3. Chapter Three #2
“Ah.” I could’ve guessed. Well over my own five eight.
He’d been hunched in the airport, so I hadn’t gotten a sense of the true difference.
“I have a bed you’ll fit into. You’ll have your own bathroom and as much privacy as you need.
I’m about a mile away from Demetrius’s place—so you can meander over on your own time or I can drive you.
I can stay with you, wait outside, or just leave you to it.
You won’t have to make any decisions today.
Or even tomorrow. You’ll have what you need until you’re able to figure out what you want. What you need.”
“You’d take in a stranger? Into your house? Just like that?”
“I don’t figure you’ve come all the way from Toronto to murder me in my bed.
My electronics are nice, but pawning them will be tough.
I don’t figure you’re going to try to emotionally manipulate me into giving you money.
In truth, I believe your story. I see you’re a good man in need of a hand. What am I if not someone who can help?”
“I can—” He cleared his throat. “I can’t be…your puppy.”
After a long moment, I blinked. “I would never ask that of you. Puppy relationships take time to nurture and grow. If anyone ever asks you to be their pup that soon into a relationship, you need to be wary. Pickup play for a night—at a club or something—is okay.”
“You’ve done that?” He tilted his head as if trying to figure me out.
“Uh, no. I was a one-man Daddy. Only ever for Marty. I’ve considered—” I swallowed hard.
“There’s a club in Vancouver. They have puppy nights.
I’d thought maybe to try, like for a night, but I never found the courage.
Losing Marty hurt so damn much that I don’t think I can ever go through that again.
And we had a dynamic that I know I’ll never find with someone for just one night. ”
“That’s sad. You honestly don’t think there’s someone out there for you?”
I shook my head. “I had my chance at love. I will say I didn’t squander it.
We spent every spare moment together. We weren’t always Daddy/pup.
But we were always deeply in love. I know people have found second chances.
Demetrius, for example. I’m not speaking out of turn when I say he cared for his wife deeply and grieved when she passed.
Now he’s found new love with Jai and they’re so damn happy. Which makes me happy.”
“But not optimistic it’ll happen for you?” His brow furrowed.
“Not so much, no. Now, shall we sip our drinks? We don’t want to get dehydrated.”
“Uh, sure.” He glanced out the window. “How soon before we see the Rocky Mountains?”
I glanced at the time on my phone and did some mental gymnastics. “Soon. You can keep an eye on the window.”
“Thank you for giving me the window seat.”
“My pleasure. I’ve taken quite a few trips to India and always chose the window seat. Now, we’d fly east over Canada, have a layover—usually in Europe somewhere—and then continue on to Mumbai.”
“That sounds like a lot of flying. ”
“It is an arduous trip. But always worth it since my grandparents were at the other end.”
“Are they still alive?”
I shook my head. “No, they’ve been gone a number of years.”
“And your parents? Sorry, that’s a personal question.”
“It’s okay if you ask me personal questions.
I don’t mind.” How do I address this? Better to just be honest. “My parents didn’t approve of my relationship with Marty—that he was a man, that he wasn’t of our faith—” I shrugged.
“They had a laundry list of reasons why I was making the biggest mistake of my life.”
“But you didn’t care.” He sounded almost eager as he offered a wide smile.
“But I didn’t care. I was headstrong and knew what I wanted. Or rather, who I wanted. I thought, maybe when Marty died, that there might be room for reconciliation.”
“Really?”
“Honestly?” I considered. “Maybe? I suppose I thought enough time had passed that we all should be ready to move on. Alas, that didn’t happen. I’d done the unforgivable. So, no reconciliation. No grand gesture of acceptance.”
He frowned. “Would you have really wanted that? After I found out about my dad, I was super glad he was dead. I don’t know what I would’ve done if he’d wanted a reconciliation.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Blood was a powerful thing—but so was found family. I had plenty of found family. “Oh, look out the window.”
He did and gasped. “That’s…stunning.”
“Yes, it really is.” We could practically reach out and touch the tops of the highest peaks.
And to see the mountain lakes—so blue or green and pristine—was amazing.
I’d never tire of the view— which was why I always tried to book a day flight with a window seat.
“I remember one morning I flew out of Abbotsford. The clouds were so thick, all you could see was the top of the mountain peaks. I imagined being able to walk on the clouds.”
As I hoped, he laughed. “Yeah, okay, that would be super cool.”
I yawned.
He cocked his head. “Are you tired?”
“A bit. I never sleep well in hotels.”
“Yeah, okay.” He scratched his nose. “I’ve never slept in one. When we went to Kingston, we stayed in the dorm at Queens University.”
“Ah.” I yawned again. “You’ll watch the scenery and I’ll nap?”
“Sure.”
“Okay.” I closed my eyes, and the hum of the jet engines lulled me to sleep.