Page 57 of Like the Season
Chapter Sixteen
Caleb struggled to focus for the rest of the day. Not just because of the scare at work, but his bubbling rage at his mother for honestly thinking she was going to interfere with his life like that and control what he did.
So much for her silence being a good thing.
All that tempered by more than a little bit of the good kind of anticipation over the five strokes he’d earned himself.
Worth it.
He usually wasn’t mouthy like that to Boyd. Caleb didn’t like being a brat, and Boyd wasn’t particularly fond of bratty behavior.
Except every once in a while, it was fun to test the waters.
He thought about asking Boyd if he wanted to go grab lunch, but when he walked to Boyd’s office, his door was shut and he could see Boyd working head-down over his computer, his back to the windows.
Then again, maybe that wouldn’t be a good idea. Don’t want to push the envelope.
He headed downstairs and to the sandwich shop they’d first gone to. It was tempting to call his mom and bitch her out, but he wanted to talk to Boyd first. Besides, Boyd had ordered him to wait for his input.
Caleb had no more patience, though. After this, he wasdonewith his mom.
Period.
He’d let Boyd decide how to handle this. Plus, the longer he maintained a radio silence with his mother, the more he knew it would likely make her nervous. She was used to dealing with outbursts from his father.
But silence was like a torture of a thousand painful deaths to her.
Before he headed back to work he called Ella.
“How’s it going?” he asked her.
“I’m okay. Bored out of my head, no offense. Going through employment stuff.”
“Sorry.”
“Are you all right? You sound…off.”
“No, not really.” He gave her a very abbreviated version of what happened.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake! So now they’re trying to harass you and Dad for being together?”
“You don’t understand—my parents areveryhomophobic.”
“But you’re theirson!”
“Exactly. I don’t know what my aunt was doing around this area, but don’t let anyone in and call Boyd or me if someone shows up.”
“Screw that, I’ll call the damn cops first, then you.”
At least she’d inherited her father’s spirit. “That’ll work, too.”
By the end of the work day, Caleb had a new desk on the same floor but in a different area. He already had a passing acquaintance with most of his new coworkers, and it wouldn’t take him long to learn everyone’s names. He’d still be working on projects for Planning for a few days, even as he was brought into Zoning to learn the ropes there.
While this was stressful, it also felt exhilarating—one step closer to being married to Boyd and having his dream guy for life.
Boyd was still working with his office door closed when Caleb left work for the day. When he walked into the house, he smelled that Ella had dinner cooking and found her in the kitchen, fortunately sitting in the wheelchair, but she had her crutches propped against the counter. She’d made meatloaf and macaroni and cheese.
“I figured you guys would want some comfort food tonight.”
