I carefully removed the shiny wrapping paper, wondering how in the world they managed this without me noticing.
“Cole sent it to me yesterday afternoon,” Ireland explained quietly. “And I was able to print it at the Locc.”
It was the picture of me, Pops, and Delly from yesterday, inside the frame she’d shown me before. The one that’d disappeared from the coffee table a few days after she’d told me about Ari’s husband passing.
“Baby,” I said quietly, looking up at her. “This….” I ran my hand over the smooth wood. “…it’s important to you.”
She just smiled mysteriously and said, “Be right back,” before disappearing.
I looked back down at the photo, at the smiles on our faces.
That was my entire family. The three of them, the other two people in this house, and Beck too.
He and I needed to have a conversation very soon.
I didn’t hear Ireland return, her footsteps silent as always, but I sensed her right before she slid another frame onto the table.
It was the exact same, except this one still had the napkin drawing Beck had done of me with a human top half and seahorse bottom half.
Lordy,what was that conversation with him going to look like? Seahorses did mate for life, though, so maybe it was a good omen.
“I made the new one,” she said, tapping her finger on it. “Gil had instructions printed when he did this class, and I found them.”
I ran my finger over the smooth wood. “Thank you, Indigo. I really love it.”
“I printed an extra copy of the photo to hang up in their apartment, plus one of me and Dad. Wanna take them over there?”
“I really do,” I said, setting the frame carefully on the table and scooting my chair back. “After one more kiss, I think.”
She laughed, a pleased flush on her cheeks as she slid herself into my lap.
“I wish I’d known it was your birthday all those weeks ago. Then I would’ve kissed you that day like I wanted to.”
Her expression was serious as her gaze roamed over my face, her fingers already toying with the ends of my hair. “I don’t know if I would’ve been ready then,” she said softly. “I was barely a person.”
I squeezed her to me. “I know that should make me sad, and it does, but… I just love your brain. I know I’ve told you that, but I mean it. I’ve met so many people, spent years working a job where people lied to me about the dumbest shit, hurting themselves because of it.”
She looked taken aback, but I just shrugged.
“You tell the truth. As you know it, as soon as you know what it is. It’s beautiful.Now,” I said, moving on before I rambled too much, “about that kiss….”
Ireland’s game face was on the moment we got out of the Jeep. I sensed her smiles wouldn’t come as freely here as they did at home, but when I knocked on the door of Apartment 3A, that wasn’t the case.
She beamed at me like I’d just given her the moon.
Standing tall on my dumb scooter, I drank it in, wondering what exactly I’d done to warrant such a reaction as the door slowly swung open.
My heart skipped in anticipation when I realized it was Pops. Not just for him to see the photo, but for him to just see… us. Me and Ireland, together. Especially after our talk by the fountain yesterday.
I reached for her hand, and she took it, squeezing hard even as her smile slipped off her face. Was she not ready for this? Her eyes went from the doorway to me, and she pressed her lips together, something like an apology in her eyes.
“Good morning, Pops,” I said, finally peeling my gaze from Ireland.
He met my eyes for only a second, then turned his head away, dismissing me with a slight frown. Ireland stepped in front of me, keeping hold of my hand. “Mind if we come in?”
She couldn’t quite hide my view, being several inches shorter, but it felt like that was what she was trying to do.
It was enough of a red flag for my stomach to squeeze.
