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“Hi, Debbie!” Sammy managed to wave at her before Morpheus almost knocked him on the ground. “Hey, buddy! Hi! I missed you, too! Yes, I did! I missed you so much! What do you have there? What’s Nanny making you?”
He looked up at Debbie mortified. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”
She waved him off, and even though her eyes were sad she said, “It’s okay.”
She made an awkward move to reach him, and he helped her out by meeting her halfway. They hugged lightly, and when she pulled away, she said, “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise.” He grinned.
Debbie was trying not to be too obvious about the way she studied him, and although it made him feel both insecure and annoyed, he knew that any parent would act this way under similar circumstances. It helped he didn’t sense any malice in her exploration as her eyes roamed over his stature. He told himself she just wants to figure him out. She wants to get to know the man Logan has chosen to share his life with.
Sammy dragged his bags to the kitchen, then went outside to retrieve a few of the other boxes. Debbie followed him and helped him while making small talk asking him about his trip. They piled up all his stuff in the kitchen and Sammy was glad Logan had already cleared him space to start organizing his things the next day.
But now that was done, they sort of stood there awkwardly. “Would you like some tea, Debbie?” he offered, trying to be polite.
“Yes please. I’ll go check on Morpheus.”
She moved back to the living room, and he was glad to have a moment to himself. Okay, so this had gone better than he had hoped it would. Debbie seemed alright, but he still felt a bit weary thinking about everything that had come to pass between Logan and his mom. When it came to his lover, he was ready to take his side in every instance, no matter the consequences.
He glanced over his shoulder. Debbie was stitching something to the fabric she had laid out on the coffee table. Sammy sighed. Moving on entailed compromise and forgiveness. He knew from experience that if no one chose to reach out, if they didn’t meet halfway, valuable time would be lost, and important relationships would be damaged.
When he brought their cups to the cozy living room, she was yet again busy with the curious garment. It was a vest with looping clipping belts that would go under Morph’s belly. It covered his back, neck, and most of his chest, finishing off with an oval cut exposing his belly. She was stitching something to it, and when she met Sammy’s eyes, she chuckled and said, “I like sewing, and Logan told me that the doctor has said he should have linen or cotton to keep him warm and to keep his skin clean. I used some old sheets to make it for him while I was here. Gets a bit boring out here. I don’t know what you boys do all day for fun.”
Sammy choked on his tea, but quickly recovered as Debbie luckily hadn’t caught on to where his thoughts had gone to immediately. “I’m a photographer. I spend a lot of time editing images for work. Things are picking up for spring and summer so I might start traveling a bit more too. Hopefully, Logan can join me when he can take time off from his new job.”
She lowered her eyes at the last statement, and he hoped she didn’t take it as a dig at her. It really wasn’t. He tried to change the subject. “Are there any annual events in Saratoga Springs for spring and summer? I’m excited to explore and check out some local fun gatherings.”
Debbie perked up. “Oh yes, actually, there are quite a few events coming up. I don’t know if Logan has mentioned this to you, but I used to work in the local tourist information center and…uh…” She pulled out her phone and quickly typed, then shoved it in his face. She was on the tourist information site and was pointing to a month-by-month list of annual events. He could see they had already missed some fun concerts, but it seemed that there was something going on all the time. Quite a few music festivals too and he beamed excitedly at the possibility of taking some cool shots of indie bands visiting the area.
“This is great, Debbie! Thank you!” He sent himself the link and feeling perhaps a tiny bit bold, entered his number in her list of contacts.
He gave it back to her, and she read his full name, carefully making an effort to pronounce it correctly. “Samuel Mori-Ikeda.” She chuckled, reading the note he had added instead of an address, “AKA Sammy.”
Morpheus made his way to Sammy and tried to climb on top of him on the couch but stopped abruptly and whined as if he were in pain. He lowered himself and laid on his side panting. Sammy frowned with worry and sat on the floor next to him, caressing his back. “You’re okay, buddy. I’ll come to you for cuddles.” He looked up at Debbie. “How has he been this week?”
“He’s been doing great considering… the accident.”
Sammy narrowed his eyes at her and tried to give her an out from an awkward conversation she may regret later. Logan was very upfront about the fact that Debbie had clearly been traumatized by his suicide attempt. She wasn’t ready to believe he was healing now and working toward a future with Sammy, not toward an early grave.
She took a deep breath. “Do you think––?”
“No. Absolutely not.” He said it a bit too harshly and her face went red and blotchy in embarrassment. God, Logan looked so much like her, it messed with his head a little bit. Like their similarity in appearance somewhat prevented him to take a firmer approach with Debbie. Her baby blue eyes got a bit watery, but this had to be nipped in the bud or it would hang over them always. “I love Logan very much. If I had any suspicions he might try and hurt himself, I would have never ever left him here alone, for almost a whole week.”
Debbie exhaled with obvious relief. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a tissue she pulled out from some secret space in her sleeve, that all middle-aged women seemed to have. “I just don’t know what to do,” she mused, looking at the fireplace.
“If you care so much, ask him what he needs from you. Don’t ask him to do things for you just so you can absolve yourself of guilt. Logan is still recovering from this enormous tragedy. He still misses Sophy and Jordan every day. If he has done anything you feel disappointed by, please consider how you would feel if you were to lose your entire family in such an abrupt manner. Please understand, I don’t mean to be rude, but his past behavior isn’t about you.”
Before she could answer, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway killed the conversation. Morpheus perked up and barked excitedly but stayed on his side on the floor. Logan walked in and the awkwardness still hanging in the air was palpable. He frowned at his mother, but then quickly averted his eyes to Sammy and his grin could light up the woods around the house.
“Hey, baby, welcome back.” He sat on the floor on the other side of Morpheus and leaned in for a kiss. Debbie watched them for a while smiling. Sammy had known he shouldn’t expect any less from Logan but to be his usual affectionate self in front of his mother. He had been so worried about meeting her, but the sweet kiss and how close Logan sat to him, made him relax completely.
They chatted some more, Logan and Debbie hashing out some local gossip and then she gathered her sewing supplies and left them with the promise of making one more jacket for Morpheus to keep him warm when they took him out for walks.
As soon as they said their goodbyes, Logan locked the door behind her hurriedly. He pounced on Sammy with a much different hungrier kiss.
“I missed you so much!”
Sammy grinned and nipped his lip. “Yeah? How much?”
