36. Redo Jax

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D ad did good. Got me an address, even. I slept for a few hours once I came home so I wouldn’t be a complete mess in the evening, but there wasn’t time to waste. It had to happen tonight. The rest of my life, of our life, was waiting.

To calm my nerves, I wrote to Annie, just to make sure Tabby was still okay. She only confirmed she’d heard from him and nothing else. I prayed I wasn’t already too late, and that my reaction didn’t ruin us for good.

Like I did when I was a teenager, I bought Tabby’s mom a bouquet of carnations—simple flowers, so happy and colorful. Their scent was what I preferred over roses. The florist wrapped it in a ribbon of gold. As I left the shop, a shiny, right-side-up penny caught my eye on the sidewalk—it blessed my voyage, and I tossed it in the air before adding it to my collection.

It was dark when I arrived at the house north of the city. The horizon glowed in a misty haze from the fog. Compared to the biting cold of home earlier in the day, it might as well have been a spring evening. Christmas lights adorned every house I could see, and in Lisa’s front room, a large tree twinkled with a white and silver motif through the window. To keep from announcing myself too early, I parked around the corner and opted to have some distance to breathe first.

The day had been a whirlwind from sunup to sundown, and I still couldn’t believe everything I’d done in the past twenty-four hours. Dad texted me when he left the hospital and sent me a picture of his pathetic dinner: a salad with extra avocado. I smirked at his message before leaving the car, grabbing the flowers and facing my destiny.

Her doorbell was a standard ding-dong, audible from the outside. My heart nearly jumped from my chest while I waited for an answer. I resisted the urge to peer in the window or knock, certain she took her time for a reason. Who was I to demand instant attention on a late Sunday night?

Tabby’s mom opened the door with a wide smile. It wasn’t one of pure shock or surprise—she knew something, but what, I couldn’t quite tell. “Hello there, young man. Can I help you?”

Wow. She wasn’t any different from the woman in my memory, except her hair was shorter and speckled with more gray. A waft of cinnamon hit me in the face from the open door, orienting me again to winter despite the lack of snow. Her mere presence reminded me of home, just like Dad did.

“Yeah—yes. Hi.” I held my hand out for her. “I don’t know if you remember me. My name is—”

“Jaxson Grady,” she finished for me, taking my hand with a light touch. “I couldn’t forget you if I tried. My, my. You’re all grown up.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I wasn’t any less nervous than I was the first time I met her, shaking all the way to my toes.

She released my hand and leaned against the doorway, folding her arms. “What brings you to my house so late after all these years?”

“Something that can’t wait until tomorrow.” I cleared my throat and tried to stand up straight. Being taller than her felt unnatural. Relaxing my shoulders, I let the nerves flow through my fingertips, buzzing until I could focus enough to remember all I had rehearsed. “Ms. Nova, I have a question for you.”

Lisa’s open and attentive eyes shone. “I’m listening.”

I paused for a deep breath, as if my future depended on the next few sentences. “A long time ago, I asked for your blessing. See, I loved your daughter, and I wanted nothing more than to tell her so. But things changed. We got older. Grew apart. I spent half my life praying I would feel the way I did in those days, searching and falling for anyone who might take me. On the way, I found someone who filled my soul in ways I’ve never known.”

“You deserve that,” she said, filling the space where I paused at the end.

“I’m really glad you think so, ‘cause that’s why I’m here again.” Like she did when I was only a kid, her words made me feel worthy. Gave me enough courage to finish the thought. “Lisa Nova, I’m madly in love with your son.”

She closed her lips in a tight, though quivering, smile.

I nodded as I spoke, choking back my emotions. “Tabby’s incredible, just like he always was. He’s everything I’ve ever needed or wanted. Maybe I’ve already blown it, maybe it’s already too late, but he’s not just someone I wanna be with for now. I mean it forever. Can you forgive me for any upset I caused him so I can give him the same fulfillment he gives me? Will you give us your blessing like you did before?”

“Of course I will.” She sniffled and wiped a few tears away, then opened her arms to me. “Oh, Jax. Thank you for loving him.”

I hugged her tightly, no longer caring about the status of her flowers as I let them fall to the floor behind her. “Dad taught me well, what can I say?”

Lisa patted my back and welcomed me into her home, where we sat on her couch and talked about the lost years. We ordered a light dinner and crafted a plan.

The clock chimed in the hall. It ticked down to nothing. Then, a light knock.

The familiar ding-dong .

It was time.