Page 35 of When the Leaves Fall

LUCA

“ L et’s go to Fall Fest!”

Wait, what? There’s no way I heard those words come from my dad.

“We haven’t gone as a family in a few years. Since I had my stroke. I think it’s due, don’t you two?”

Mom and I stare at each other from across the table, both in complete shock. We’ve been taking care of Dad for a couple of years now, but today he decided he was done letting us care for him.

It’s like he woke up his old self suddenly. Mom and I woke up to the smell of eggs and turkey sausage being cooked. I assumed Mom was cooking, and she assumed it was me, until we heard Dad’s bellowing voice call down the hall for us to come eat.

“Are you feeling okay?” Mom asks Dad.

“Never better, dear,” he replied, lifting her hand and placing a gentle kiss .

At Fall Fest, we’re sitting down as a family, enjoying some fresh fried cheese curds. They’re so ooey-gooey that the cheese stretches when you take a bite. The best kind.

“Luca, I want to apologize. I know the last few years have been rough, to say the least.”

I can’t seem to make eye contact with him, so I nod while staring at my food.

“It was shitty to put you and your mother in that position. I’m sorry. And I promise to do better by you both going forward.”

I look up and see in his eyes that he’s genuine. A small smile spreads across my face.

“I love you, kiddo,” he says.

“I love you too, Dad.”

D rew is moving back. She’s coming home.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything as I help her pack up her apartment.

There really isn’t too much to do. She says that since she travels for work, she keeps her apartment rather minimal.

We have a couple of boxes filled with items she wants to donate, some packed with things she’s taking to her parents, and the rest is ready to be put into storage until she secures her own place.

Luckily, I was able to claim a few personal days and extend my time here to help. Drew’s company is even covering some of her costs to relocate. She has to check in every day, but otherwise, she’s getting paid for the time she’s packing.

The plan is for us to load as much as we can into her SUV and drive back to Wisconsin.

I’m freaking ecstatic for a road trip with Drew.

I picture us singing along to the radio, playing nostalgic car games, and being able to dive into what we want out of this.

By the time we make it back to her parents, we should be able to officially know where we stand with each other.

Yes, we love each other. But we’ve only known each other six weeks, and we have a lot to figure out. She’s still adjusting to her mom’s medical needs and will also need time to figure out a new work-life balance.

We agreed that there’s no need to rush anything. We can just be together. Get to know each other more. Actually date.

There’s nothing I want more than to scream to the world that Drew and I are together.

If our hands aren’t occupied with packing, they’re all over one another.

It seems that if we get anywhere close to each other, we can’t keep our hands to ourselves.

And it’s a rather small apartment. The combination of relief and excitement has made for some amazing sex.

I laughed when Drew said she’s leaving this part of her life with a bang.

Heck yeah, she is.