Page 18 of The Leaving Kind

She shrugged. “Sometimes. But then we wouldn’t have had the fun of all these disastrous other relationships.” She met his tired smile with a wry one. “We got to have our cake and eat it too, my darling Victory. Just like we wanted.” Gay best friends deciding to have kids together. Because why not.

“You know, the years we lived in this house, doing the parent thing, were the best of my life.”

“So far,” Tez said. “And, yeah, me too. But we’re still young and hip.”

“No one says that anymore.”

“Whatever. I’m fifty-three. I can say it however I want to say it.”

He blew her a kiss. “Go find my rug.”

“Go shower away that funk.”

“Thanks, Tez.”

She answered with a flick of the fingers. Get out of here.

After a long, hot shower that relieved his headache better than the pain killers he’d swallowed while the water heated up, Victor felt almost human. He wouldn’t be operating at peak efficiency today, but he wouldn’t embarrass his children, either. Lingering in the doorway to his closet, he surveyed the row of hanging shirts, hoping for one that said first birthday party.

Lord, a first birthday. He was going to cry, wasn’t he? Happy tears, of course, but also nostalgic and sentimental ones. Sage would blush with embarrassment, and Cori would pat his shoulder fondly and whisper in his ear, “It’s okay, Dad.”

Tez would snug an arm around his waist and squeeze tight.

Did he need more than that? Why did he want someone else so much that he’d endure the sort of behavior Tholo displayed?

Had they ever been this happy?

After brushing white cat hairs away from the quilt, Victor laid three shirts out on the bed and went in search of pants to go with them. Should he dress up or down? Tereza was wearing an orange and gold sundress, which looked fabulous with her complexion. She’d have already lost the heels, though. She loved the idea of them but could never wear them for long.

Vic chose a pair of jeans in a pale lavender denim and a loose button-down with a mosaic print. Red, orange, gold, pink, purple, blue, and green. The pattern was small enough that all the colors were only visible up close. From a distance, the shirt almost resembled static.

Posing in the mirror, he asked Sinister, who’d appeared on the bed as though by magic, what he thought. “Too casual or just right?”

Yawning, the black cat put his head between his paws and closed his eyes.

Victor left him to his nap. Halfway through the family room, he remembered the pain in his tailbone only because it had faded. His knee still caused him to wince, though. He’d inspected it in the shower, and the bruise matched his shirt for range of colors.

Tez had the front door wedged open, and a warm breeze had flooded the house, airing out corners and the funk of his five-day bender. Victor drifted into the kitchen and silently thanked her for starting the cleaning in there. He’d been afraid to count how many empty bottles might be gathered around the sink. She had the door to the patio propped open too, and the scent of old leaves and sunbaked stone drifted inside.

Glancing through the windows, Victor admired the greenery gathered around the edge of the large patio. The hibiscus had started to bud, and the lilies were already aflame. Behind the bright orange, star-shaped flowers spread a veritable hedge of lavender. Purple echinacea swayed over the top, and black-eyed Susans poked through at irregular intervals. Buddleia flowered behind it all, their drooping, ethereal blooms almost alien in shape. The rhododendrons were done with their display, but their strong, green leaves served as a thick screen, protecting the patio from the weather.

It was a beautiful space, and gazing at it, Victor wondered why he’d never painted the patio garden. Probably because painting had been all too hard, lately. Riotous color hadn’t answered his call. If he were alone, he could pick up a pencil and start sketching. Studies of the different flowers, the shape of their petals, and the way the light hit each one. He could prepare compositions. One ordered and one chaotic.

But he wasn’t alone. Not today. Today, his children were coming home to visit him, and with a sudden sense of longing, he realized he’d missed them. He always missed his kids. It’d been hard to watch them leave the nest—five years ago for Cori, four for Sage. Thankfully, neither of them had decided to move to the other side of the country, though Cori might at some point. She loved the ocean—specifically the Pacific. She was the more laid-back and potentially Californian of the family.

Thoughts of his family pushing the residue of Tholo aside—for the time being—Victor turned his attention back to the kitchen and plucked the shopping list pad from the side of the fridge. He needed a to-do list.

Tez popped out of the basement door. “Your rug is downstairs. Somehow, you got it to the basement without breaking your neck and hung it in front of the furnace.”

“The furnace that is not currently lit.”

She smirked at him.

“I’m lucky to be alive.”

“Aren’t we all?” She leaned against the kitchen counter.

“Leave it down there. I’ll hang it outside this evening. After the party.” He tapped a pencil to the pad. “Okay, what are we feeding everyone?”

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