Page 29 of The Lost Art of Woodworking and Taking Risks
“I can’t believe you said it first,” Bennan said softly, still sounding a little awed. “Thank you so much, sweetheart. That means the world to me.”
Chamis was a little surprised himself. He’d felt it for a while now, but he’d always hesitated and worried a bit, wondered why Bennan hadn’t said it (even though he’d then pointed out to his anxious brain that he hadn’t said it either). But then, tonight, maybe partly becausehe’d put these other plans in place, because Bennan had come here to his family, and his mother had been so happy, and his sisters had been delighted, and Bennan had seemed to fit in so well… It had just seemed natural, like something everyone knew, and it just needed to be said out loud.
“I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Bennan admitted quietly. “I know you sometimes need time to process things, and I didn’t want to do anything too fast.”
That actually made a lot of sense. It was another reminder that you didn’t know what was going on in someone else’s head unless you asked. An action that looked entirely one way could suddenly flip around and be revealed to mean the exact opposite to someone else.
Sometimes, Chamis was amazed humans were able to communicate with one another at all. But there were other times, times like this one, where everything seemed to be in the most perfect accord that had ever existed, and Chamis couldn’t doubt that life was exactly the way it was supposed to be.
They had been granted two days of leave to visit Chamis’s family, since they were so rarely this far south—and maybe the Captain had taken pity on him and his desire to introduce Bennan. (Or maybe he’d just realized that, practically speaking, this was a good way to make the visit take as little time as possible, compared to if the two of them needed to set out from Royal City for it.) Whatever the reason, Chamis was delighted by how well-timed the visit was and how well it was going.
Even with her teaching, his mum worked around the house and garden, and since Chamis was here, he helped with chores and odds and ends that needed doing. (Dorana and Halna helped too, but his brain couldn’t seem to totally see them as the teens they were.) He insisted that Bennan didn’tneed to help, but of course the man just scoffed at him and helped as well, which made the work go twice as fast and gave them plenty of time to talk and laugh as they worked together.
Truly, it was the most wonderful thing.
And then it was time for him to hug his family goodbye.
“You have to write to us all the time,” Halna told him, looking a little like she was going to cry, which he hated.
“I’ll do my best,” he promised.
“You have to come back to visit!” Dorana declared.
His mother intervened before Chamis had to figure out what to say. “Now, sweetheart, you know how important Chamis’s work is. I’m sure he and Bennan will come back when they can, but they have to spend most of their time protecting the castle.”
“You have to at least send ribbons!” Dorana told him.
Chamis was pretty sure he’d just been had, but he dutifully agreed that he would send ribbons.
“I’ll help,” Bennan promised, his arm casually around Chamis’s waist. “We’ll find the best things together, don’t you worry.”
They all hugged, not just Chamis, but Bennan, too, like he really had become a part of the family, just like that.
“I know you’re going to be happy,” his mum said as she tightened her grip on him. “So I’ll just tell you to have fun.”
Chamis could feel his face heat, but he hugged her back. “Thanks, Mum.”
It was everything Chamis could ever have wished for in a visit. He and Bennan mounted up and headed back the way they’d come.They’d take the bridge over the river and then rejoin the route to make their way to the seventh district watch station.
“Thank you so much,” Chamis told Bennan. “You were so great with them.”
“They’re easy to be great with,” Bennan responded with a grin. “You have a wonderful family.”
Chamis was so glad they got along. He’d been pretty sure they would, but those butterflies had still been a bit anxious, because what if… But there was no need for what ifs now, because Bennan had come and met his family and loved them, and Chamis couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Chapter Eight
Once they crossed the bridge, it took two more days to reach the seventh district watch station, where they got caught up on the introductions they’d missed. The returning rotation had already set out, leaving the new group short the last two days, but since it was the beginning of the changeover, no one was too sore about it—especially because of all the joking they could do when they realized where they’d gone and why.
“Introducing him to the family?” one of them exclaimed. “Must be getting serious!”
There was a round of laughter, but it was generally good-natured. Chamis supposed he couldn’t blame them for being surprised by Bennan’s seriousness in this. Before they’d started their relationship, Chamis hadn’timagined it either. But now, they had only to exchange glances and smile at one another, and he was reassured.
On their arrival, they’d been told they were short on space, and the two of them were therefore going to have to room together. They’d happily moved their things in together and tried out the new bed—it wasn’t as comfortable as their beds back at the castle, but it worked just fine for their purposes.
It was several days before they realized there were enough rooms, and this was just their colleagues’ idea of helping out. Neither of them uttered a word of complaint. Chamis was grateful for the chance to test out living together, and he was delighted to discover that it worked remarkably well. Chamis had brought some wood and his carving tools, and Bennan had brought a small stack of books. Plus, in their off hours, Bennan had been entirely enthusiastic about going out and scouring the countryside for more wood that Chamis could use. Fallen wood wasn’t always sound, but Bennan patiently listened as Chamis explained what he needed.
“Let me see what I can do!” Bennan said, grinning his irrepressible grin.
