16. Miller #2
“Technically, it belongs to her parents. The deed is still in their name, and Jeannie has lived in this house all her life. There’s no way Brad can try to stake a claim to it in the divorce.”
“That’s good.”
Collie sat down on the edge of the bed and pressed his hand to his chest. I sat down beside him and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m a little achy.” He leaned against me, and I put my arm around him. “I shouldn’t have acted like that,” he said, “but I hate him so much for what he did to Jeannie.”
“I get it. I hate that guy too, and I don’t even know him.”
“Thanks for having my back out there.”
“Always.”
A moment later, his phone buzzed. He read a text and sent a reply before telling me, “Jeannie and the baby just left the hospital. She’s on her way to see her kids.
Scotty, Allie, and Maddy are going to stay with her mother-in-law over the weekend, so Jeannie can spend time with the baby, and hopefully get some rest.” Collie got up and pushed his hair out of his face.
“She’ll be home in about two hours, so I’d better get busy. ”
“What are you going to do?”
“I want to tidy up, put fresh linens on her bed so it doesn’t smell like Brad, and cook dinner.”
I caught his hand and said, “That won’t take very long with both of us working together. You can let yourself rest for fifteen minutes.”
He thought about that for a few moments before kicking off his sneakers and climbing onto the bed. I took my shoes off too, and stretched out beside him. “Don’t let me fall asleep,” he said. “I really want to make everything nice for Jeannie.”
“Okay.”
We both rolled onto our sides, so we were facing each other. It was perfectly quiet. The cat jumped onto the bed and curled up at our feet. Collie and I studied each other, and I reached out and brushed his hair back.
After a while, he said, “About that kiss under the fake mistletoe…”
“I’m glad it happened.”
“Me, too.” He chewed his lower lip before asking, “Do you think it might happen again at some point?”
I grinned and moved close enough to feel the warmth of his body. He lightly caressed my cheek, and I sank my fingers into his hair as I brushed my lips to his.
His breath hitched as the kiss deepened. Did he feel it, too? It was like the whole world broke apart and realigned, rebuilt into something brand new.
There was no going back, no way to claim we were just friends after this. I totally gave myself away in that kiss, showing him exactly what he meant to me, how much I wanted him, how much I needed him.
He broke the kiss first, leaning back just a little to search my face before burrowing into my arms. I wrapped myself around him and closed my eyes, savoring the moment.
After a while, he murmured, “People have long-distance relationships all the time. We could do that, too.” It seemed like he’d been having an internal conversation and finally looped me in on it.
He was right, we could, except that I didn’t want him to live someplace that made him unhappy. For now I left it at, “We’ll figure this out, Collie.”
We stayed there, wrapped up in each other for almost half an hour before finally climbing off the bed. “Tell me how I can help,” I said.
“You don’t have to do anything.”
I reached up and gently tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. “I want to, and this’ll go a lot faster if we work together, so lead the way.”
“Okay. Thanks, Miller.”
After we put fresh linens on the bed in Jeannie’s room, I carried the laundry downstairs and loaded the washing machine. Then, as we tidied up the living room, Collie paused to pluck Jeannie and Brad’s wedding photo off the mantel.
“I don’t think she’s going to want that staring her in the face,” he told me. He stuck it face-down in a drawer and rearranged the tchotchkes and photos of the kids so it didn’t look like anything was missing.
Next, we moved on to the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it was a bit worn and cluttered, but it was also welcoming and cozy.
There were so many kids’ drawings stuck to the fridge that you couldn’t even see the appliance.
I loaded the dishwasher and began wiping down the counters while Collie searched the fridge and cabinets for something to make for dinner.
“You’re obviously really at home here,” I remarked, “since you know where everything is.”
“This was my second home, especially after my mom died and I moved into the apartment with Aunt Sue. Jeannie’s parents and sister always made me feel like I was one of the family. I can’t even count how many dinners I ate around that table, or how many movie nights we spent in the living room.”
I washed my hands as I asked, “So, what’s the verdict on dinner tonight?”
