Page 119 of Together Again

“Couldn’t agree more.” I moved my hands to remove his sweater when his stomach growled. I laughed. “Let me feed my husband first. Wouldn’t want him wasting away by the end of the weekend.”

“Lead the way, husband.”

We had dinner and then sat in front of the fireplace, finishing wrapping the last presents now that Lucy wasn’t around.

The apartment looked like a Christmas fairy tale thanks to the creative powers of Lucy and Isaac.

“Do you think we went a bit overboard with the Christmas decorations?” Isaac asked.

“What, you mean not everybody has two Christmas trees in their living room?”

Isaac moved to give me a playful punch, but I maneuvered him so he was flat on his back with me straddling him.

I licked a path from his neck to his lips where I sucked them into my mouth, first the bottom one, and then the top one before my tongue played with his for dominance.

He was raising his hips to meet mine. My capacity for coherent thought was rapidly evaporating.

“Baby,” I said, “when does this naked weekend start?”

“Fucking now.”

My sweater was removed, and I think I heard the buttons on my shirt pop off. It didn’t matter. All that did matter was feeling Isaac’s soft, warm skin against mine.

We didn’t last long, but boy we were noisy. Even Max left us with disdain to go to Lucy’s room.

“Fuck, that was good,” Isaac said, catching his breath.

“We’re going to need more of these naked weekends.”

“You have my vote. Shall we clean up and take this to bed?” he suggested.

“Absolutely.”

* * *

I felt Isaac’s arms come around me from the back. I don’t know how long I’d been staring through the window at the street outside.

“Are you okay?”

I turned and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“I was thinking about… well, lots of things. I never thought I would have another Portuguese Christmas Eve celebration, and here we are, expecting lots of friends to join us tomorrow.

“I was thinking how it’s been a year since Sílvia and Gary died and how much I miss them.”

My voice caught in my throat and tears ran down my cheek. Isaac caught them with his thumbs, never taking his eyes off mine.

“And I was thinking about how we met a year ago, and for the first time in my life, even if for those two days, I felt like myself. I felt light, excited, even loved.

“Isaac, when I think about the dark moments in my life when I didn’t think I was worthy of being loved, I never thought I’d find what we have.”

“Oh, baby. You are worthy. If there is a person in this world that is more than worthy of being loved, that person is you, and I do love you with all my heart. Lucy, too.”

I hugged him tight, and his curls tickled my nose. Maybe he was right, and damned if I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life making sure of it.

* * *

I saw the phone buzzing on the kitchen table and looked at the screen.