Chapter Fifteen

Reid

The day had come when I could no longer pretend that the house needed just a little more work before it was ready for market or that my uncle's estate had just one more thing I needed to work through. Everything was done. More than done. The house was in the best shape it had ever been in. Not only were repairs made, but it had been repainted, the floors had been refinished, and everything was show-ready. It wasn't perfect, obviously. If I were staying, I'd be doing more, but for putting it on the market, it was ready. All that was left was getting a Realtor.

But even if that weren't the case, my boss was starting to pressure me to return to the office on Wednesdays, insisting that I had taken far longer than necessary. He went so far as to imply that my uncle wasn't even a "real relative." He'd always been an ass, but he somehow managed to amp it up.

The harsh reality was that it was time for me to get back to my old life.

And I didn't want to.

I was happier here than I ever was in my "real homes." I loved the house, the neighborhood, Chained, and I cherished my time with Kevin. I wasn't ready for it to end.

The two of us had been spending so much time together, and instead of starting to get on each other's nerves and arguing over silly things, like most couples did after the "honeymoon stage," we were getting along better than ever. I didn't want to leave him. I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

I hovered the mouse over the email that had just come in from work. I already knew what it was, but as long as it wasn't open, I could pretend it wasn't there, right? Only I couldn't. I braved clicking it open. Just as I feared, it told me that I was expected in the office for a meeting on Wednesday morning. My remote status was no longer valid. He'd been hinting and threatening, but now it was official. I was no longer on full-remote status, and they set it up so I wouldn't be able to use PTO to avoid it. Stupid mandatory meeting.

I didn't know what to do. The right thing would be to put the house on the market and go back to my old life. But was that the right thing really, or was it simply the compliant one?

Staring at the three folders from three different Realtors whom I had visited when I first got here, I knew what had to come next. Gods, I hated it, but that didn't change anything.

All three Realtors had given me papers about what their process looked like and how to go about listing with them. At the time, I hadn't even seen the house yet, and they were a suggestion by the lawyer. This entire thing was supposed to be an in-and-out, done kind settlement of an estate, not this…whatever I was doing. Playing house, I suppose.

I stared at the folders, knowing I had to call one of them, but frozen. Listing made it official. Now it was always "soon" and each time soon became now, I punted it down. But that was no longer possible. I had to be back in the office next week. Maybe I could call in sick one Wednesday, possibly two, but that would only get me so far. He'd call me on my shit and with my luck, he'd also write my ass up, doubling my problems.

Reaching down, I grabbed the folders off the table and plopped into my uncle's recliner, pulling up the legs and leaning back with them hugged to me, not wanting the papers to flutter to the floor with the motion. I might've had the folders since my first day here, but I'd never looked at them, flying under the assumption that they were all pretty much the same.

It would be so much easier if I could find something that needed repairs. If they needed to redo the electricity or the sewer line, that would buy me time, right? That's all I needed, time to figure out the next step. Never mind the fact that I'd had plenty and managed to make zero progress toward my goal.

I'd actually have to come up with a plan.

I went through the folders one at a time, and they all looked good and at the same time awful. I threw them in the basket under the side table, the one where magazines used to go, back when Uncle Reid still got them monthly. No answers were going to be found today. My brain was on the cusp of spiraling. I wouldn't be able to decide what was for dinner, much less figure out this cluster.

Desperate for comfort, I ran to the bedroom, grabbed my stuffie, went into the kitchen, filled my bottle with milk, and then climbed back onto the recliner, this time with a blankie. I turned on the TV, wrapped myself in the fuzzy material, and stared at the screen as I drank my bottle. I couldn't even tell you what I was watching; I was in such a fight-or-flight mode, and I was flying far away into little space.

Hours passed while I watched silly cartoons with their antics and pushed away thoughts of anything else.

A knock on the door startled me, and I looked up at the clock, realizing just how many hours I'd been there, like this. Spoiler alert. It was many.

When I swung the door open, Kevin stood there with a mixture of concern and possibly anger on his face.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I stepped back to let him in, feeling a mix of relief and embarrassment. Relief I was no longer alone, and embarrassment because I was a hot mess. No one looking at me could possibly think otherwise.

He surveyed the living room, seeing the recently scattered folders. He pointed to them. "What are you doing?"

"It's time." My voice cracked. "I can't wait any longer. It's time." Tears started to flow down my cheek. "I need to go back."

"Does it have to be now?" he asked softly, and I threw my arms around him. "What about the house?"

"I don't want to go," I admitted, feeling tears welling up. "This house isn't just a house—it's my home. I haven't been here long, but leaving it…letting strangers get it…" The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if my uncle gave it to me in the hope I'd keep it. Why else would my cap be here? It was a real possibility that I was reading too much into things, but my gut told me that was not the case.

"And I have work—my boss says I need to be in the office on Wednesday. I don't know how to make any of this work. I want us to be together, to stay together, to not have this ticking time bomb over us. Whether the house is done, or the house is sold, or whatever it might be, I just want you, Daddy. I just love you."

He scooped me into his arms. "My sweet boy, we'll figure this out. I don't know how yet, but we will. Because that's what people do when they love each other."

"Thanks, Kevin."

"No, Kevin isn't here right now," he whispered, kissing my forehead. "Daddy is."

And in that moment, I knew we'd find a way.