Page 111 of Head Over Feels
“Hey, you’re home!Everythinggo okay?”Malcolmheld his free arm out to me, soIwent over for a kiss.
“Yeah, um, what’s all this?”
Thebig guy’s eyebrows flew up and he said toMalcolm, “I’mgoing to get everything put away.”Hehurried over to the other guy.
Istared atMalcolm, who seemed very pleased with himself. “Well?”
Hemade a sweeping gesture at the concrete square. “Thisis where our new hot tub will go.”
Isquealed.I’mnot proud of it, andI’lldeny it if it ever gets out, butIfull-on squealed like a toddler.ThenIthrew my arms aroundMalcolmand kissed the hell out of him.
Hewas grinning when we broke apart.Iside-eyed the workers, but they were laughing too as they pushed their wheelbarrow out of the yard.
“Ican’t believe you got a hot tub!Whatkind is it?Whenis it getting here?”
Malcolmchuckled. “Slowdown.Ihaven’t bought one yet.Wehave to wait a week for the concrete to cure, so we can pick the hot tub out together.”Thatearned him another hug.Afterusing the hot tub at the ranch,Ihad definite opinions about them.
Whilethe workers finished cleaning up after themselves,Iunloaded theBuick.Iwas putting the vacuum cleaner in the laundry room whenMalcolmfound me.
“Comehere.Iwant to show you a couple of things.”Hetugged my hand. “Notquite hot tub level, butIthink you’ll like them.”
Ifollowed him into the kitchen.Thefirst thing that caught my eye was the cut crystal vase full of red and yellow roses on the kitchen table. “Theseare beautiful.”
“Thanks.AndI, um, finally found the vase.”
“It’sgorgeous.Ilove it.”Ikissed him on the cheek.He’dtotally just bought that vase.
“Butthat’s not whatIwanted to show you.Look.”Hewaved at the nearest drawer and said, “Ta-da!”
Iblinked at him.Hehadn’t... had he?EagerlyIpulled it open. “Yes!”Insteadof placemats and napkins, the drawer now contained everythingI’dhad in the junk drawer from my apartment, albeit in neat storage trays.Pens, rubber bands,Nerfdarts, pennies, my elf-mage miniature, and all the other miscellaneous crapI’dgathered over the years.I’dbeen planning on dumping it all into one ofMalcolm’s—our—over-neat desk drawers, but nowIdidn’t have to.
“IaskedCalandSteveto tell me which box your junk drawer stuff was in.”
“Ilove it,Malcolm, thank you.”Igave him a hug and a kiss. “NowIcan find a pen or a battery whenIneed one.”
Malcolmopened his mouth but immediately clamped his lips shut, andIlaughed.Hereligiously kept his pens in his—our—desk, and he muttered under his breath every time he found the onesIstuck in the kitchen drawers.
“Okay, come on.Onemore thing.”Hetook my hand and walked to the bedroom.
“Oh, my god,Malcolm, it’s beautiful.”Iapproached the enormous framed photograph he’d hung on the wall opposite the bed.Itwas a dramatic sunrise, all pinks and oranges.Thelandscape was mostly dark but something about the trees and open spaces tugged at my memory. “Wasthis taken around here?”
Malcolmcame up behind me and put his arm around my waist.Herubbed his beard against my jaw and rested his head on my shoulder. “Rememberthe morning we watched the sunrise at the ranch?”
“Yes.”Ipaused. “Thispicture looks very similar to howIremember it.Wheredid you find it?”
Hisbeard tickled my neck when he smiled. “TurnsoutWilltook this picture that same morning.”
Ispun around, grabbing his shoulders. “Getout!Areyou serious?”
Smiling, he said, “It’strue.”
Iturned again to admire the photo. “Wow.”
Malcolmembraced me. “Welcomehome.”
* * *
“Dowe have enough tarps to protect the neighbors’ yards?”Malcolmshouted from the back door.
