Chapter 180 - Epilogue 2/5
It was the week before Christmas and Theo somehow found himself on a road trip. It’d been Vivian — no, Genevieve’s idea, and Miriam was also present. Then there was the driver, Jacques, who he’d only met a couple times while visiting the Devreaux’s home.
When the adoption had gone through, Genevieve had switched back to her birth name, much to everyone’s surprise. None of them had thought she’d ever reveal that part of herself, and had been content to accept her as Vivian, if that was what she preferred.
She did decide to keep ‘Vivian’, changing it to her middle name instead. This made her full, legal name Genevieve Vivian Devreaux.
Genevieve hadn’t told any of them, including the driver, the purpose of this road trip, or why it had to be done that weekend. She’d just asked, “Does it really matter why,” when questioned.
None of them felt the need to dig any deeper. Miriam was happy spending the day with friends, Jacques didn’t seem bothered driving where he was instructed, even without a clear destination, and Theo was just glad to spend time with Genevieve.
The two of them sat together in the back seat, while Miriam rode shotgun, keeping up a lively conversation with the driver, who was exceptionally laid back. He seemed happy to talk about whatever she brought up, keeping the conversation going with ease as they followed the highway north. It gave Theo a chance to have his own conversation with Genevieve.
For the last couple of weeks, she’d been restless, or so he thought. Genevieve had never been much of a ‘relaxed’ sort of person, but lately it felt like she was lost in thought more often than usual. Her leg would bounce up and down if she sat still for too long, and her fingers would tap against whatever surface was around.
“You excited for your first Christmas with your family?” He asked after they’d finished eating the to-go breakfast they’d picked up.
“Mmmm,” she hummed, looking away from the window to meet his gaze. “I’m… a bit worried.”
“Worried?” Why would she be worried about Christmas with her family? That didn’t make sense.
Genevieve gave a slow nod. “I have a feeling Dad is going to go overboard with everything. My brothers… might help him do it, too.”
The mental image of Mr Devreaux doing just that made Theo chuckle. “Can you really blame them, though? It’s their first Christmas with you, and they’re excited.”
She let out a sigh. “I get it, but I don’t like it. I just want… something normal.”
“Did you tell them that?”
A grimace crossed her face as she leaned her head back into the seat. “God no. Dad has this wounded puppy look whenever I tell him to stop being extra.”
It took effort to hide the grin that threatened to take over Theo’s face. “I didn’t know you had a weakness for that kind of thing.”
She shot him a look that threatened horrible things if he ever tried it on her, causing him to laugh some more. Theo reached over and took her hand in his, threading their fingers together. “Just tell him how you feel. He’ll get it.”
“I know he will, but he just… over compensates for everything lately.”
Theo had heard some of the stories, of Mr Devreaux going big when Genevieve requested something small. She’d made an off handed comment about craving ice cream, and suddenly the freezer was stocked with a dozen different flavours. Or when her hand was still healing, he’d wanted to hire someone to take her school notes for her — something she’d promptly shut down. Who would even think to hire someone for something so trivial? Would anyone have even taken the job?
“He’ll settle down after all the ‘firsts’ are over,” Theo tried to assure her, only to get a low sigh in response. “It’s not that bad, is it?”
Giving him a sideways glance again, though without the threat of violence this time, she said, “They brought the tree home yesterday, while we were at school. It’s like fifteen feet tall. We’re supposed to decorate it tomorrow, and I don’t think enough ornaments exist in the world to cover that amount of tree.”
“Honestly, that sounds kinda cool,” he told her with a grin. “I’d love to have a tree that big, but our ceiling isn’t high enough.”
“Come take ours. I’ll trade you.”
He laughed, shaking his head at the offer. Theo could tell that, though she was complaining about the situation, she was fine with how things were being done. What she was accustomed to was nothing like what she now had, and it would take time for her to feel comfortable with the change. Until then, he was happy to let her complain about whatever she wanted.
It did remind Theo he still needed to wrap the gift he’d gotten for her. It’d been difficult to find something appropriate. He’d brainstormed with Miriam weeks ago but, for once, she’d been less than helpful.
Her words had been, “I’d say jewelry, but Genevieve doesn’t really wear any, and you’re not technically together, yet. Right?”
“Right,” he’d sighed. It wasn’t for lack of wanting to be together, but the timing just never seemed right. Genevieve had been through a lot, and now she was trying to figure everything out; why give her more to deal with when he was capable of waiting?
It wasn’t as though there were tons of other guys vying for her attention. The few that had approached her were met with the same response Theo had been, back when they’d first met. She didn’t catch on to what was happening, didn’t play into the advances when she did, or outright told them she had no interest whenever they were direct with their intentions.
Okay, yes, he was worried she’d tell him the same thing if he made his intentions crystal clear, even though she seemed to enjoy holding his hand when the occasion arose. She was actually more likely to initiate hand holding than Theo, which had been a surprise. It might have been because he was always worried about pushing her boundaries, while she already knew he would agree, one hundred percent of the time, to whatever she’d want to do.
Hell, if she asked for a kiss, he was pretty sure he’d shout ‘YES’ before she finished speaking.
Three hours later, Genevieve leaned forward, hand on the back of Miriam’s seat as she said, “Take this next exit, and turn left.”
“The mystery continues,” Jacques chuckled, doing as instructed.
She gave a few more directions, sometimes checking the map on her phone, until they turned into the driveway of a cute, two storey home. “Keep driving, over there,” she pointed to where a faint set of tire tracks disappeared into a cluster of trees.
They drove through, going slow as the road hadn’t been used in a while. They were soon on a bit of an incline then, after a bend in the trail, a small, yellow bungalow appeared. It looked rundown, as though no one had lived there in years, but all the windows and door were still intact. The gutters were full of weeds, as were the flower boxes that hung beneath the windows.
“Where are we?” Miriam asked, as she peered out the windshield.
For a moment Genevieve was quiet. Theo heard her take a deep breath and slowly let it out, before saying, “…home…”