Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 80689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Our little star topper.
It reminds me of Christmases as a kid, when Father would buy a large tree for the front bay window. The servants decorated it, not us, but it was still beautiful, and we still enjoyed lovely nights by it as a family. After Father passed, we still put up a big tree and decorated it, but it was never the same, a shadow of the past.
Standing before this little white pine Jonas and I grabbed from the tree farm, there’s a warmth in my chest I haven’t felt in years. It’s deeper than even when I was a child because this tree means so much more to me—it’s a symbol of the life Jonas and I have begun together.
“Ryan.”
I turn to see my boyfriend approaching in a sweater with a pattern of reindeer running across the chest. “Will you check the pecan pie? I’m worried I’ll take it out too soon or leave it in too long.”
I chuckle. “Of course.”
I learned this Thanksgiving that he struggles with getting a pecan pie just right; although, with Nell having cooked most of our meals, I’m only now discovering this untapped skill I apparently possess.
I head into the kitchen and check on the pie. We don’t have much time before our guests arrive—a few friends we’ve made over the course of our brief relationship. Despite working full-time and helping Jonas navigate Charity’s care, it’s been nice having time for friends. Hell, even just to have any. Although, admittedly, it’s something I’m still trying to navigate. Learning how to talk casually with people. How to make light conversation. How to keep from shutting down when they ask about my past. Fortunately, the friends we’ve made don’t seem to mind that I’m a little reserved.
After Amy starts the gravy, there’s a knock at the door. I walk through the front hall and wind up in the foyer at the same time as Jonas, who was setting the table in the dining room. We share a laugh before interlocking fingers, and I offer him a kiss.
As I pull away, I say, “That was a sweet one.”
“Get a room,” comes from behind us, and we turn to see Charity coming down the stairs, sporting a tracksuit and a blonde wig with a pink streak in her bangs.
She wears a bright smile, which seems more natural than when I was getting to know her via FaceTiming with Jonas. She received excellent care at the hospital, but I suspect Jonas being by her side was at least partly responsible for her quick and steady recovery from her infection, along with how well she tolerated her remaining rounds of chemo. Simon never followed through with his threat to have her kicked out, and he continued paying her medical bills. And fortunately for us, the doctors have been so impressed with how the treatment is going that she’s been able to stay home for the past few weeks, having her follow-ups at an affiliated clinic here in downtown Chicago, only thirty minutes away from Amy’s home.
Charity passes us and opens the door, greeting Ahmed with a kiss. Jonas and I exchange a glance.
“I think she was being a bit of a hypocrite,” I whisper, which makes Jonas’s lips expand into an ear-to-ear grin. I’ve been seeing a lot more of those since we left Hawthorne Heights.
Ahmed and his parents arrived from Phoenix this morning, and I’m sure Charity is thrilled to finally have her long-distance boyfriend in her arms again. We usher our guests in, and the rest of our friends arrive shortly after. There’s a bit of chaos in the kitchen as we get everything finished up and everyone grabs their food, but eventually things settle down in the dining room as we eat and enjoy a friendly conversation.
“This is a beautiful home,” Ahmed’s mom, Shira, says. “How far do you all work from here?”
“I work the odd job online,” Amy says, “so that I’m able to help around the house.”
“I’m in construction,” Jonas says. “It can be about thirty minutes or an hour away depending on the gig, and Ryan…”
“Right now, I’m working with a landscaping company, but I’m planning to start my own business and then poach this guy from his job.”
“Starting your own business?” Shira says. “That sounds expensive.”
“I’ve been very fortunate. I inherited some money.”
It’s a misleading statement, but I’d rather not get into it. Really, after Jonas and I left that night, not only did Simon continue paying for Charity’s care, but he also transferred a substantial amount of money into Jonas’s and my bank accounts. A drop in the ocean to him, but it’s helped us set ourselves up. Rebuild a life. It reminds me that despite all our differences and the fucked-up past we share, there will always be this connection between Simon and myself.