23. Taran
Waking up next to Lyra has become my favorite feeling in the world over the last week. The way she is so adorably grouchy until she has coffee, her sleepy protests when the alarm goes off, how her curls are a gloriously wild tangle when she buries her face in my chest as I pull her in for some last minute snuggles until we get up. I”ve come over after work and stayed over much more often than not since the night she met everyone I love. It”s been amazing having dinner with her, playing with Brody, slow dancing in the kitchen, and making love. I can”t call it anything else. I”ve fallen more and more head over heels for this woman the more I spend time with her.
It meant more than I could ever say to see her get accepted into my family so quickly, and have her accept them back. Watching someone finally beat Dani at poker was the icing on the cake. Lyra and I also got to see Seth, Sienna, Addy, and Mason for a quick breakfast at the local diner the morning after the dinner before they went back to California while Ma rested, and it was great to get in that last little visit before we go months without seeing each other again. Seth seemed much more settled and his normal self after having some time at home and seeing that Ma is ok. I can already tell that Lyra and Sienna are going to be fast friends, they have really similar personalities. Neither of them will put up with any crap from the Malloy brothers, that”s for sure.
Then we had Thanksgiving on Thursday. It was a blast at Gina and Wayne”s house. The Hernandez clan usually flies out to see a bunch of their family in Arizona that ends up being around 20 or so people, while Ma and I usually just order food and hang out. We haven”t had a proper Thanksgiving in years, since the last time we flew out and celebrated at Seth and Sienna”s. So we were thrilled that Lyra invited us to go. We brought some different pies, Lyra’s snickerdoodle cookies, and her very hyped sausage stuffing. Everyone devoured it all. Ava and Braden were too cute. Ava was in her Belle dress the whole time, and asked me to waltz with her like the Beast. So I took her for a good spin around the room with a Beast mask on, twirling her and leading her through the steps. Afterward, she went right up to Lyra and said Lyra can”t marry me because she is going to. I think Lyra almost choked on the cracker she was eating. She was right when she told me Ava is so like Addy, and the two girls need to meet. Wayne and I got to sit and completely nerd out over Star Wars, while Gina kept smiling a knowing smile the whole night as she watched everything carefully. Wayne”s family could not have been more warm and friendly. It was a nice change to see Gage outside of El Abrevadero, and tell them all how much I love it there. Lyra and I shared a secret smile at each other when I said it, both of our heads clearly going to all of the memories we”ve made there already.
Meeting her second family felt as easy as her meeting my second family. It all just feels right. For too long, I didn”t even realize that I was missing having a partner, someone to come home to, and love. I was so hyper focused on just making sure me and my mom stayed afloat. Now Lyra and I talk about all kinds of different things, laugh, tease each other mercilessly, and enjoy the hell out of each other”s company. Aside from the constant need to be skin to skin with her, she”s quickly become my favorite person in the world to simply be around. I love her. I”m not sure if she”s there yet, but I know in my soul that I love her. I think I’ve loved her from the minute I heard her open her mouth with that sass. I”ll tell her when it feels right.
She”s having a laundry and errand kind of Saturday today, plus brunch with Gina, so I left her to it so she won”t start getting sick of me. We”re going to meet up tonight anyway for dinner. I”m on my laptop in my apartment, applying to programs to be a Certified Nursing Assistant. It”s a lot of redundant data input, and trying to remember things I need to input about high school has my brain fried. Hopefully it will be worth it. After a lot of research, it”s what I think will be the best fit for me. It wouldn’t require me to get a bachelor”s degree, it can be done in about 3 months at night, and it”s not too expensive. Once I”m certified, I”d be able to do what Val does, and help people who need it in their homes. That”s what I think I want to do. It would also give me the flexibility to keep my UPS job if I wanted. I”m not exactly sure I want to give up the UPS gig yet. It”s got decent hours, a steady wage, and solid benefits. Plus, I really enjoy it. I like being in my truck listening to music, the work of hauling boxes, greeting people and their pets. It”s not glamorous, and it”s not perfect, but it suits me.
