Chapter 43
43
MALCOLM
I used to think grief was a dense forest you were dropped into without a map and the trees were so thick you could hardly see the sunlight. That, instead of trying to find a way to escape, you should simply stay put and try to survive the knowing that you’ll never be found again. But now I know what it really is. Grief is like being lost in a dense forest, unable to find your way out. But instead of being stuck, the best way to get through it is to wake up every day and do what you can to see through the trees and feel the sun on your face. And that is what I wake up and choose to do every day since coming home. To do my best to see the light in each day and let it warm me from the inside out.
It has been three weeks since I came home and the Fourth of July is next week. Since being back, I’ve done my best to stick to my program, make it to my meetings, and go to my weekly therapy appointments. As promised, I also do my best each day to show Ophelia how much I love her and how hard I’m trying to prove to her that I can be the man she needs me to be. I started training at the gym again, check in with Reese daily like he requires me to do, and I took Ophelia’s advice and promoted Alice to assistant manager which she’s thriving at. As the days get longer and the summer heat rolls in, little by little, I start to put the pieces of my life back together.
When I hear my phone buzzing on the bartop, I toss my tattered paperback copy of Fahrenheit 451 down and look to see who texted me. My cheeks push into my eyes as I slide my thumb across the screen to answer her text.
Little fox:
I’m on my way to get you. I want to talk with Alice about this weekend’s brunch special and then we can head to Kolbi’s. Sound good?
She had dropped me off this morning after I stayed at her place last night. After weeks of me asking her to, she finally agreed to come with me to game night so she offered to drive me to the bar for my opening shift. Hitting send on my message, I head for the office.
“Hey, Ophelia’s on her way and said she wants to talk to you about Sunday’s brunch special, just so you know.”
Alice spins in the new office chair Ophelia had replaced while I was gone and removes a pen that had been tucked between her teeth.
“Oh good, I wanted to talk with her about it anyway.” She stands from her chair and follows me back out to the bar, presumably to wait for my girl. “You look good, man.”
I turn to look back at her as I make my way back to the front of the restaurant. “Thanks, I feel good.”
“She’s good for you. She makes you better.” Her head bobs up and down and I can’t help but let out a chuckle.
“Trust me, I know.”
As if on cue, the front door opens and in walks Ophelia looking as stunning as ever. She’s clearly just come from the office and stomps across the hardwood floor as if she owns the place. Her and Alice have more of a control on the place than I do, so it’s almost like she does own the place. She walks right past me and straight up to Alice, pulling her into a hug.
“Hello, Alice. You’re looking beautiful today.”
“Thank you, you as well,” Alice replies cordially.
“Uhh, hello? What about me?” I whine, catching their attention.
“Ehh, you’re alright I guess.” Ophelia shrugs and turns her lip up at me.
“I remember you singing a different tune last night while we?—”
“Alright, that’s enough of that.” She stops me, holding up a hand. A hand that now adorns a simple metal band that’s been sized to fit her middle finger. How fitting.
She rolls her eyes at me with a huff and turns back to Alice. “We’re all good for brunch this weekend?”
“Yep! Our guest chef has confirmed and is excited to be here.”
“Amazing, you rock, Alice. If you need anything at all, just call me.”
“And please don’t call me as it’s my weekend off,” I remind her with a grin.
“Will do. Have fun tonight. Malcolm, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I call out as Ophelia and I head for the front door. Once outside, I grab her by the wrist and pull her towards the back door where no one can see us. Her eyes are wide with surprise as I press her against the wall, pinning her arms down by her sides.
“You don’t really think I’m just alright , do you?” I growl close to her lips. The corner of her mouth twitches and I can tell she’s trying not to crack a smile.
“Hmmm, I would say you’re slightly better than ‘alright’ but just below ‘perfectly adequate.’” Her voice drips with tease and she starts to laugh hysterically when I bring my mouth to her throat and playfully nip at her.
“I’ll show you ‘perfectly adequate,’ little fox. You just wait until I get you home tonight and you won’t be able to remember your words because I fucked them straight out of you.”
She barks out another laugh. “I’d love to see you try.”
I pull away from her now and look into her brown eyes that have a new twinkle to them that I haven’t seen before. “You drive me crazy. You know that, right?”
“I know. But you know who else drives you crazy?”
“Who?”
“Conrad when you’re late to game night and right now, we’re both well on our way to a tongue lashing from him. Let’s go, pretty boy.”
* * *
“Ahhhh!” Bailey shrieks when we walk in and she sees Ophelia trailing behind me. The way she runs down the hall towards her friend would lead you to believe they haven’t seen one another in years when I know for a fact they had their weekly brunch together just this past weekend. “I’m so happy you’re here!”
“I’m so happy to be here.” Ophelia squeezes her back before leaning over and giving Magnolia a hug as well. We’re all standing in the dining room just off the kitchen. Kolbi and Hank are standing at the bar opening their beers and Conrad is sitting at the table setting up.
