Page 34 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

Then he’d been caught and thought he had it all.

All but the family he always wanted.

And if he’d had that, he would have lost it that day. He had to remind himself that not everything was meant to be.

Or meant at the time he wanted it.

“How much stuff do you have to get at your place?” he asked when they were sitting inside the ferry. They could have stayed in her car, but she said she felt claustrophobic half the time doing that.

“Clothes,” she said. “I’ve got some summer stuff I’m returning. I need more winter-type things. I don’t have as muchspace in my closet at the house on the island. And it’s only temporary anyway.”

“You don’t plan on staying there? Working on the island?”

“I don’t know what the future is going to hold, but I’ve got my place in Boston and it’s not costing me anything to live on the island. Just time to switch things around like this. In a year, if I’m still content, I’ll think about changing my living situation permanently.”

He doubted it was a cost thing, but maybe just the thought of having to care for two homes was a lot. “I’m sure that finding property on the island isn’t easy.”

“No. Not in the least. I don’t really want to rent. That’s my problem. Buying is much more expensive here, and maintenance on top of it. There are no condos. The only townhouses are those in the retirement community. I’ve brought it up to my other cousins who own Bond Realty and the retirement community, that they should put some higher end condos up.”

“What did they say?”

“I think they are trying to figure out the need or draw. Permanent housing is always needed but not as profitable for them once it’s sold. The rent is just an ongoing thing. The condos are different. And it takes time. I get it. If I had a family and were living on the island, I’d want a house of my own anyway.”

“I had an apartment after I lost my house. It was easier. It’s not like I had any possessions after the fire.”

Everything was gone.

His clothing. His furniture. Most of his memories.

Which wasn’t true, but maybe he allowed them to be wiped away.

It was too painful to remember the first time he carried Zoe through the front door of their house.

The holidays they shared there.

The fun she had decorating.

Yeah, best not to go down that memory lane.

“That had to be hard.”

“In a lot of ways.”

“And we’ll table that. This is supposed to be fun today. Not like you’re going to have fun while I swap out clothing, but you agreed to accompany me, so the good with the bad.”

He let out a half laugh, half snort. “It’s a good way to think about things.”

“So, I heard you dressed up like Superman on Halloween.”

“I normally dressed up before if I was working. The kids love it. It’s the only thing I had. What I wore the last two years.”

He had other superhero costumes, but again, lost them in the fire.

“I do it too when I’m working. It’s not always easy to find a costume that doesn’t get in the way or isn’t revealing.”

“Now this I’ve got to hear.”

She shoved at his arm. “It’s not like it’s going to be a Playboy Bunny.”