“I’m thinking homemade mac and cheese. JoJo gave me her recipe, and it looks like we have all the ingredients. If ever there was a time for comfort food, this is it.”
I found a barstool and placed it in front of the stove, so Collie could cook without tiring himself out. Then we got to work.
There was something deeply comforting about cooking together. We hadn’t done much of that back home, because he hadn’t been well enough. Now though, working in tandem in this cozy kitchen felt wonderful.
It was so easy to imagine us just like this a year from now, and ten years, and beyond.
But what if he insisted on staying here? I started to get emotional at the idea of going back to San Francisco without him.
He was right, we could do the long distance thing. And he wouldn’t need to be here forever. Eventually, Jeannie wouldn’t need as much help. Her kids would grow up. The newborn wouldn’t always be a baby. Things would get easier.
Maybe then, he’d come back to me.
I couldn’t let myself think about how long that might be, how many years might pass before we could truly be together. If I did, I might fall apart, and that was the last thing that needed to happen right now.
Sometime later, Jeannie came in through the kitchen door. She was carrying a detachable car seat, which contained the most adorable sleeping baby. Collie ran to her and grabbed her in a hug, and both of them instantly burst into tears.
Dwight was right behind her, carrying a huge bouquet of pink flowers and a tote bag. He and I introduced ourselves and shook hands, and I told him, “You’re the MVP of this whole thing. Way to step in and help out.”
“Oh, believe me, Jeannie is the MVP,” he said. “I was there for the delivery, and let me tell you, I feel like I owe my mom an apology after what I witnessed.”
Once Jeannie and Collie finally let go of each other, she grabbed me in a hug and exclaimed, “You feel like an old friend, Miller, after all that Collie’s told me about you.”
“So do you.”
“Thank you so much for everything you did for my bestie, including marrying him for the insurance, and taking him in, and driving him here. I’m beyond grateful.”
I murmured, “It was my pleasure.”
“Sorry for sweating all over you,” she said, as she let go of me. “I need to go take a quick shower.”
“Take your time. If the baby wakes up, I’ve got her,” Collie said. “And if you’re hungry, we made mac and cheese for dinner, and there are cupcakes in the oven.”
“I’m starving, and that sounds amazing,” Jeannie said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Dwight started to say, “I should get out of your way, but—”
“Absolutely not. You’re staying for dinner.” She gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze before leaving the kitchen.
The baby started to wake up just as we finished eating. Dwight put his dishes in the sink and told Jeannie, “I’ll leave you to it, but I’ll call you tomorrow.” After we said our goodbyes, Jeannie picked up the baby and walked her new friend to the door.
As soon as they were out of earshot, I said, “Wouldn’t it be great if those two ended up together? I mean, I know Jeannie isn’t going to be up for dating any time soon, but they make a great couple.”
Collie grinned at me. “You’re such a romantic.”
“Am I?”
“Definitely. Don’t you know that about yourself?”
I’d thought all my hope and optimism had been drained out of me by my last relationship. Maybe I was wrong.
After we cleaned up and started the dishwasher, Collie and I joined Jeannie in the living room. She’d just finished feeding the baby, who was sound asleep in her arms. “Thanks for getting rid of my wedding picture,” Jeannie said. “That was going to be the first thing I did when I got home.”
Collie said, “I figured,” as he sat down right beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
She hadn’t mentioned Brad all through dinner, but now she said, “He’s moving to Seattle with his girlfriend. He was planning to break up with me right after the baby was born, so they went there this weekend to look for apartments.”
Collie growled, “He’s trash, and you’re better off without him.”
A tear tumbled down her cheek. “It’s one thing to cheat on me, but he’s moving almost seven hours away from his kids. I don’t even know what to tell them, but I’ll need to think of something soon. They’ll have questions when my mother-in-law brings them home and he’s not here.”
She started sobbing—quietly, so she wouldn’t wake the baby—and Collie held her securely. I felt so bad for her.
After a while, Collie glanced at me and whispered, “It’s good we brought the cat. Now we just need junk food, a fuzzy blanket, and a third T-shirt.”
I had no idea what he meant at first, but then I got it. Our little broken hearts club had gained a new member.