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My eyes settle on Vivi, making snow angels in the grass. Grass angels? I don’t fucking know. “It’s where Vivi remembers her Gramps, and she loves it here. You love it here. I love it here.” I look at Claire, my favorite blubbering mess. “I want our child to love it here, to know they’ll always have another place to call home.”
Claire throws herself into my lap, soaking my neck as she whispers how much she loves me, over and over again.
“Now you can come back here whenever you need a break. When you want to see the stars that you can’t see in the city. When you want to just sit out here and be in nature without all the noise, the lights, the bullshit. When you just need a reminder, you can come home, whenever you want. It’ll always be yours.”
I’m on the phone with my mom when I walk through the door on Monday evening, and Claire’s not here. After today, though, we’ll forever be coming home to each other, and that’s something I can get behind, a forever I didn’t want until her.
Though she hasn’t spent a night there since we’ve officially been together, today is the day Claire finally says goodbye to her apartment.
“—and the cutest little suspenders. But I bought a dress, too. I know you think it’s a boy, but just in case. I mean, you never know. Avery, you should just see the dress. It’s adorable. And you can keep it, even if it’s a boy, because then you can have a girl for your second. And, oh! Your dad’s painting the baby’s room, because of course we’ll have a room here, and I’m thinking we should go with a nice pale bl—”
“Mom,” I cut her off with a chuckle, dropping my bag by the door and tugging my tie over my head. I ruffle Sully’s ears and spy the note Claire left on the counter, letting me know she’s downstairs grabbing the last of her stuff. “For the love of God, woman, take a breath. You know Claire’s not due ’til March, right?”
“March will be here before you know it, Avery.” Her tone tells me she’s unimpressed that I’ve momentarily dashed her dreams and has likely got her arms pinned across her chest.
I hope March does get here before I know it. I can’t wait to meet our baby, to be a dad. I hope I’ll do an okay enough job, but I don’t half-ass things, so, I guess I’m feeling a little confident about the whole thing.
Which means I’ll probably have my ass absolutely handed to me when the baby gets here.
“Any luck with a house?” Mom asks.
“No,” I say with a sigh. “Claire says I’m too picky.” I think she’s not picky enough. “I just want it to be perfect.”
Mom hums her agreement. “Well, don’t worry. You have plenty of time. You’ll find your perfect. Besides, as long as you’re together, it’ll always be perfect.”
It’s when she says things like that that remind me why I love her crazy, and why I went to her for advice about Claire all those months ago, regardless of her crazy.
Throwing my suit over a chair in the bedroom, I pull on a pair of jogging shorts and a t-shirt. “Alright, Mom. I gotta go find my girlfriend and tear her away from her old apartment.”
One of my mom’s famous, heavy sighs fills the phone. “Avery,” she says, exasperated, even though I haven’t done a damn thing to warrant said exasperation. “When are you going to ask that girl to marry you?”
“Soon enough.”
“Soon enough? What the hell does that even mean? You better do it before she smartens up and ditches your ass on the side of the damn road. Don’t be an idiot.”
Keeling over with a laugh so deep it makes my cheeks hurt and belly clench, I shake my head. “Thanks, Mom. I love you, too.”
After I hang up, I pull two canvases out of the closet in the spare bedroom. Harper took both pictures. One is Claire and I the morning after we started dating. I’m leaning my forehead against hers, smiling like a goof. The second picture is from Claire’s birthday at the cottage. Gavin’s got Vivi on his shoulders, Claire wrapped around one arm, and Casey by his side, their backs to the camera as they watch the sun sink low over the lake. Claire has no idea this picture even exists.
I prop both up on the walnut shelves that Casey and Gavin made, the ones I took down from Claire’s wall yesterday and hung back up here in our living room.
And then I make my way downstairs to collect my girlfriend.
Claire is standing in the middle of the empty space, looking around, just soaking it all in, the very last box sitting at her feet. Stepping up beside her, I slip my arm around her waist and press my lips to her temple.
“How was your first day back at work?”
She turns to me with a smile. “It was good. I’m so happy to be back. The time off was nice, but I missed it.” She snuggles into my side, a soft, happy sound leaving her throat. “Dex gave me a raise.”
I snort a laugh. The brewery has had an insane summer with their patio expansion. The kitchen and restaurant only opened earlier this month, but business is absolutely booming. Weddings are fully booked for the fall, and after their first successful wedding last weekend, he drunkenly announced that he was giving everyone raises. “You deserve it, sweetheart.”
“I haven’t worked in three weeks. Four if you count my crappy attendance my last week there.”
“Life happens,” I remind her. “But you were integral in the expansion projects. You worked your ass off.”
“Hmm.” She spins into my chest, fingers dancing up my biceps, sweeping over my shoulders. “I did, didn’t I? Is that what drew you to me?”
“Mmm…” I pretend to think, pulling my bottom lip into my mouth, squinting. “It was that color-coded binder of yours. So damn sexy,” I whisper, brushing my lips across hers.
