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He told her there was no reason to be that way.
“So what is your father’s meal and shot?”
“Burgers and scotch,” he said.
“Sounds manly. Any reason for that?” she asked.
“On the first anniversary, my grandfather asked what I wanted and I said my father loved burgers. It’s the first thing I could think of. It stuck. He loved scotch too. That one is more a habit than the story behind my mother’s.”
“It only has to mean something to you,” she said.
“Which it does. And that is what I did on those nights.”
“And you should do it every year if it brings you comfort.”
The water was boiling over and she moved to the stove. Figures he could mess up even something simple like this.
She drained the pasta. “Thanks,” he said. “I guess I need you, huh?”
“Just remember that,” she said. “I’ll always be here. When you’re ready to tell me more, you can. I don’t think you are and this was a good step.”
“Someday,” he said. “But yes, it felt good to say what I had.”
“Then we’ll leave it at that for now.”
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and had a quick image of his father doing that to his mother too.
Maybe he could find what they’d had after all.
24
ANOTHER DAY
Cal opened his eyes on Christmas morning. He rolled over and saw Mia sound asleep, then quietly got out of bed.
It was still dark in her room so he had no clue of the time and didn’t want to look at his phone and have it light up and wake her.
He grabbed it on his way out of the room and went to the bathroom in the hall, shutting the bedroom door behind him.
Thankfully he hadn’t put his clothes away and just snatched his bag by the door too.
He noticed it was a little after five when he was in the bathroom, but there was no way he was going back to sleep.
He showered, brushed his teeth, then made his way to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, passing the tree lit up on the way.
His heart wasn’t racing.
His knees didn’t feel weak.
His hands weren’t sweaty.
He was feeling oddly...normal.
Like another day in his life even if this was the first time he’d woken up to a tree in the house since he’d moved out of his grandfather’s house. He’d hated celebrating those first few years after his mother died and then his father, but he did it for them.
Just like he was doing it for Mia.
Only it didn’t feel so much like he was doing it for her now.
