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Chapter Forty:
Brisley Air
Rio on a plane hadto be the cutest thing I’d ever seen. He was nervous as hell until he was in his seat by the window, and then he was wide-eyed and excited when it finally took off. He passed out right after our layover and when I woke him up to land, he was sad to see it end.
That sadness was short lived though. We were in a new place, and even the air in Brisley felt different from the air back in Domingo. “Where are we going first?” Rio asked, bouncing on the heels of his feet as we packed up the cab.
“Home, Little Hombre,” Ollie said. “Well, my soon-to-be old home. Gotta drop our stuff off and get my car.”
“Are you sure you want to sell it? You’re sure about ... all of this?” I knew he’d eventually catch on to the fact that I was acting weird, but I couldn’t help it. I hated secrets, and hiding that pregnancy test from him felt wrong in so many ways. I just wanted to tell him when the time was right. I didn’t want to mess with his trip home to see family.
Ollie nodded like he didn’t have a care in the world. “We’ll just crash with Sterling when we come back to see my dad. No need to keep the house.”
I wasn’t in any place to argue with him, but when we pulled up to his place I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. It was twice as big as the one in Domingo, and even Rio looked up at it in amazement.
“This is a house?” he asked, looking over at Ollie like he was joking.
He had the nerve to look embarrassed. “Bit much, isn’t it? All the more reason to sell it.” His cheeks flushed red as he tipped our driver and carried our luggage to the door, and it only got worse when we stepped inside.
It was immaculately clean with brand new ... everything, and art on the walls that looked like it was more expensive than my car. It looked like some sort of show unit, not a home that was lived in and saw a lot of laughter and love.
It made me sad for him, because Ollie deserved love no matter what was going on in his life. “Don’t break anything, mijo.”
“He’s okay. Probably less accidentally destructive than I am,” Ollie reminded me. “Come on. I’ll give you a quick tour, then I’ll take you to meet my dad. I’m not sure which one of us is more excited for it to happen, but it just might be him.”
That brought a smile to my face. “Is my excitement less important here?” I teased. “Believe it or not, I’m in the running, too.”
“Are you?” He tugged me closer by my shirt and bit his lip. “I don’t know, babe. This is a big day for him. I never introduce anyone to him.”
“What?” I was sure my face fell as the nerves made me nauseous. I’d already had to hide and puke on our layover, I really hoped I could get through this without another episode. “Ever?”
It was his turn to look suddenly nauseous. “Not since my ex-wife. Why? Mia, what’s wrong? You’re not planning on leaving me here, are you?”
“No! Never.” It came out more desperate than I’d meant it. “What if he doesn’t like me?”
Ollie gaped at me. “He’s gonna love you, Mia. Rio, too. You don’t understand, my dad ... he’s different. You’ll see.”
I nodded, trusting that Ollie knew his dad well enough and then I went up on my toes for a kiss. “Then I can’t wait.”
It took almost two hours for us to finally get there, and even the nursing home was nicer than I expected to be. Ollie must’ve seen it on my face because he leaned in to whisper that Sterling paid for most of it, then squeezed my hand tightly as we got onto the elevator to go up.
“If he mentions my mom being there, just go with it,” he whispered as the doors opened. “He’s not senile. He’s just that fucking romantic that he knows she’s still with him.”
My knuckles were white as I squeezed back, fighting the urge to squeal and make everyone look at me like I was crazy. “That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Rio was nervous too, walking in Ollie’s way every few steps to feel close to us. Seeing him glue himself to Ollie had my eyes watering and my chest tightening, because Rio only did that with the people he was closest with.
Ollie stopped just outside a door and knocked with his middle knuckles as he grinned down at us, then opened it when someone yelled to come in. We stepped inside and Charlie stood, shuffling over immediately with more agility than I’d expected.
“Y-You must be Mia and Rio,” he said fondly, opening his arms for us. “The ones making my boy so happy.”
I relaxed. Charlie was as warm as I’d hoped he’d be. “He makes us just as happy, Charlie. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
He embraced us both then stepped back, gesturing into the room “Come, come. Sit. Make yourselves comfortable,” he said, sitting down in one of two old rocking chairs that were separated only by a table with a picnic basket on it. “How was your trip?”
“Awesome!” Rio chimed in. “Are these cookies for us?”
“They are.” His eyes danced as Rio shoved one in his mouth. “There are drinks in the f-fridge if you’re thirsty.”
