Page 36 of Carver
“Revenge is sweet,” Dravin promises ominously as fuck while we walk down the narrow front sidewalk and around to the gate that will let us into the backyard. He rubs his palms together. “So sweet.”
I unlatch the gate and turn around to wink at him. “I can’t wait.”
Truly, I can’t. Today is a day for new beginnings.
This is the first night that Bronte and I will ever spend together in its entirety, and we’ll be doing it as a family in a house lovingly put together by people who want the best for us. Her family is going to come for a visit in two days.
Our life started a long time ago, but this is a refresh. It’s a day for joy, for laughter, for jokes with unexpected friends, for belonging, and for us.
Chapter 10
Bronte
Elowen goes to bed at eight every night. She’s slept through the night since she was around six months old. I worried that being in a new place, so many changes to her routine would make her fussy and hard to get down, but she’s been sleeping for an hour. The house already had a security system installed, and I didn’t feel the need for a baby monitor. The house is about seven hundred square feet, with the upstairs entirely open. It’s been sectioned off to make two bedrooms by privacy screens. I know that if Elowen makes even a whimper in her sleep, I’ll hear it, no matter where I am in the house.
Other people might resent not having their privacy, and in the future, we might need to make some changes to the upstairs if we stay here, but knowing that only a few ornate wicker screens separate our bedrooms is a huge relief after sharing my bedroom with Elowen since she was born.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect from today, but it surpassed every one of my hopes and dreams. I would ten out of ten recommend it and go through all the anxiety and excitement of moving again.”
We’re standing in the kitchen drinking cups of pear green tea. It’s my mom’s favorite flavour and Dom is pretty much addicted to it. Before bed at home, my mom brews a pot and we all sit around the table or in the living room, reading or talking. If we’re having a movie night, we change it up and do black teawith cookies, or whatever was baked that afternoon. It’s nice to keep the same ritual my parents are probably doing right now.
“Not that I had much stress. You guys did everything yourselves. All the furniture was picked out for us and showed up here and was set into place. I didn’t have to do anything. It was incredible. All I had to do was pack clothes and Ellie’s favorite toys. Gabriel and Dad put the boxes of books in the truck for me, and they were all taken out and unpacked by so many different hands, that I didn’t have to do that either. I might as well have snapped my fingers and a whole house materialized.”
Dom clears his throat. He seems nervous suddenly. He was tired earlier, so after putting Elowen in her crib and staying until she fell asleep, I suggested we have some tea to relax before bed.
Bed.
Is that what’s making him edgy?
In the past we wouldn’t have just leapt on each other. We’ve always been intensely attracted to each other, but there’s been so much mutual respect and… I don’t even know how to describe it other than to say that we’ve both found a great deal of pleasure in discovering all there is to know about each other. We grew into pleasure together. We learned what sex was with each other. It was never just about our bodies. We wanted to make a world with each other that was about more than getting off. Orgasms are nice, but what always made the whole thing special for me was theconnection.
I know we still have that, but being here is a little bit like starting over completely. I don’t disregard our past for a second, but my body has changed. Dom’s has too. We’ll be discoveringeach other all over again, and that’s both thrilling and a little terrifying.
“I could… sleep on the couch down here if you want. It reclines, so it’s probably comfy. I could watch hospital dramas all night if I can’t sleep, so that’s a bonus.”
“Hospital dramas?” He’s not serious right now, is he? “You’ve never even owned a TV before.”
“Hence the novelty. It’s hard to fall asleep watching a laptop.”
“Is this something you did at Dravin’s?” If this is what he needs, I’m all for it, but I keep waiting for him to tell me he’s kidding.
“Not exactly.”
“So you want to start because you have trouble sleeping from the pain?”
“The stitches came out a few days ago.” That was the first thing I noticed this morning. The swelling in Dom’s face has gone down dramatically since I saw him last.
It’s been far too long. Texting and calling wasn’t anywhere near enough. I’ve missed him in every way. Even when he was surly and keeping his distance from me at his farm, I’d still get to see him a few times every week when I brought him groceries.
“But you’re still having some pain?”
“I’m doing much better. I hardly have any pain at all.”
I set my mug down on the counter and press my fingers into my eye sockets. I was up beyond early this morning, andthey’re grainy. Rubbing them only makes them bleary. I should be able to figure this out, but I’m fried.
I met so many new people today. It was wonderful, exhilarating, and exhausting. Dravin and Kael were the last to leave and they didn’t head out until after dinner, since I begged them to stay. They were excited to get over to their new house, but they were happy to let us thank them for organizing all of this with a spaghetti dinner. Ellie wore most of hers and flung what she didn’t drape herself in at our guests. I guess that was her way of saying thank you as well.
“You want to sleep down here because you’re worried that I don’t want you in bed with me?” That’s such a hard thing to comprehend that it took me a minute to even get there.
