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Mick sat on the armchair in his mom’s living room. It was the very same armchair that his dad used to sit in when he’d watch TV after a hard day’s work on the farm.
“I’m so glad to have all my children under one roof again,” Lorraine Myers said as she sat on the sofa with her husband, Graham. The look of peace and contentment was not hard to miss. “Caleb,” she turned to her middle son, “darling, how long are you staying for?”
Caleb shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“So why are you really here, Caleb?” Jenna asked her brother.
“Can’t a guy just come back to hang out with his family?” Caleb rubbed his face red.
“Yeah right,” Ethan, the youngest Myers brother, teased. “I don’t remember the last time you came home just to hang out,” he said using air quotes.
“Don’t tease your brother,” Mallory, Ethan’s wife, scolded him.
“Who’s hungry?” Dave came in to living room wearing an apron. The smell of the Sunday roast beef wafted in with him.
“Me!” the children screamed in unison. Jenna and Dave had two kids, and Ethan and Mallory had a little girl.
“Well, what about Mick?” Caleb argued, eager to move the attention to their eldest brother.
“What about me?” Mick laughed.
“Oh, we’ve already given him the third degree, don’t you worry about that!” Jenna said. “Come on, kids. Let’s get some food in your little bellies!”
“Is there mashed potatoes?” One of the children could be heard asking.
“Was that the doorbell?” Graham, Mick’s stepfather, asked.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Lorraine said.
“That’s because you weren’t listening,” Graham shushed his wife.
“I always listen!” she argued back playfully.
Mick grinned. It was nice to be around his family. It was certainly very different from what he had worked so hard to forget. Mick tried to talk to his brother Caleb to see if there was anything wrong and whether there was anything he could do to help. He hadn’t really been there for his family, and he was determined to change that. With everything that had happened in the recent months, one thing he had learned to appreciate was the value of family. The afternoons he’d spent with Carly’s parents had been an eyeopener for him. It was as if he was seeing things in a different light.
“Sssh!” Someone shushed the room.
“It’s Carly and Charlotte!” one of the children yelled out excitedly. “Hi Carly! Hi Charlotte!”
Mick looked up and was surprised to see Carly with Charlotte by her side. “Carly,”—Mick quickly rose to his feet—“is everything okay?”
Carly nodded.
“Oh, hey guys!” Dave poked his head out of the kitchen. “Do you wanna stay for dinner?”
“Dave! Shush!” Jenna hissed and used her eyes to point between Mick and Carly.
* * *
“I WAS HOPING,”—CARLY began nervously—“I was hoping we could talk.” Her heart was beating, pounding against her chest. She could feel the heat of her own blood rising. It was now or never, she told herself.
“Carly, Carly,” Ethan and Mallory’s daughter rushed up to her. Everyone knew Carly from the cafe, even the little children.
“Be careful!” Mallory quickly stood up and swooped down, picking her daughter up before she could ram into Carly. “Sorry, Carly,” she whispered.
“It’s okay,” Carly said with a smile. “I think I might have come at a bad time. I can come back,” she offered.
“Nonsense, darling,” Mick’s mom said. “Come in, dear.”
“No, that’s okay, I...”
Mick stepped forward. “Carly—”
“No, Mick, let me say what I came to say,” she said across the living room. “Or I might not have the courage to say it again.” Now or never, she told herself again. She glanced at Charlotte, who nodded in encouragement.
The room fell silent and Carly could feel everyone’s eyes on her.
“Mick, I—Mick, I love you,” she blurted. “I know that I said a lot of really cruel things to you.” Carly tried to wipe the tears that fell freely down her face. “I was scared. And I thought that if I pushed you away, that you would later understand that I was only doing it for you.”
“Carly, you don’t need to explain,” Mick said.
“I do. And I want you to know that while I might never be able to have children, I will make sure—with every fiber of my being—I will make you happy. And that you will never want for anything.”
“You’ve got your whole life ahead of you, Carly,” Mick said. “I’m fifty. Practically ancient, like you said.”
Carly let out a small laugh. Her nose was clogged and her eyes felt puffy. “I would rather spend whatever time we both have left in this world with you than spend another day without you in my life.” Carly wished that she could read his mind.
Mick rubbed his chin. “Does that mean you’re no longer worried about what people might say?” Mick asked. “About our age gap.”
“Who cares what other people say?” Graham, Mick’s stepfather, grunted.
“Graham!” Lorraine shushed her husband. “They’re perfectly capable of making their own decisions.”
Carly let out a small laugh.
“Well, I say, it’s your life. If you two are happy with one another, then to hell with all the naysayers!”
Lorraine gasped. “Mind your language, mister!”
Mick grinned at Carly. “I have to say, I’m with Graham on this one.”
Carly nodded, tears streaming down her face. “Me too.”
“Are they going to kiss?” Jenna’s son, Rory, asked loudly the way that children often did. “Eww! Why do grown-ups always have to kiss?”
“Rory, hush now,” Jenna scolded.
“Are we?” Mick asked.
“Are we what?” Carly asked.
Mick smiled, as handsome as ever. “Are we going to kiss?”
Carly smiled and glanced over at the room. Mick’s mother was looking on at them with her hands clasping Graham’s. Ethan stood next to Mallory, who carried their daughter on her hip. Jenna had her kids sitting by her feet, and Dave stood by the kitchen doorway with a chef’s hat on. Charlotte squeezed her hand. “I’m afraid you’ll have to come to me...I don’t want to trip over anything and hurt myself,” she said with a shy smile.
Mick weaved across the room, stepping over throw pillows and a children’s board game, to where Carly stood. Gazing into Carly’s eyes, he took her face in his hands and asked, “Have I told you lately that I love you?”
Carly nodded. “Every day.”
“I love you, Carly Matthews,” Mick said.
The words warmed her and filled her with renewed hope. He loved her, and she loved him. In the end, that was all that mattered. “Ditto,” Carly said as Mick kissed her gently on the lips.
“That’s just gross!” Rory moaned, while everyone around them laughed and cheered.