Chapter 15 #2
We took a cab to my building from the airport.
Once we were inside, Arie wandered through the flat, looking at everything curiously.
He’d seen it on quite a few video calls, but this was his first time visiting.
“This is the least cozy apartment I’ve ever been in,” he muttered.
“Somehow, it manages to feel even more impersonal than a hotel room.”
“You’re not wrong.”
When we reached the bedroom, he went straight to the nightstand and exclaimed, “Finally, something in here that isn’t gray and depressing!
” He was referring to the framed photo of him and me in red racing suits—a copy of the same picture he had in his office.
It was on display beside the stuffed toy eggplant he’d given me the day after I met him.
It was apt that the only colorful and meaningful things in here had to do with Arie, now that I thought about it. My life had been as dull, gray, and empty as this flat before I met him. But he’d changed my world.
This was too much to say right now though, so I pulled a duffle bag from my closet and asked, “How much should I bring, enough for two or three days?”
“Bring everything. You’re done hiding, so you don’t need this place rented in your cousin’s name anymore, right?”
“You’re right, I don’t, and without this flat there’s no reason to keep living in L.A. Can I stay with you until I find someplace to rent in San Diego?”
“Actually, I was thinking you’d move in with me.”
I turned to him and asked, “Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’d love that, if you’re sure it’s what you want.”
He slid his hands around my waist and said, “I want to be with you, Tory, all the time. I know my apartment is tiny, but we can make it work. You said you want to paint, so maybe we can rearrange the furniture in the living room to give you enough space to set up an easel.”
I would have suggested renting us a house, but he probably needed the security of his apartment after what he’d been through. It had been his home for a long time, and his neighbors were like family, so I said, “We’ll definitely make it work.”
I lifted him off his feet and kissed him, and when I put him back down, he grinned at me and said, “This is a big step.”
“It is, and it’s going to be great.”
He helped me pack, which didn’t take long. When my luggage was stacked up beside the front door, he asked, “Is that everything?”
“It is. You’re looking at all of my worldly possessions.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “I left a lot behind when I moved to the US, and since then all I’ve bought are a few clothes.”
“Do you have anything from your childhood?”
I unzipped the suitcase and pulled out a book.
Then I removed a faded photo from inside the front cover and handed it to him.
“This is my most prized possession.” He studied it as I said, “That’s me at about six with my mom and dad.
It was taken in our living room. You can see the quilt my mom crocheted, and my dad’s guitar collection is on the wall behind us.
One of my favorite memories is of him playing that red, acoustic guitar and singing Elvis Presley songs for my mom and me.
It’s actually how I started to learn English. ”
“He liked Elvis?”
“My dad loved American rock and roll. I bet he’d know the words to every song on your juke box.”
“That’s awesome. I wish I could have met him.”
“I wish that, too.”
“Would he have thought I was too old for you?”
“All my dad ever wanted was for me to be happy. That’s why I know he would have loved you, Arie.”
I did a final walk-through while he waited by the door. It felt like a chapter of my life was ending—one that had begun the day I threw some stuff in a suitcase and fled from my apartment in London.
When I joined him, he asked, “Are you ready to go?”
“More than ready.” He smiled at me when I kissed his forehead, and we left the flat hand in hand.
When we arrived at his place, Arie held the door open for me and said, “Welcome home.” That felt good.
I stashed my stuff in the bedroom and went to the kitchen to make us some tea. When it was ready, we curled up together on the couch, and I asked, “When are you going back to work?”
“Bright and early tomorrow morning.”
“You must be exhausted, though. Isn’t there someone else that can open the diner?”
“No. Javier and Cami both need some time off after covering for me for three and a half weeks.” He took a sip of tea and said, “I need to crunch the numbers and see if I can hire another employee, so I don’t have to keep working all those early morning shifts.
Actually, I want to cut back my hours across the board.
But until I can make that happen, it’s on me. ”
“That’s the perfect lead-in to something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you,” I said. “I’d like to buy out your son-in-law—with interest, of course—and become an investor in the diner. What do you think?”
“Oh wow! Really?”
“It would be a win for everyone. I want to invest above Devon’s original contribution, so you’ll have plenty of funds available to hire more staff and cut back your hours.
And you mentioned that Devon had sunk a huge chunk of his trust fund into the diner, so this would free up his cash.
Then he and Kit could buy a house, or do whatever they wanted. ”
“That would be amazing, but what do you get out of it?”
“I get to take care of the man I love, and become part of the history of that wonderful diner.”
He threw his arms around me, his voice full of emotion as he whispered, “Thank you, Tory.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Definitely.”
There was one more thing I wanted to do for Arie. Over the last few weeks, I’d been trying to think of a gift that would show him what he meant to me. I’d asked myself what he really wanted, and I’d finally come up with an answer. Now I had to figure out how to make it happen.