Page 148 of The New Place

“Sure, but where’s the fun in that?” Ned asks.

“Fun.” Pat sits in silence for a long moment, staring into some middle distance.

Abbot sets his glass down, most of his whiskey untouched. “Liesl texted while I was in the shower. She wants to come over. That likely means she’s already on her way.”

Ah, the real world. Yes, this weekend was always going to end at some point, and apparently now it has.

“It’s not all that fun,” Pat says softly. “I’m so into her. What if this messes all of that up?”

“Don’t let it,” Ned says.

“Okay, suddenly you’re the calm one about relationships?”

Ned ignores him. “Go call Claire. If she’s driving home, she’s probably also obsessing over the talk you two just had. Tell her you’re good, and you and her are good, too. And ask if she needs anything from you right now, okay?”

“Okay,” Pat obediently echoes. “I can do that.”

“Baby steps,” Ned says. “Ha. Literally. Focus on what you can do right now.”

“You should tell him to listen to himself,” Pat says to Abbot, but he stands and pulls out his phone as he walks back to the kitchen.

Ned lets him go, giving him some privacy, and leaning into Abbot when he comes to stand next to him. “We’re going to be uncles.”

“I suppose we are.”

“I’m happy for them. Though it’ll be a hell of a lot harder than if they were together for a while first, but they’ll be alright.”

“I suppose we do know something of backward timing,” Abbot says.

“Worked out for us, didn’t it?”

“I’d say so.”

“We’re really married, huh.”

“Signed the paper and everything,” Abbot says.

“Feels weird.”

“Does it?”

Ned lifts a shoulder. “Feels kinda the same, too. But good.”

“Yes, good.”

“We’re good?”

“We are.”

“And now we just…” Ned gestures, his ring catching the light. “Go to work tomorrow?”

“Well, I’ll change the bedsheets today, first.”

Ned laughs and meets Abbot in a soft kiss, wanting to linger here in this soft happiness of the weekend. The rest of the world is out there, waiting for them, and he doesn’t want it to come rushing in to ruin the last, buoyant joy of their short days together.

Abbot takes his elbows, holding him for a long time, and for one final moment, Ned lets the world fade away: Pat’s voice in the kitchen, the cars on the street outside, the thought of work and the coming week. They’re really married. It’s…it’s alright, actually. Not as scary as Ned had feared. It’s still Abbot, and that’s been the best thing about Ned’s life for a good long while now.

Ned wants to linger right where he is, but time spills forward and their kiss ends and Abbot squeezes his arms and lets go when a knock sounds at the door, sending Baxter barking again.