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“I helped Joel, so we got a lot of important stuff done. We cleaned the kitchen, did the laundry, checked the pool, and he’s getting us some new stones and trees for the backyard. Oh! Can he stay in the guest house again? I wanted him to stay in the house, house, but he needs a break from little kids. Me and Theo did a real number on him today.”
Smiling, she looked up into Joel’s face. “If he wants to.”
“He wants to,” Joel said.
They studied each other for what felt like eons. Then, once she’d collected herself, she took Theo and went to tuck both boys into bed. She and Josiah tucked Theo in, and then she sat with Josiah for a few minutes, catching up before covering his face with kisses until he giggled.
“Good night, Ma,” Josiah said, turning over.
She turned off his light. “Good night, my love.”
On her way to the kitchen, Joel intercepted her in the hallway, took her hand, and directed her to the dining table. A steaming plate of food waited, sprinkled with parmesan and garnished with parsley. Two thick slices of garlic bread sat on a plate beside it.
“Figured you’d need two slices.” Joel released her hand and pulled out her chair. “What would you like to drink?”
She took a seat. “Water.”
“Is that what you really want?”
“No. Red wine. Not too much.”
“I’ve got you.”
He walked off.
The next thing she knew, she was following him. When he reached into a high cabinet for a wine glass, she closed her arms around him from behind and pressed her cheek to the center of his back.
“Thank you, Joel. Thank you so much. For everything. For the boys, for dinner. For everything.”
He covered her clasped hands with one of his. “You don’t have to thank me.”
“I want to.”
He eased out of her grasp, turned, and drew her close again. She squeezed, and he held on tight.
“Joel, your friendship means the world to me. I can’t tell you how lucky I feel to be able to get the chance to know you better. To know you like this. You’re an amazing human being. An incredible friend. Joel, you’re one of the best people I know, and if I can be honest, now that you’re in our lives, I never want to know what it’s like to live without you again.”
To someone else, her statement would have probably sounded like something more.
Deeper feelings.
A declaration.
But there was no way she would miss an opportunity, ever again, to tell the people she loved and cared for how grateful she was that they were in her life.
When he finally replied, his voice was strained and weaker than usual. “Did that degree teach you how to say exactly the right thing at exactly the right time?”
“Nope.” She took a step back. “Followed my heart that time.”
“You should keep doing that, then. Keep following your heart. You might be surprised where it leads you.”
“Maybe.” She glanced behind him at the picture on the wall. “Maybe not.”
“I have an idea.”
Taking her hand again, he led her to the living room. Then he brought the food, set it on the coffee table, and poured her a glass of wine.
He disappeared, and when he returned, it was with a laundry basket spilling over with clean children’s clothes. “You eat, I’ll fold,” he said, taking a seat next to her. “But before we get into how your day went, I kind of have a confession. I, uh, did something.”