“Now we just need to get Margaret here,” Magnolia sings. The three of them turn and stare at Conrad who doesn’t seem to notice for a moment. When he does, he drops his shoulders and looks at them through squinted eyes.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Why aren’t you bringing Margaret to game night?” Bailey interrogates.
“ Why would I bring her to game night? I don’t like that all of you are here, let alone adding a fourth. This is supposed to be boys’ night, need I remind everyone of that?” he laments with his arms out to his sides.
Magnolia lets out a sigh. “Why are boys so dumb?”
“Truly, they would be a lost species without us.” Bailey groans.
“We’ll just let them keep thinking they’re in control. Makes ‘em feel good,” Ophelia finishes, giving me a wink.
“Princess, I know damn well who’s in charge and I’m happy to keep it that way.” I loop an arm around her curved waist and pull her into my side. She gives me a cocky grin before I press my lips to hers in front of everyone in the room.
“I’m glad someone finally chained him down,” Hank jokes as he takes his seat.
“She’s truly the only one who has the power to do so,” Bailey adds, moving to stand behind his chair.
“So are you two official yet?” Kolbi dares to ask. My eyes look from her to my friend then back to her.
“I’m certainly not going anywhere. I’m still waiting to see if she thinks I’m worthy of her time.” This gets me an eyeroll and a head shake but I lean in and kiss her again anyway.
“We’ll see. You still have some work to do, I think,” she teases, and I know it’s coming from a good place. I have work to do, we have work to do, but we’re in it together and we’re both ready to put in the work. I pull away from her and walk to grab a soda from the fridge before taking a seat at the table. Magnolia and Bailey kiss their respective partners, leading Conrad to groan in his chair before they move towards the living room.
“What movie will it be tonight, ladies?” Kolbi asks, looking at the three of them.
“Only an early 2000’s classic.”
“A timeless love story where the down on her luck woman falls in love with a man she thinks she can’t have.”
“Truly a story for the ages and a movie that helped skyrocket JLo into movie stardom.”
“ Maid in Manhattan ,” they all say together before laughing. They don’t even wait for us to reply before moving to the living room, leaving us to our game. My friends and I glance at one another before looking back at where they once stood.
“Does anyone have any idea what movie they’re talking about?” Hank asks. ‘No’s’ and ‘not a clue’s’ are murmured around the table and we focus on finally starting for the night.
An hour or so later, Conrad’s character has taken significant damage during a battle Kolbi won’t seem to release us from against a traveling group of bloodthirsty vampires. We’ve been stuck in this battle for twenty minutes, doing everything we can to free the townspeople from their control.
“Hang tight, Tolith. I’m coming to get you,” I say, rolling the die across the table. When it lands, I caste Haste on him to double his speed so he can escape the coven that had him surrounded.
“Ahhh, good shit! Nice use of Haste, Denis,” Hank cheers from his seat. His celebratory fist bump nearly punches Ophelia in the face.
“Woah, who knew game night could be so dangerous?” she jokes as she stands next to my chair.
“Need something?” I ask, looking up at her.
“Just to use the restroom…” her voice trails off and she peers around the room.
“Oh, it’s just down that hallway.” Kolbi points.
“That’s right, I remember now.” She takes a few steps towards the table and seems to study the board. “This looks…interesting. What’s ‘Haste?’”
“It’s a spell you can cast if you’re a level ten bard that essentially makes whatever you cast it on better. So for Conrad, it gave him more speed so he could escape the vampires we’re currently battling.” When I look up at her again her jaw has gone slack and her mouth is hanging open into a small ‘O.’
“Holy shit, you really are a nerd, aren’t you?”
“To sit at this table, you have to have some level of nerdiness, yeah,” I reply.
Her fingers rope into my hair along the back of my head and she gently tugs my head further back before dropping her lips down to my ear. “It’s kinda hot.”
“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Conrad barks out from his seat. We all chuckle and she releases my hair before standing up again.
“Has anyone rolled a nat twenty yet?” Bailey shouts from the living room.
“Not yet, blondie,” Hank calls back to her.
“A nat twenty?” Ophelia asks, raising a brow at me.
“It’s the perfect roll,” I explain shortly. In the almost two years of playing this campaign, we have never rolled one as a group. At this point I don’t think it’ll ever happen.
“Ahhh, I see. Well, enjoy the game, boys.” She waves at us before heading for the bathroom.
As I watch her go, I think about how she’s made me better and continues to make me better every day. When I need someone to be there for me, to push me to be better, she’s the one that’s always there. What started out as a desperate haste to have one another turned into this daily promise of growth and improvement. She was always in my corner from the very beginning and while she might not be ready to admit it, I know I’ll always be in hers for as long as she lets me.