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“It is, but I couldn’t get back to sleep. Consider this your warning that I might be incredibly grumpy later today,” he says lightly.
“So warned,” I nod. “What do you want to do today?”
Bradford shakes his head. “I need coffee before I can make any decisions. Let’s go to the diner. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Emily.”
“Good idea.” While Bradford showers I finish listening to my messages, and also take a cursory glance at my email.
The gist of all of the messages is the same: the company’s foundering and we need to know when you’re coming back. The Head of HR took the most conciliatory tone, which I have to admit I enjoyed hearing.
Apparently the board thinks that I’ve had enough time off to, as HR put it, “Have a reset,” and now they want me back in Atlanta as soon as possible.
This is the news I’ve been waiting to hear since I arrived in Green Haven. It should fill me with joy to know that I’m welcome back, that the company I’ve sacrificed so much to build is still mine.
But as I watch Bradford whistle as he shaves, I feel a pang of regret. Does going back to work mean leaving all of this behind? Mean leaving Bradford behind?
I’m not ready to do that. Not when it feels like we’re finally on the right path, that we’re finally a real couple.
Bradford comes out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. I quickly slide my phone into my pocket. I’ll deal with all of this later.
“You ready to go?” he asks, pulling on a t-shirt. “I hope so, because I am starving.”
“Just waiting on your slow ass,” I tease.
“Hey, you know you love this ass,” he shoots back and I grin.
“That I do.” I stand up and open the door. “Come on, let’s get breakfast.”
We walk across the town square to the diner. Even though it’s still early, a lot of people are out. I’m surprised at how many I recognize now, how many smile in our direction and wish us a good morning.
And I realize all over again just how much this place has crept up on me, how at some point it stopped feeling like living here was a punishment, and became a sanctuary. I feel a sense of belonging here that I’ve never felt before, not even in Atlanta, a city I know like the back of my hand.
That troubling pang hits me again, but sharper this time. There’s a chance that I could convince Bradford to come to Atlanta with me. But I can’t take Green Haven with me; I can’t bring any of its magic back to the life I left behind.
Bradford reaches the diner first. By the time I enter he’s in what I’ve begun to think of as “our” booth. Amelia is sitting next to him, chattering animatedly as he listens attentively.
“Uncle Ragnar!” she squeals in delight as I sit down across from them. “I’ve missed you!”
“Hey, Amelia,” I say fondly. “I’ve missed you, too. Is Gorlag behaving himself at home?”
Amelia crosses her arms and pouts. “He snores! Do all orcs snore?”
“No,” I say solemnly. “Only Gorlag, and he’s the loudest of all orcs.”
“Don’t believe him,” Bradford says to Amelia. “Ragnar snores, too.”
“I do not!” I say indignantly.
Amelia’s brow furrows. “How do you know?” she asks Bradford, and I choke back a laugh.
“Um, sometimes Uncle Ragnar and I have sleepovers,” he says, shooting me a hapless look.
“Oh!” Amelia chirps with a nod. “So are you gonna be my uncle, too?” she asks Bradford.
Bradford blushes but is saved from answering when Emily stops by our booth with a pot of coffee. “Good morning,” she greets us as we eagerly offer up our cups. “Amelia, it’s just about time for you to go to school.”
“Okay,” Amelia sighs. “Are you walking me?”
“No, Gorlag will,” Emily says. I glance over the rim of my coffee cup to see Gorlag enter the diner.