This certified nursing assistant license would allow me to do something different and so fulfilling that I”ll enjoy in addition to my main job for now. It”s that deep, personal connection that I want. People fascinate me. I love the idea of helping those who need it with their morning routine in their homes, making sure they”re ok, probably meeting their families and their pets. There are opportunities in companies to do early morning rounds on a per diem basis to help people with getting washed, dressed, and anything else they need for the day. It”s the ”Up” portion of what is known as the ”Up and Tuck” service for visiting nurses. Then I could still go work my route. It would be the best of both worlds, and let me keep my options open. This way I”m not just pivoting to a whole ass new career overnight.
Once I”m done with the applications, I get some basic things done here too, like Lyra is. I have laundry and cleaning to catch up on, and generally making sure everything is ready to go to work for 6 days straight starting tomorrow. My uniforms all need washing badly. The possibility of bringing Lyra here soon has me wanting to become a domestic guru, too. We”ve only ever stayed at her house because of Brody, and the fact that she has more room. Having no shared walls for when I make her scream is a big bonus, too. I want her to at least see my apartment and hang out a little, even though it”s more bachelor pad than homey like her place is. She”s said she”d like to, it”s not like she looks down on it or anything when I”ve told her about it. I”m not going to be one of those assholes who feels threatened if the woman he is seeing makes more than him, and has a nicer place. She”s 8 years older and more established, of course she has house money instead of apartment money.
After a few hours of chores, laundry, and just some chilling in front of my TV, I hop in the shower to get ready to pick her up. She asked if I knew the area about 40 minutes from us where there is an all you can eat sushi place with an old school arcade right across the street. It sounded like a perfect date night to me and I”m excited. As soon as she opens the door when I get there, I feel lighter. She”s changed from her sweats she was wearing when I left to her favorite uniform of worn, buttery soft jeans and a fuzzy sweater with black and white stripes. Those curls I love so much are still slightly damp, and I smell her enticing rose scent before she even gets into my space. Her smile is breathtaking when she pops up on her toes to give me a kiss as she lets me in. After knowing how many surgeries and everything else she had to go through in order to get that smile, it makes it all the more precious. My arm bands around her waist while my other hand cups her cheek to deepen the kiss as I back her into the house. Once I kick the door shut behind us, we break it off, both a little breathless. Brody comes charging up with his tail thwacking my leg, sniffing my pocket for the treat he knows will be there. I give it to him after he sits nice, and then he goes to happily eat it in the kitchen.
“How did it go submitting the applications?” she asks, rubbing my shoulders.
“All done! Now I just have to wait and see. I’m not going to lie, it’s intimidating. I haven’t been in a classroom in over 10 years. There’s going to be so much information to take in, I’m worried about whether I’ll be able to keep up.”
She throws her arms around me and squeezes tight. “You will absolutely be able to keep up, you’ve got this in the bag. I’m so incredibly proud of you, Taran.”
Every time I think I can’t love her more, I’m wrong.
“Thanks, pretty Firecracker. Once it starts, it’s a quick program. I only need 90 hours of in person training and I’ll be a CNA. Here’s hoping I get into the one I’ve had my eye on that meets only 40 minutes away.”
“You absolutely will, this is all going to be so great for you,” she beams. I kiss her forehead.
“Ready for a fun date night?”
“I want to show you something before we head out,” Lyra tells me, taking my hand to lead me upstairs. I pull her into me before we get to the stairs, her back to my front. Then I lean in close to her ear.
“Firecracker, you get me in your bedroom right now and it will take an act of God to make me let us leave for our date,” I whisper before I nip her earlobe.
“You can keep it in your pants for now, I believe in you,” she tells me with a playful eye roll, but her face has gone a little flushed as she keeps pulling me along, and I don”t miss the shiver that goes through her either. When we get into her bedroom, she crosses to her dresser and hesitates.
