Page 83 of All I Want Is Love
“Yeah, he left very early in the morning. Aspen helped him to get his car moving with snow chains. Strangely, the conditions of the street were better in the morning.”
“The problem is it was warm yesterday, then froze overnight, then got warmer again, which made the snow melt a little more, before it turned freezing cold once more,” Soren explains. “It’s pretty rare that we have such thick ice on our streets. It was certainly much better when I was walking to Leo’s place at night.”
“Good thing Michael managed to get moving on time,” I say.
I like Michael as a friend, but I am still glad he is on his way back home. It’s not so much that I have an issue with him, or with him being here and mingling with my family and friends, but more so that his presence still reminds me of all the horrible things that happened.
“You have been quiet for a while,” Robin says. “Are you okay?”
“I just realized I still have some work to do,” I admit. “I mean, I need to work on myself and my mental health. Michael reminds me of all the shit that happened back then, but that’s not fair,because he was literally the only one who fought for me. He risked his own reputation and his job just like that.”
“He is a good person,” Robin says. “I am glad at least somebody stood up for you.”
“That’s why I don’t want to hurt him by being distant,” I admit.
“It’s perfectly normal to have mixed emotions after seeing someone from your past,” Soren says.
Robin nods vigorously. “I agree. And just for the record, you were very kind to Michael. Nothing was off about your interaction with him.”
“We all know you have no issue with Michael and would welcome him with open arms if he visited again. I bet he knows that too,” Soren reassures me.
“You are not just saying that to put my mind at ease?”
“We’d never lie to you,” Robin says promptly.
“Alright, I’ll believe you then,” I say, feeling at least somewhat relieved. In case Michael ever comes and visits again, I will be prepared.
“Who did he actually stay with?” Soren asks.
“With me,” Robin says. “My place was closer.”
Soren groans. “Don’t tell me I woke him up last night as well.”
“Nah,” Robin chuckles. “The guestroom is a safe distance from everywhere else. He didn’t even hear me when I walked around to make myself coffee at 2 a.m.”
“How did your ostrich handle a spontaneous guest?”
“He was grumpy,” Robin grins. “But calmed down surprisingly fast. I guess Michael was too handsome, even for him.”
“You are exaggerating,” I grin. “You make it sound like Michael is from outer space.”
“Maybe not from outer space, but he looks like he jumped out of a catalogue.”
When I gaze at Soren, he keeps nodding as well. “Am I the only one who can’t see it?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Robin grins. “And please don’t tell us now how you think Soren is so much more handsome.”
Well, he is, I think to myself.
Soren puts a hand on my knee, his expression happy.
We are momentarily distracted by our food arriving, and then all of us digging in. Not to be dramatic, but I feel like I was starving.
Eventually, Robin breaks the silence. “Do we eventually want to talk Christmas plans?” he asks. “I know, I am pretty late with this. Christmas is in a few days, but somehow with everything else going on, I forgot.”
“Oh!” I perk up immediately. It’s the first year I am actually free to do what I want during Christmas. “Do you have a tradition?”
“Aspen, Soren and I used to celebrate together,” Robin explains. “But I was wondering if this year you and Soren want to do something on your own.”
