Page 17 of Will & Patrick's Endless Honeymoon
He’ll want to protect Will from these feelings surging inside of him now. He’ll want to keep Will from thinking about the Tallgrass bar and how easy it can be to stop by there on the way home.
Patrick understands Will better than Caitlin or Kimberly or Kevin ever will. The real surprise here is that Kimberly hasn’t told him already. Surely she knows? Maybe she finally believes him when he says that Ryan was abusive? Or maybe she’s just tired of that particular fight? He has no idea.
Will tries to change the subject back to something safe. Back to Caitlin and her future. “What time are you heading out?”
“In an hour. Nonna and Reba are picking me up, and then Nonna is flying out with me.” She chews on her bottom lip. “Where’s Mom? She said she’d be here. She’s supposed to bring Uncle Kevin from the farm with her to say goodbye to me too.”
Will rubs her arms. “She’ll be here. They’ll both be here. Like Uncle Kevin would let you go without hugging his Caity-bug.”
“I know, it’s just… She makes me crazy. Sometimes I doubt things I shouldn’t ever have a reason to doubt.”
Will laughs. “I know. Me too.”
He leads her over to the shaded side porch and takes her suitcases in case it starts to rain. Then they sit on the loveseat glider Kimberly put out a few years ago.
Taking her hand, he threads her fingers with his own. “I’m glad Nonna is going out to Colorado with you. She’ll make sure your dorm room is set up in style.”
Caitlin snorts. “Mom’s pissed about it. She wanted to take me herself, but I told her no. I don’t want her ruining it for me, you know?”
Will nods.
“She and Nonna fought about it.”
“I bet they did.”
“Nonna and I won.”
Will nods and slings his arm over Caitlin’s shoulder. The loveseat glides back and forth slowly. “As if anyone could defeat the combined forces of Eleanora Molinaro and Caitlin Flemings-Patterson.”
They rock in silence for a while. Will lets his worries about Ryan and his urge for a drink drift away like the dark clouds across the sky. The smell of rain passes as the plains pull the sky toward the west. It’s been over two years since his last drink. He’s happily married and getting ready to head out on a much-belated honeymoon. Getting drunk now would jeopardize so much more than he’s ever had to lose before. He doesn’t need it.
He wants it.
But he doesn’t need it.
Finally, Caitlin murmurs, “Everyone else’s parents will be there and I’ll just have Nonna. She’s not even my real grandmother. She’s yours.”
Their mother’s twisted and doomed relationships have left them all with a hodge-podge of convoluted family members, and Will’s biological father has left him with even more.
“That doesn’t mean Nonna doesn’t love you.”
“I know.”
“Because she does.”
“Iknow.” She flips her hair impatiently.
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“No! You need to get ready for your trip with Patrick. Besides, I don’t want my brother there. I want my mom. Get it? But she’s…” Caitlin waves her hands around. “I hate that I feel so mixed-up about this.”
“Feeling mixed-up about Mom means you’re sane.” Will thinks about the guilt that’s been stamped on his heart since breakfast. “She’s good at making us doubt ourselves.”
As their time together draws to a close, Will gets out his wallet and hands Caitlin a couple hundreds. “Take these. Once you and Nonna set up a bank account, I’ll wire you an allowance every month. Be responsible with it.”
“Seriously?”
“I believe in you, Caitlin.”