“I know you haven”t been sleeping over for that long, but if it’s going to continue to be a regular thing, which I hope it is, it doesn”t make sense for you to not have some space to keep things here. It”ll make things easier.” She opens the dresser to show me that she cleared out two drawers and shrugs. I can tell she is trying for nonchalance, to play it off as no big deal. She”s not fooling me, though. This woman doesn”t easily let people into her life, let alone her personal space. It”s a huge deal that she made space for me here, and I feel my chest ache, like it can”t even contain how much my heart is swelling. She then shows me how she made some room for my toiletries in the bathroom.
“It”s here if you want to use it. I hope you don”t think it”s too soon.” She bites her lip nervously. “I just feel bad that you”ve been carting your stuff here all this past week, and I haven”t even seen your place yet.”
I move into her space, cupping her face with one hand while I brush her curls behind her ear with the other. Her skin is so unbelievably soft and warm, I”ll never not want to touch it. The barest hint of color tints her cheeks, and those lush lips are a gorgeous berry color. Her eyes are mesmerizing galaxies again as they meet mine, every fleck in them glowing in the dim lamplight as she responds to my touch. I kiss her softly and sweetly before making sure I look her in the eyes to respond.
“To be clear, I don”t mind taking my stuff back and forth. It”s worth it. This means a lot to me, though. I love the idea of sharing some space with you here. You”ve already managed to make this house feel like a home to me.” She takes a deep, stuttering breath as I press my forehead to hers. “You feel like home, Lyra.” A sound comes out of her that is something between a scoff and a sob.
“I’m serious, my pretty Firecracker. Waking up with you, playing with Brody in the morning, sitting and having coffee with you, it”s made me the happiest I”ve ever been. It’s so perfect that I’m actually waiting on pins and needles for something bad to happen, because nothing should be this good.” She seems to notice that the last sentence makes me tense up, so she rubs up and down my arms in a soothing pattern.
“You feel like home, too. I wasn”t sure I would ever find or even want something like this again, Taran, but you came busting into my life anyway. I”ve never been this happy.” She whispers this against my lips, a single tear slipping down her cheek that I catch with my thumb before I kiss her again. The moment stretches between us as we continue to just kiss, clutching each other close, before we finally pull apart.
“To be continued, once we destroy a ridiculous amount of all you can eat sushi and play some old school video games,” Lyra says a little breathlessly, with her eyes still sparkling. “If you think I”m competitive about poker, just wait until you see me play the Addams Family pinball game.”
So we go, and do in fact consume a gluttonous amount of sushi and sashimi. She seems to love steamed shu mai and spicy tuna rolls best. I love the salmon and eel. For an all you can eat deal, the food is outstanding. There is no way we could leave without having the included red bean ice cream, either. We basically waddle ourselves across the street to the arcade. I would say it”s more of a video game Nirvana. It has everything, from the old arcade machines, to couches and big screen TVs lining the walls with every gaming system known to man set up. The decor is a riot of color inspired by the 80”s and 90”s. It”s a tornado of lights, music, and people laughing.
Since it”s the weekend, it has a fairly decent crowd milling around. She beelines right to the Addams Family pinball when she spots it. It turns out she”s a ringer, though I end up beating her a couple of times. She laughs completely openly and without restraint when she gets the multi-ball, and Raul Julia”s voice yells, ”Showtime” as the whole game lights up like crazy. She lights up like crazy even more than the game, and the way her face is suffused with so much happiness right now, I”m ready to drop the $15,000 it costs to buy the pinball machine. I searched for it on my phone while she was playing. Growing up at the Jersey Shore, she spent a whole lot of her summers going to the beach and playing at the arcades on the boardwalk with her family and Gina. This was always her favorite game that she played endlessly, and it brings back a lot of fond memories, she tells me. We also play classic Mario and Duck Hunt, and I”m loving her surprise that I know my way around an NES. Good thing I played Seth”s old system any chance I got growing up. Once we call it a night, we head back to her place and make perhaps our sweetest love yet after everything we shared tonight. Then I unpack the things I brought with me, and put them in my new drawers.