Page 121 of Wood Riddance
“I’m so used to doing whatever I want. Believing that I know best all the time. But I haven’t been fair to you.”
Smoothing my hair, he held me and rocked me from side to side as I cried. Dammit. I did not deserve this incredible man. This generous, kind person had given me all the time and space and latitude I needed. And I repaid him by behaving like a brat. I had to do better.
“I want this,” I said between sobs. “I want the real thing. Partnership. Love. Respect.”
He pulled back and cupped my face. “I want that too. And we’ll have it. But we’ve got to work together and listen to one another.”
“You’re right. And we can’t hide anymore. I don’t want to.”
It was time. To come clean. To tell the world. How could this relationship grow and evolve if we continued to keep it secret? This baby was coming, and before long, I’d be showing. Our little family deserved to live out loud, truthfully and joyfully.
“I’m telling my family,” I said. “As soon as possible.”
He laughed softly and kissed my lips. “We’re telling your family.”
“Can we do it right now? I could call Parker. Have her help me round everybody—”
“It’s dinnertime on a Tuesday.” Finn chuckled. “Maybe wait a day or two?” he suggested, pulling me into his chest again.
“Okay fine. Tomorrow I’ll call a family meeting. Once we break the news to them, we’ll head straight to your mom’s house and tell her.”
“Whatever you want, She-Ra. But how about we take a moment to breathe first? Let’s get some food in you.”
I nodded. “I am feeling nauseous.”
“Then you need a cheeseburger.”
“With bacon,” I added.
“Okay. I’ll order takeout from the Moose. Bacon cheeseburger for my girl and my baby. Anything else?”
I shook my head. My stomach was already rumbling.
“Do you want to come with me to pick it up?”
“He-Man has been cooped up all day. I think I’ll take him for a walk around the neighborhood while you go.” I needed a few minutes to myself to settle anyway. All my frustration, fear, and grief were still simmering right below the surface. Fresh air would do me good. Finn didn’t deserve to be the target of all my feelings, so I’d process on my own for a bit.
“Okay. Be careful,” he said. He pecked my cheek, then grabbed his keys and phone.
Fall nights in Maine could be crisp, so I grabbed my sweatshirt, then I snagged He-Man’s leash from its hook beside the garage door. He immediately jumped up on my legs and whined. Nightly walks had been our routine for a long time, but I’d been feeling so sick lately that I’d been neglecting my fur baby.
I picked him up and gave him some snuggles. “I love you. You’ll always be my baby too.”
Garnering all my fortitude, I set off into the cool night air, determined to recalibrate before Finn returned. I was already feeling better. After thirty-three years of relying on no one but myself, I had finally found my person. And yes, I had some growing to do, because I wanted to be as encouraging and supportive to my man as he was to me. And right now, that didn’t seem like an impossibility at all.
Chapter42
Finn
She was ready.Damn. We were ready. The future I’d envisioned was so close to becoming my reality. I needed to get through the meeting with the bank tomorrow, and then we’d tell our families.
After that, I’d spend the rest of my life working my ass off to deserve all the amazing gifts I’d been given.
For a while, I worried that I loved Adele in a way she may never reciprocate. That she might not be able to give me what I wanted. So I’d waited and hoped that someday we’d get there.
That day was here. She was choosing me. Choosing our baby. And she was ready to tell the world. This was the best feeling in the world. But the road ahead of us was still long.
I turned out of Adele’s small neighborhood and onto the main road. The sun was just setting, the last bit of daylight a line on the horizon.
