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“I said, what did you do? Who is it?”
“Why do you assume I know?” My unimpressed stare makes her laugh out loud. “Ok, fine. I invited Castor for dinner. What? You said you agreed to start over.”
Moments later Sil returns to the room with Cas trailing behind her. “Look who I found!” she trills happily. “And what perfect timing, too. Dinner is almost ready and it’s been so long since we’ve all sat down together. Can you stay for dinner, Cas?”
His confusion at her dramatically faux surprise turns to amusement as he graciously accepts. “How could I refuse my favorite moms?” He plops down on the opposite side of the couch from me and leans back with a groan and contented sigh. “I missed this house. I’m sorry I stopped coming by to visit you both too. Can we all start over?”
“Of course we can. Now that Laurel is home we can be a happy family again,” Mom answers with a wink.
Wow, how subtle.
“Yikes Mom. Try to be a little less transparent, huh?”
“Hush, you.” The timer on the oven dings, causing her to pop up from her seat. “Now, let’s go have dinner.”
We follow Mom to the kitchen where Sil is already setting our dishes on the table. We don’t ask for Cas to lead us in a quick blessing, and he doesn’t offer. In the interest of a true fresh start, everyone has left the past behind us. I missed these dinners so much I’m filled with both happiness and regret. We’d have sit down dinners when my moms would come to visit me, but Cas always added a different dynamic.
Once we’ve finished eating, Cas shoos Mom and Sil out of the kitchen and we fall into our old pattern of cleaning up and washing the dishes together. Each time we pass each other or stand close he finds a way to touch me. It’s all innocent and above reproach. A hand at the small of my back when he reaches above me to put a plate on a shelf or brushing my fingers as I hand him something to dry. With each contact it feels like my temperature is rising, and I know exactly what he’s doing. We did this when we were younger. We’d find seemingly innocent ways to touch each other in public, almost like a competition to see if anyone would notice, or find out who would break first. Eventually, one of us would be too flustered and pull the other to a more private place. He’s technically keeping to the “no funny business” rule, but at this point I’m not sure I care anymore.
Last dish put away, I lean my back against the counter and study him as he wipes down the table. Maybe I’m a sucker, and maybe I’ll regret it later, but I’m not going to waste time pretending it’s not what I want. Mom being sick is just one more reminder that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.
“Take me for ice cream?”
His head snaps in my direction, and after a second he hits me with the grin that used to make me weak in the knees. And apparently still does.
“Absolutely.” Taking my hand he begins to pull me towards the front door as he calls out, “Moms! We’re going out for ice cream!”
I slip my shoes on at the door, rolling my eyes when Sil replies with, “Have fun! We won’t wait up!”
“At least you know they still like you,” I snark.
It’s nice enough outside that we walk to our favorite ice cream shop. The line is pretty short and the patio is empty, so we have the entire area to ourselves. Time to lay it all on the line.
When he has a mouthful of ice cream, I strike. “We’ve never lied to each other, so I’m not going to start now.” His eyes widen in surprise, but he swallows thickly and remains silent. “I hated you for what you did. For years. I stayed away from my home because I didn’t want to risk seeing you. The last few years have changed my outlook on life, and mom being sick has done it even more. I could drag it out and make you work for it but I honestly don’t want to.”
“I feel a but coming,” he says, forgetting his ice cream as he listens.
“You do. I won’t spend the rest of my life in the temple of the Radiant God. I won’t subject myself to your father forever either. So if this is what you want to do with your life and you truly believe in his god, we won’t work. This isn’t me giving you an ultimatum, it’s me telling you what my boundaries are. I’ll go with mom to worship while she’s sick to make her happy, but once she’s better I’m done. I won’t be a Reverant’s wife like your mom. It’s just not in me.”
He takes another bite of ice cream and watches me for a moment, then nods. Leaning back he meets my eyes and surprises me.
“Good.”
“Wha- huh?”
Laughing, he moves to sit in the chair next to me and turns mine to face him, our knees touching. “I hate my father, and I don’t believe in his god. I only stayed because mom begged me to, and once I lost you I had nothing else. I almost went crawling to you a dozen times these past few years, but figured you hated me. I’ll stay as long as you do because I don’t want to cause problems for your mom, and I think Dad will absolutely do that. When you’re ready, I’ll be ready to move on.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ve been secretly taking night classes for IT. I’ll have my certifications soon enough, and I can find a job doing that anywhere.” He shrugs, unconcerned. “I was planning on leaving once I have that, but I like this plan better.”
I can’t help but laugh in relief and lean forward to smack a happy kiss to his lips. When I move to pull back he lurches forward and pulls me back to him with his hands cupping the sides of my face. The move to reach me was almost aggressive, but his kiss is incredibly gentle. My eyes flutter closed as he ghosts his lips against mine, and I savor the moment. He tastes like mint chocolate chip ice cream and feels like home, and I melt into his kiss like we never skipped a beat.
The sound of nearby laughter reminds me that we’re not alone so I reluctantly pull away. “You taste like a birthday cake,” he tells me, voice lower than usual. There’s a fire in his eyes that sends a shiver down my spine, and he smirks when he sees it. “You cold?”
“Not anymore. You do realize that if you make promises you can’t keep I will make you regret it, right? If you think you hate your dad, wait until you experience a woman twice scorned.”
“Noted.”
