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He was here because he wanted to be. Every single time. Every version of here.
"Slow," Daddy noted as he took my hand in his. “Just for the record, I'd have embraced whatever status update she’d given. I wasn’t lying in there when I said I was in this for the long run.”
“I’m not sure what to say to that.”
"You don’t have to. Are you hungry? Because I’m starving. I was too nervous to eat a good breakfast."
A laugh moved out of me before I could do anything about it. "Then let’s get some food, Daddy. We can’t have you wasting away."
He was already looking down the street like he could see where he wanted to go next. "There's that place Auden mentioned. The one with the gumbo that apparently makes everything better."
"Gumbo at ten in the morning."
"You have bagels for every meal. Don't talk to me about appropriate timing."
He started walking, still holding my hand, and I went with him, because that was what I did now. What I intended to keep doing.
Slow,Dr. Whipell had said.
I was beginning to understand that slow wasn’t the lesser version of something. It was time. It was mornings with Daddy and appointments to keep track of my health. It was family and love, both of which made this life worthwhile.
CHAPTER 36
Paxton
Moving didn't take long when you hadn't accumulated much.
A few boxes of clothes, my baseball gear, the equipment bag I treated better than most people treated their furniture, a box of books I'd been meaning to read since college and probably wouldn't get to until I retired, two duffel bags of miscellaneous things that hadn't earned their own category yet. That’s what made up my life.
Pops had packed it all up for me. When I went to pick it all up, I walked through the space to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. I should have known he hadn’t. It looked like I hadn’t even lived here.
"You know I’m practically a professional mover," he'd told me.
We pulled up to Grizzly's place and climbed out. Technically it was now my place too. I just needed the finality of having everything brought in for it to feel that way.
Pops came to stand beside me as I took in the view of the place I’d now call home. "Nice morning for moving."
It was a great day for it. The weather was nice, and the forecast indicated it would stay such throughout the time we’d be unloading everything. Given the time, there wasn’t a lot of movement from the neighbors just yet. Maybe their sleeping in would give us peace before anyone wandered over to roll out the welcome mat.
Grizzly opened the front door before we reached it, proof he'd been watching for us. His shy smile had me grinning like a fool.
"Good morning.” His voice was still a bit sleep worn.
Pops stepped up onto the porch and kissed him on the forehead. Then he shifted past him through the open door saying, “Kiss and cuddle while I make myself a cup of coffee. We’re burning daylight, and I want you both focused instead of pining.”
My boy went very still. I pulled him into my arms, noticing up close how he had tears in his eyes. Pops accepting him confused my boy most days. Other times, like now, it brought heavy emotions.
“He loves you. Probably as much as I do. You’re his kid now too, baby,” I whispered, careful not to let the other man with us overhear. If he did, there’d be a whole grand speech about family and how we were his sons.
The man could be a bit long-winded when you got him going. Grizzly didn’t need to hear all of that when he was already in his feels.
I tilted his chin just right to give him a deep kiss, then I turned him toward the open doorway. “Let’s get inside before he raises a stink.”
For the next couple of hours, we worked to get everything inside and somewhat unpacked. Pops was adamant for us to use him while we had him.
“You’ll be happier knowing only the tiny details are left,” he told us when I asked why he was pushing for this.
The more we unpacked and broke down boxes, the brighter my boy’s smile became. It was as if he could finally see our lives blending together. My baseball gear was near the washroom, ready for when I needed it next. My clothes were in the closet, and my shoes lined up on the shelf above all the hangers.
