed her warm body to leave from within the confines of my embrace. I took those moments. I got calm again, and I stayed that sturdy rock. I’d done good and maintained composure.
I was about to go upstairs but stopped upon hearing a noise. It was in the kitchen, but the staff should have cleared things by now.
As I got closer, I knew who was in there before I even entered, her smell unique, warm. It reminded me of my childhood and the few moments I had before she was stolen from me. My mother had been in a coma a good part of my life and woken up when I was in college.
“Hello there,” she said, the woman aged and so beautiful. My mother was a showstopper, a performer in her day. Her eyes went warm from across the kitchen. “You’re up late.”
I was up late, but so was she. I entered the room. “I could say the same about you, Mrs. Reed.” She was still a Mrs. despite my father passing.
My mother wasn’t confined to any part of the house, but we did like to know where she was. I supposed with all the people in and out of our home today, she’d decided to roam a little.
That was fine, and I took the barstool at the kitchen island in front of her. I simply watched her, her hands moving as she prepared pie of all things at close to midnight. She’d taken one out of the fridge, one she’d made, and I couldn’t deny her when she offered me a slice.
“I haven’t seen Knight, but it is late,” she said, taking so much care preparing my slice. She even rubbed the plate when some crumbs escaped. She glanced up. “Were you guys up working late? He studies so hard, my boy.”
Knight, aka me, was my son, Thatcher, to her. We looked so much alike, and that confused her. I forced on a smile. “We were, and he’s gone to bed. He’s such a hard worker, and you’re right about that.”
She believed I was his live-in tutor. That was easier for her to understand my constant presence in the house and something I’d come up with to help the situation. A Reed was always sturdy. A Reed was always strong.
I picked at my pie, then ate it quickly in two bites. My mother watched as I did and beamed so bright suddenly.
“My son eats like that. No fork. Just wolfs it down,” she said, actually getting me to laugh. Imagine. She shook her head. “You remind me so much of him. I’m glad he has you. You’re so kind to him. Good with him.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” I said, then took her hand when she reached for mine. If she engaged, I did too. Sometimes she’d even embrace me, but that wasn’t tonight. Maybe another day. Another time.
I made sure my mother got up to her room, then mentioned to Greer that she was there. Greer was her nurse for all intents and purposes, and of course, my wife knew where my mother was. She admitted she’d even watched us in the kitchen for a beat before going back to bed. She said she’d wanted us to have our moment.
I didn’t know how I was so blessed to have that woman in my life. She kept me from self-destructing when things got the hardest, when my mother started to forget me and leave for the second time in my life. Greer kept this whole family fucking strong and was way stronger than me.
I didn’t go to bed right away. I peeked in on Bow, happy my family was all in one place tonight. She and Thatcher lived on campus, but they were staying home tonight after everything.
Bow slept soundly in her room, and after I knew she was okay, I started to go to Thatcher’s room to check on him. I didn’t make it there because I heard another sound downstairs, voices.
