Page 111 of Only in Our Dream
“We’re going to be empty nesters soon,” Cameron whined as they walked along Main Street after lunch at Carlson’s.
“Oh, stop.” Melanie squeezed her hand. “Dylan will be at home for at least four more years.”
“That’s basically tomorrow.”
“Think about how much has happened in thelastfour years. Four years ago, I was married to Rob, and you were whining about Jonah going to high school. Now look where we are. You’re still whining but now you’re married to me.”
Cameron chuckled. “Bitch. You were so sweet there for a moment.”
“You know I’m just teasing you.” Stopping their walk, Melanie took a step in front of Cameron and put her hands on her hip. “There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be than right here with you and your whining ass.”
“I love you, too.”
“And I love you.”
Smiling widely, Cameron leaned in and kissed her. It felt so freeing to be kissing her wife on the street. Cameron knew how lucky she was to have Melanie by her side and she’d never take that for granted.
She smiled back at the memory, remembering how they’d gotten ice cream before spending the afternoon in bed with each other. They’d picked up Dylan from school together before going to the Pizza Parlour for dinner. Their house felt so weird going from three people living there to four then back to three in the last two years. There had been so many changes in their lives that Cameron was thankful that Melanie had been there with her through so much. Even before they were together, Melanie had always been there. Their history together added to the sweetness of the life they were able to share now. They knew each other so well that there was nothing that could get past them.
Finishing her rounds on her few patients in the hospital, Cameron made her way back to her office. She plopped into her office chair, which let out a loud creak in return. Cameron took her phone out of the pocket of her white coat and checked her messages. The one from Melanie got her priority.
Lunch?
Positioning her fingers over the keyboard, Cameron smirked as she typed out a response.
Once upon a time you used to send me elegant messages asking me out to lunch and now I just get a one-word question?
Cameron smiled as she waited for a response. But before it came, her phone rang with a FaceTime from Jonah. She answered it quickly as her baby boy’s smiling face filled the screen.
“Hey, baby!”
“Mom! I got an A on my first exam!”
“Jonah!” She matched his enthusiasm. “I’m so proud of you, honey.”
“Thanks! They just posted the grades and I’m walking to my next class, so I decided to just call you.”
“I’m glad you did. I’ve missed you.”
Jonah laughed. He had on a backward baseball cap and a tee, but that was all Cameron could see aside from his AirPods. “I was just home two weekends ago.”
“Two weekends is basically forever.”
“You’re so dramatic.”
“No, that’s your sister.”
“Then you’re where she gets it from,” Jonah chuckled as Cameron jokingly rolled her eyes. “Mom, hang on.”
She watched as Jonah’s attention got pulled away from the camera. His eyes lit up as he said hello to someone. The female voice that responded said hello back with a giggle as Cameron watched Jonah grin widely.
“And who was that?”
“No one.”
“Mhmm. Sure.”
“She’s just a friend.”
