Page 104 of The Blessing

I step forward and give my son a proud smile, happy with how mellow he’s behaving right now. Whenever he meets strangers his reactions are always unpredictable—so, I’m happy he’s taken to my mom so quickly. “This is your nana, buddy,” I say to him.

Well, she isn’t technically his nana, but she will be playing a prominent role in his life. Just because she isn’t blood doesn’t mean she can’t love him just the same. And my little guy deserves all of the love in the world.

“Hello, Greyson,” she coos as she rocks him.

“No!” he responds with a giggle.

“That’s his third word,” I explain with a laugh.

“What was his first?”

“Da.” I can’t help but grin as I say this.

Mom gives me a warm smile before returning her attention to him. “Well, this is going to be fun, isn’t it? He’ll be telling you ‘no’ all of the time now.” She pauses and watches him for a moment without saying a word. I wonder what she’s thinking. It doesn’t take long for her to answer my silent inquiry. “You were just as happy and giggly when you were his age, Trevor. You were so playful and easy-going. Just like Greyson is.”

I smile, awkwardly, sticking my hands in the front pockets of my jeans. I wish I had some sort of memory of the time I was with my mom. It sucks that I had to leave her at such an early age. Maybe I can ask her for more photos, or maybe she’ll have some videos of us together. I’m sure she must have some of that shit. I know I have a crap load of pictures and videos of Grey on my phone and computer already. I always feel compelled to document every little thing he does because I don’t want to miss a thing. I’m sure my pictures will embarrass the shit out of him one day, but I’ll treasure them. I don’t want to end up regretting not keeping records of his life.

“You guys ready to eat?” Dad inquires as he ushers us out of the foyer.

This place is definitely a major upgrade from the one he rented for a few months while his divorce was being finalized. That one had been almost depressing with its lack of personal touches and dreary paint job. This apartment, on the other hand, looks like a home. There’s so much attention to detail that I’m sure Felicity has helped him decorate. Dad definitely isn’t the type of man to buy accent pillows. Hell, I didn’t even know what the fuck they were until Ronnie bought me a few for my couch to “spruce it up.”

“The place looks great, Dad.”

He smiles in appreciation of my compliment, then gestures for us to sit down in his brand-new leather chairs to “try them out.” As we comply, he goes on to proudly state, “Felicity helped me pick out most of the furniture. I would’ve been completely lost in some of those stores if it weren’t for her.”

Mom blushes at this but can’t seem to take her eyes off him. I have to admit as much as I like them together, it’s sort of fucking strange. All of my life, the only woman I saw him with was Evelyn. So now—seeing him with another woman—I can’t help but feel really weird. I don’t know how to describe it; I just feel like I have an entirely new life. It’s not a bad thing… but it’s just something that I can’t seem to wrap my head around.

“You okay, Trevor?” my dad asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

I give him a curt nod and reply, “I’m cool. Just thinking. You ready to eat?”

Dad smiles, but I can tell he’s trying to figure me out. I’m sure it won’t take long for him to understand what’s on my mind. He’s usually really good about reading me. I don’t want him to take my confusion the wrong way, though. I do love having my parents together. I know they’ve waited such a long time for each other, but it’s still a lot for me to take in. Luckily, he decides to forgo talking about it during the brunch my mom made.

“So, is Evergreen a permanent place for you two?” I casually ask as I sip on my cup of coffee while lightly bouncing Grey on my lap.

“Well, for now,” Dad says as he places his hand comfortably on top of my mom’s and turns his attention to her. “I was thinking that buying a house would be a nice move for us to make in the future. You know, something more permanent.”

“Ronnie and I are going to be looking at houses soon.” The words fly out of my mouth before I can restrain them.

His eyes widen in obvious shock before a giant grin lights up his face. “That’s great, son! Where were you two thinking about moving? Are you going to stay in town?” I hear and see the hopeful note in his voice and smile.

“Well, there’s this house we’re thinking about checking out,” Ronnie chimes in. “It’s nearby. My sister, Eden, lives in the neighborhood so it’ll be perfect for us, I think.”

“Look at you two! Getting married and settling down. I’m so happy for you two kids,” Dad jovially states.

I always thought marrying and settling down would be absolutely fucking terrifying; however, it’s anything but. Maybe it’s just Ronnie. She always seems to find a way to make everything blissful. I’m a lucky son-of-a-bitch to have her.

“We’ll have a party or something when we get our new place. It’s such a big step… I still can’t believe it,” I muse.

“So, you’ll get the house before you two get married?” Dad questions, his tone free of judgment.

“Well, her lease is up in a little over a month. I know we won’t be able to put together a wedding before then,” I reply with a laugh because I’m sure Ronnie wants a big wedding. At least, that’s what I think every chick wants. Isn’t it?

“The wedding will happen when it happens, and I’m sure it’ll be perfect when it does, but all I need is you, Trev. I don’t care about having a big wedding, or anything like that.”

My chest tightens at her words and I reach out to take her hand in mine, bringing it to my lips to kiss the back of it. Man, do I love this girl. I would marry her tomorrow if I could. Just imagining her all dressed in white, walking down the aisle to me to become mine forever… Fuck, just thinking about it is making me feel like a giggly, teenage girl or some shit like that. However, I can’t help it, Ronnie stirs these butterfly-like feelings inside of me. I guess I’ll just have to learn how to deal.

“Well, I want our wedding to be absolutely perfect,” I tell her while I give her hand a little squeeze.