Page 88 of As the Years Pass

“Bye,” I call as I hurry down the steps and to the car. I get Ian buckled in, then hurry to the front of the car.

I should find the time to talk to Leslie about Emmet. Maybe sometime next week.

She knows who he is, of course, but she doesn’t know what happened with me and him. She may put it all together once she learns about us now. I don’t think she’ll care that I’m dating a guy, but like with anyone, she’ll worry about bringing someone new into the kids’ lives who may not stay. I understand that fear, but something tells me I don’t have to worry about Emmet ever leaving. It was never his choice, and I’m certain had I stayed, we’d still be together. That’s the kind of guy Emmet is. He’s always known what he wanted. He’s confident in who he is andhe isn’t afraid to take what he wants. I mean, look at him. He bought a bar out here to find me again, so hopeful we could get back together. And look at us. It’s surreal, honestly, to think how much my life has changed in just a short time, over a chance meeting. How long would it have taken us to find each other if I never went to The Butterfly that night? Or had never set foot in there at all?

The rain picks up as we make our way home, and when I park, we grab all our stuff and book it to the front door. We’re soaked and laughing as we make our way upstairs.

“Go change, kiddos,” I say, still trying to get out of the habit of saying “guys.”

They go to their rooms. Judy shuts her door, while Ian leaves his open. I can’t wait to see what he tries to put on. I change in my room, putting on sweats and a T-shirt before checking on him.

“Ian, bud, I thought you were going to change?”

He looks at me and laughs, then continues to take everything out of his backpack.

I go to the closet to find him dry clothes, and pull out pajamas. We aren’t going anywhere, so we may as well be comfortable. After changing him, I check on Judy, who is also in pajamas.

“Looks like we had the same idea,” I say.

“I love pajamas,” she says. “Can we watch a movie?”

“Sure, what do you want to watch?”

“I don’t know. Let’s see what there is.”

“Ian, we’re going to watch a movie, if you want to join us.”

I follow Judy into the living room, and sit beside her on the couch.

She scrolls through options on Disney+ and finally settles on the live-action Beauty and the Beast, which I happen to like. I don’t like many remakes, especially animated to live action, butthis one is good. Ian comes in twenty minutes into the movie, asking for a drink.

“Oh, I want hot chocolate!” Judy says, bouncing in her spot on the couch.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Ian shouts, jumping up and down.

“Okay, I’ll make us some,” I say as I pick up Ian and put him on the couch to sit next to Judy. She puts her arm around him, and he rests against her. I pull my phone from my pocket to snap a quick photo before going to the kitchen. I scoop the mix into our mugs, since we each have our own. I’m looking through the fridge to make a grocery list while I wait for the water to heat.

There’s a knock on the door, which is weird, since the downstairs door is supposed to be locked at all times. Maybe we didn’t close it all the way? Or the guy on the first floor didn’t. He’s an older guy and does that sometimes, says it’s too hard for him to push shut. It is heavy, so I’ll give him that.

I pull open my door, and I can’t help but grin when I see Emmet standing on the other side, holding a dozen red roses and a smile.

“Hey,” I say. “How’d you get in?”

“The door was open. Don’t worry though, I made sure it was shut.”

“Thank you,” I say. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?”

I so badly want to lean in and kiss him, but I refrain because my kids are just in the other room, and walking in on that is not how I want them to find out I’m dating someone.

“I’m not staying. I just wanted to drop these off to—”

“Emmet!” Judy shouts, running to him and hugging him tightly. Ian does the same, running to his leg and hugging.

“Hey, Judy,” Emmet says, hugging her back. “Hi, Ian.” He pats his head, and they back away.

“Those are so pretty!” Judy says.

“Pretty flowers!” Ian adds.