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He grinned and tapped his chest. “Crazy cat lady, remember?”
I laughed. The day we’d met, he’d proclaimed his love for cats, and I’d teased him about wanting to be a crazy cat lady. “Now I know why I love you.”
“Because I’m not afraid of the stinky stuff?”
“Exactly.” I kissed him and he headed back downstairs to my office.
Damn. And they saidIwas perfect?
I packed food and snacks into an insulated cooler bag. I was bringing almost everything I’d eat with me. My mom tried to cook to meet my needs, but she was out of practice. Most of the Thanksgiving meal would be AIP compliant, but other meals might not be. It was just easier for me to bring my food.
Drew returned for the powder room trash then headed downstairs to the office and its bathroom.
I looked around, trying to think if I’d forgotten anything. “Computer, set home to ‘away’.”
“Home set to away,” the AI replied. The lights and music would go on and off throughout the day to simulate people being home. Gotta love that futuristic security shit.
Lulu and Frank were enjoying mutual love time on the chair. I gave both head scratches and snuggles. They closed their eyes contentedly. “You guys be good. No parties. We’ll be home in a few days.”
Aithan returned, washed his hands, and grabbed my food and Drew’s things. “Ready to go?”
I checked the slider’s lock. “Yup. Just gotta get my purse.”
He followed me downstairs. Drew waited in the foyer. “Thanks, man.” He took his computer bag and headphones. I checked the office slider and closed the curtains. Then we headed out for our first family Thanksgiving with my parents.
* * *
Drew sat in the backseat, headphones on. He simultaneously worked on a manuscript and posted on social media, his fingers flying across his laptop’s keyboard, the keys’ clacking barely audible above the hum of the engine and the hiss of the tires over wet asphalt as we rolled north on the freeway. The rain was intermittent and gaps in the clouds revealed bright sunshine and a sky as blue as Aithan’s eyes.
“I should cuss less,” I mused. Traffic was heavy and slow but steady.
Aithan frowned. “Why?”
“I dunno. I guess being with you made me realize how much I do it.”
He shook his head. “Don’t change for me, Zel. I don’t care if you cuss.”
“I know, but you’re a good example. You don’t do it at all. I’m just talking about doing it less.”
“Ha! Technically not true. I cuss all the time.”
“In Polish. Know a lot of Polish speakers in Seattle?” I asked.
“That’s not the point.” He changed lanes, his turn signal clicking a counter rhythm to the windshield wipers. “Have I told you why I stopped cussing in English?”
“Uh-uh. You just said Babcia taught you the Polish versions.”
He nodded. “I cussed like crazy in middle school. I had zero discretion. It got so bad that I got suspended for two days at the end of seventh grade for cussing out the swim coach.”
I laughed. “Seriously?You?”
“Yeah, Mr. Sheever, the principal, was at the end of his rope. And so was my mom. She couldn’t get me to stop.”
“But yourbabciadid?”
“Yep. At the beginning of that summer, she made me an offer. She’d teach me the filthiest Polish slang she knew, if I agreed not to use their English equivalents.” He glanced at me. “Believe me, the Poles put Americans to shame. For every English epithet, there are at least nine versions in Polish.” I laughed, and he continued. “Babcia sweetened the deal because I needed an incentive to stop cussing in English altogether. She offered me a dollar for each time I used a Polish epithet. But she’d also take away two dollars every time I slipped up and used English.”
“That’s amazing.”
