CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Jamie – Now
Lennox is arriving today. I’m nervous, and excited, and unsure of how we’ll all fit together now that I’ve decided on a move to Scotland.
I thought voicing that decision, making it official, would be scary—that I’d have all sorts of second thoughts, but that hasn’t been the case. I’m at peace over the idea.
This is my home, it always has been. Tahoe is home too, but not in the same way. Avi is home. Nox will be my home. I hope. If he’ll let me, I’ll be part of his home too.
A vibration in my pocket stops me just short of the kitchen door. When I pull my phone out, I find an unexpected name on the screen.
Breck
Rory filled me in on everything happening there. If you ever want to talk about dad stuff, I’m here mate.
Or moving across the world for the woman of your dreams stuff… I have a pretty good grasp on that too.
I push through the door with my shoulder, grinning down at the message.
“What’s got you smiling?” Avi asks, and when I look up, I see she’s got her hands splayed in a ball of dough on the counter.
“A text from Breck… Rory’s fiancé.” That thought makes me smile even wider.
She called me last week to tell me they’d gotten engaged under the Fourth of July fireworks and I couldn’t be more thrilled for them.
What started as a casual, friends-with-benefits situation quickly became something else, and as much as I told Rory to protect her heart, she didn’t. But it all worked out in the end.
“Everything okay there?” Avi asks, and I appreciate her asking, caring about my friends back in Tahoe.
“Oh, yeah. They’re fine—great, actually.
He was just offering to talk. I told you about his daughter, Willow?
She’s probably the only reason I wasn’t completely lost hanging out with Nox when he was here.
I’d never spent much time around a kid before her.
Anyway, Breck’s a great dad, and I guess he figured I could use some pointers.
” I laugh but it’s somewhat humorless. I honestly could probably use some pointers.
I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to Nox.
“Jamie.” Avi lets my name sit between us until I lift my head to look at her.
“Yeah?”
“You know none of us really know what we’re doing, right? Parents? We just do the best we can. And Lennox, he wants to get to know you. You guys will figure it out. But… extra pointers from someone who’s been there never hurt either.” She smiles and nods toward the phone in my hand.
“Right, yeah.” I nod and open the thread with Breck.
Me
Thank you for the offer. Might be a good idea.
I have no idea what I’m doing.
That feels a little more vulnerable than I want to be with my best friend’s partner, but it’s already sent… and delivered, so here we are.
Breck
None of us do.
Me
That’s what Avi said. Actually, Rory said that too when I first told her.
Breck
We’ve got ourselves some smart women.
I laugh and catch Avi’s eye. She smiles back, and I feel warm knowing she’s mine.
Breck
If you love him enough, them enough, the rest will all fall into place. Worked for me and Rory.
Me
Is she doing okay? She was really calm when I told her I wasn’t coming back…
Breck
She’s sad. She’s going to miss you. But she wants you to be happy and she knows you need to be there for that to happen. She also wants us to plan a visit to see you soon.
Me
I’m glad you’re there for her.
Breck
I always will be. We’ll both always be here for you too.
Me
Thanks, Breck. Hug your girls for me.
Breck
I will. Call me anytime.
Me
Will do.
“Well…” Avi questions.
“He said the same as you, nobody knows what they’re doing… Not sure if that makes me feel better or more terrified.” I chuckle. “He did say they want to come visit soon.”
“I know someplace they can stay.” She shrugs her shoulders to indicate the space around her, unable to do much with her hands that are still kneading the dough.
“Yeah. I think we may have a lot of visitors here. My parents mentioned wanting to come out soon too. They want to see Grandad, but they also want to meet Nox… Do you think he’s up for that?”
“Am I up for what?”
Both Avi and I snap our heads around to the door.
“Lennox!” Avi shouts and sprints the twenty feet between them, wrapping her arms around him while trying to keep the sticky mess on her hands from transferring.
“Mum…” He drags out the word like he’s annoyed, but his face doesn’t hide his excitement, nor does the way he grips her around the middle.
Grandad, Gran, and Avi’s parents all arrive in the doorway a moment later.
“Sorry,” Avi’s mum says, “we couldn’t hold him back another minute.”
Avi pulls back from him, holding her hands up in front of her like some sort of odd mannequin. “Just a sec,” she says, and walks briskly to the sink to rinse them off.
In her absence, the rest of us stand in quiet awkwardness. I don’t quite know how to act with Nox. Avi’s parents are looking at me in a way I can’t interpret. And my grandparents are watching it all unfold like spectators at a movie—all they need is the popcorn.
“Hey, Nox,” I say with a hopeful smile.
To my surprise, he walks over and gives me a hug. I must look as shocked as I feel because the adults all hide smiles behind their hands and choke back laughs. I bring my arms around him and return the hug.
“Hey, Jamie,” he says, stepping back, and we both swipe a hand through our hair. It would appear I passed on my nervous tic to the boy.
“Okay,” Avi says, rejoining the group. “Who’s hungry?” She pulls Nox into her side and ruffles his hair.
“I’m starving,” he says.
“As if you didn’t eat every snack in the car on the way here,” Fiona says. “And a whole pizza when we stopped for lunch.”
“Thank goodness your mum’s a chef, aye?” Grandad jokes, and Nox beams at him.
“I’ll take over from here, boss,” Hamish says to Avi, ushering her out of the kitchen. “Now y’all get out of here.”
Grandad must’ve assumed we’d all be eating dinner together, because when we get to the dining room, the long table from that first time I met Nox is waiting for us. But this time I have him and Avi beside me and my heart inflates in my chest, putting pressure on my sternum.
The table quiets when Grandad pushes laboriously to his feet, glass in his hand. He may be sick, but at this moment, he’s the man I’ve always looked up to. The patriarch of our family.
“I think a night like this deserves a toast. Our two families have been long connected by proximity as well as friendship, but those are the least of the things tying us together now. As far as I’m concerned, every person at this table is family, and I’m grateful to have gotten to see us come together in this way.
This is my home. It has always been my home.
And it’s yours now too, all of you. Slainte! ”
He lifts his glass and we all follow suit with our own shouts of “slainte.” Under the table, Avi slides her foot across to caress my leg, and I catch her eye. They’re glistening as she nods. Then I look at Nox, his gaze bouncing between me and his mum, and the smile on his face matches my own.