Page 6 of Conflict Conclusion

Aspen was, once again, talking a mile a minute about something or other, and Charlie was nodding along as they walked down the path behind the shelter towards the woods.

“And after we’re done, I’m probably going to just hang out at Leon’s place, and then in the morning Noah and I are going to brunch at the Rainbow Bean, and you’ll come too, right?” Aspen said, turning their head like they were some kind of neon blue-haired owl to stare at Leon while still walking forward down the path.

“Uhm, maybe,” Leon said absently, too busy trying not to trip over Gordy, who continued to press against his leg.

“We’ll be at your place at 10, and afterward we can go to the park and maybe check out the traveling exhibit at the museum uptown. It’s nothing as exciting as torture through the ages, but it should be fun,” Aspen said all in one breath.

Charlie gave Leon a look, a little knowing and a tad bit sympathetic.

“Sure, we can do whatever you want tomorrow,” Leon said, because when it came to Aspen, that was usually the easiest response.

Besides, maybe the company would keep him from obsessively monitoring his phone all day. James had better things to do than check in on him or worry about him. Like Leon had said, oh so confidently, he could take care of himself for a week.

It was just going to be a very long week.

Chapter Three

JAMES

James tried to subtly check his phone under the table as Howard sat down across from him, his plate loaded high with a variety of meats and two whole baked potatoes.

“The buffet is included, as is the bar, so feel free to imbibe to your heart’s content,” Howard said as he fanned out his napkin and placed it in his lap.

Linda and James’ mom had gone through the salad bar before hitting the hot bar, so their plates were only semi-loaded up with meats and potatoes. James’ stomach was in knots, so he’d opted for soup and a roll for now.

“Try not to get used to the open bar,” Linda said. “There will be plenty more buffets in your future, but probably none with free-flowing booze.”

Before James could ask if they were planning to go on more cruises—but the kind that didn’t have open bars?—his mom cleared her throat.

“That’s actually the perfect segue into what I wanted to talk to James about tonight.”

Howard put a large bite of steak into his mouth, and Linda laid down her fork to take up her wine glass. James hadn’t picked up his spoon or glass of soda yet, so he knotted his fingers together in his lap.

“Linda, Howard, and I have been giving a lot of thought to how much time we all spend traveling to and from each other’s places,” his mom said. “And without pulling out the very impressive spreadsheet Linda put together, let’s just say it’s a lot.”

Linda smiled softly before taking a long drink of wine.

“As you know, I haven’t worked in many years, so I’ve never been too concerned about commutes, but both Linda and Howard still do business in the city,” his mom continued. “That works out alright for Linda, even though she lives a fair way from her office, but it’s more than a little inconvenient for Howard.”

At this, Howard nodded sagely before taking a large bite of pork tenderloin.

“Before we met, Howard had already been considering moving into a more manageable-sized place in the city, and Linda has been considering a move as well. There is a lovely continuing care community a little ways north of Linda’s office that has an enclosed park, a gym, on-site physical therapy, a buffet dining hall, game nights, outings into the city, pickleball, badmitton⁠—”

Linda placed her hand on his mom’s arm, and she stopped giving her impassioned sales pitch.

“It’s a great place, is what your mom is trying to say,” Howard said, placing his fork down and folding his hands on the edge of the table.

“And…you and Linda are planning on moving there?” James asked, looking between his mom’s two partners.

“Howard, Linda, and I are planning on moving in there,” his mom said, tilting her body ever so slightly towards Linda.

Howard had somehow managed to snag them a table in the middle of the bustling dining hall. James hadn’t noticed the noise before, but as a bubble of silence fell over their table, the sound of clinking cutlery and overlapping voices pressed in around them.

“The timeline is flexible,” Linda said gently. “They have a place available starting in September, but if that feels too soon for us, there may be another spot open in December.”

“Obviously moving in the middle of winter is not ideal, but…” Howard trailed off, looking first to James’ mom, then to James. “All that to say, there’s no rush.”

There was no rush for his mom to move across the city to a continuing care community, with her two partners.