AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You two are really a gorgeous couple,” Shelly gushed. “This is a fairy tale.”
“Oh, God. You didn’t,” I said, grimacing. But Flynn looked so earnest, so pleased with himself, that I had to laugh.
“I promise not to publish that,” Shelly said. “I’m too intrigued by you two going on that mission trip together. I want to write about that.”
“It’s not really a mission trip,” Flynn said. “We pay for everything ourselves.”
I hadn’t known that. Other volunteer trips I’d heard about, the participants raised donations to pay their way. I’d bring it up later, when we were alone. I was grateful for another car wash customer.
Shelly finally left at nine o’clock. The car wash would be quiet for a while; usually people came through when the swing shift at the plants and hospitals ended. The workers would come in for gas, snacks, and the cheapest wash, the $11.99 special.
I leaned against the car with Flynn, drinking coffee from the store. He told me about his day, consulting for referrals that included a man with burn scars and a new baby with a birthmark that covered half her face.
“I have a soft spot for kids,” he said, watching me. “Do you want kids?”
“I haven’t thought of it yet. There was never a reason. Never anyone to have them with. Is it something I should think about?” I bit my lip, trying not to make light of the serious question.
“I want them, and I want you. So please think about it.”
“Would it be a deal breaker if I decided not to?” I thought of the pain my family had been through because of their children.
“No, but I’d probably spend the rest of my life trying to talk you into it.”
Relieved, I finally laughed. “You can talk. I’ll listen. It’s a little early!”
“I know, but I feel like I need to work fast.”
He stayed another hour, waiting while I dealt with customers. At ten o’clock, he looked at his watch.
“I guess it’s time. I have surgery tomorrow, and that means up at five. Can I call you between cases?”
“Of course.”
I leaned over and kissed him, my hand on the back of his neck. He stayed there with his eyes closed for a minute, while I savored the moment. I was falling in love with him.
Chapter 5
Christmas came and went, and I got through it. The house was decorated like it used to be in my childhood, with the enormous tree my grandfather had hauled in from the Michigan woods. I recognized ornaments that Lucy and I had made in elementary school art class, and that was probably the most difficult. I discovered that if I looked away from them, the pain stopped. I was in control.
I had to spend time with Lillian and George. Now that I had come to terms with my own grief from losing Lucy, I had to acknowledge theirs. It wasn’t easy. Through adult eyes, I saw they had aged considerably since her death. I could see they were powering through the holidays, more for others’ sake than their own.
“It feels more like Christmas now that you’re here,” my dad said. “I hope it means every year will get easier.”
He’d confessed nothing like that to me before. It was clear he struggled, but to admit it? I felt like he’d had a genuine breakthrough.
For the first time in six years, my grandfather said something to me that wasn’t accompanied by a sneer. “Your mother tells me you’re dating that doctor whose life you saved.”
With him, it was definitely a less-is-more situation, so I just let it go with a “Yes.” He nodded and left the room, and I snorted, laughing. “Thanks, Granddad!”
“You’re a smartass, you know that?” he replied, looking over his shoulder.
“Thanks! I appreciate the kind observation.”
Finally, the sneer. I decided that the next time I saw him, Flynn would be at my side. We’d see how cordial he could be then.
A new topic of conversation popped up during Christmas dinner.
“So! None of us are getting any younger,” Lillian said, looking from Rocko and his girlfriend Liz to Margo and her boyfriend Ben, then to me. “When will Pop and I get a grandkid?”
