Page 51 of Wrapped Up In You
I wanted to hug him, but I thought that might be pushing it for tonight, so I settled for putting my hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
“You gave me a great childhood, Dad. You supported me. Came to all my piano recitals and baseball games. Paid for my college. I don’t want you to think I don’t appreciate that.”
“I know you do.”
“Hey, you two.” I turned to see Suzanne striding toward us, a look of concern on her face. “You’ve been gone for a while. Everything okay?”
I smiled at her. “Yeah. We’re good.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two of us as if trying to determine whether I was telling the truth.
“Well, if you’re finished, you should probably get back out there. Hayden keeps looking over at our corner like he’s looking for you. And there’s only about ten minutes ‘til midnight.”
We followed her back out just as Hayden was finishing a cover of “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind, and I thought he might have a future covering nineties alternative and grunge. He caught my eye, raising an eyebrow in question, and I smiled, letting him know everything was okay.
Moments later, the manager of the club took over the mic to hand it off to a local celebrity who was going to do the official countdown to midnight. Complementary champagne was distributed by the waitstaff as Hayden made his way back to our corner near the bar. He’d still have another hour or so to play after midnight, but at least he had a short break to come say hi and ring in the new year with us.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” I said and kissed him, right there in front of our families.
“You’re supposed to wait until midnight,” he said when we pulled apart.
“I missed you.”
He laughed. “We’re in the same room.”
“Yeah, but I can’t kiss you and touch you when you’re on stage.”
“True, but—”
“Nine, eight, seven…” All around us, the club was filled with people happily counting down with their friends and loved ones around them. Arms wrapped around each other. I looked into Hayden’s eyes, the two of us counting down together, and I marveled at how much brighter my life was now that Hayden was in it.
Over the years, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to New Year’s resolutions. The new year had simply been a marker for the passage of time from one year to the next. But this year, for the first time, I set one. I vowed to love deeper and laugh often. And to spend as much time wrapped up in Hayden as I could.
“Three…two…one!”
I dove in and kissed him, keeping it relatively chaste in the midst of the crowd and our families.
“I love you,” I whispered against his lips.
“I love you more.”
* * *
The End
EPILOGUE
HAYDEN
February 14
I’d barely seen my boyfriend in the last couple of weeks, and the need I had for him was a physical ache. He grounded me. Quieted the chaos in my mind without making me feel bad and without trying to change who I was. I wouldn’t have guessed it before we ventured into this relationship, but he was a caretaker. It was as if I’d unlocked something inside him, a need to help me, support me, encourage me.
Love me.
I’d once thought he was stuffy and cold. Judgmental. Rigid. But the man I’d fallen in love with just a couple of months ago was none of those things. With me, he was warm, understanding, and patient. He still liked order and routine and valued cleanliness, timeliness, and predictability, but those were strengths in his personality, and frankly, they were my guardrails when I started to careen off track.
I’d started to learn to embrace my ADHD and the ways it made me a more well-rounded person and a stronger musician. I still struggled with time management and being easily distracted. I was messy, disorganized, and forgetful. But my Lucy helped me get back on track. He reminded me to set alarms on my phone when I needed to remember something really important. He DoorDashed me food when I forgot to eat because I was hyperfocused on writing a new piece of music. And I’d gotten a lot better about keeping my apartment clean because I knew it made him happy. And for all the ways he made my life better, I wanted to return those things in equal measure.
