“No, no you’re not. You’re baked Alaska.” Del went and kissed the top of her head. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
Once they got going, they had to force each other to pause for a late lunch. Abigail insisted on making savory crepes—one of her best dishes—and Del took that time to text Justin.
Hey. Everything okay in there? Missed you guys at breakfast.
When Justin didn’t reply immediately, Del left the phone on the table and tidied up the downstairs and threw a load of laundry into the machine. Those were the constant things when you had kids, it seemed. He just wished that the kids had been home.
They were just finishing eating lunch when Del’s phone vibrated on the table.
We’re ok. Have fun with Abigail. Ttyl.
“What does ‘ttyl’ mean?”
“Talk to you later,” Abigail replied, grinning at him fondly. “They okay?”
“So he says. I just…something feels off,” Del admitted as he cut his last piece of crepe into two.
“Off how?” She mopped some of the sour cream off her plate with a piece of tomato and popped it into her mouth.
“He’s been edgy, even before you arrived, so it’s not you.”
She snorted. “Well thanks, I guess?”
“No, I mean that I know where his mind went when I told him you were coming to visit. You’re older than him. I told him that in the beginning. It bothers him.”
“But it doesn’t bother you?” When Del shook his head, Abigail looked at him pointedly. “Have you told him that?”
“I think I have?”
She snorted again, louder. “Men, I swear…If you know what the problem is, you should talk it through. Especially when there are kids involved. That’s the first rule, Del. Seriously.”
Del hung his head and wondered when she’d gotten old enough to give him sensible relationship advice and wisely decided not to comment on that out loud.
“Yeah, well, I’ll talk to him on Monday morning. I’m pretty sure he has his hands full with the kids.”
Abigail hummed thoughtfully. “I mean, I get that he wants to show he can take care of them alone for a weekend. He hasn’t since you came into the picture, has he?”
Del actually had to think about it. “No…this will be the longest time he’s spent with them without me since we first met, I think.”
“That’s adorable and weird. But mostly adorable.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Del said and lifted his mug of coffee at her.
She clinked hers against it and smiled at him.
“So, how about you clear the table and we start thinking about that Patreon thing.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
* * * *
By Sunday evening, Del was incredibly worried about Justin and the kids, but Justin’s short and to the point messages were telling him everything was fine and that they’d see him and Abigail in the morning.
The stuff they’d worked on, that Abigail had started to call “the Del Abbott Experience” for some weird reason Del couldn’t understand, was going swimmingly.
They’d even gotten Michel on a video call and he’d been more optimistic when they’d laid out their plans.
“You’d still be better off near LA, though. If you really want this, you need not to be in Satan’s Asscrack, Oregon,” he’d said in his French accent, and Abigail had burst into giggles.
Yes, Michel was right, and Abigail agreed with him. Del needed to start looking for houses as soon as possible and then figure out how to make moving to California sound irresistible for Justin and the kids.
Abigail went to bed early, feeling wiped out from all the brainstorming and planning they had been doing. She needed to drive the next day, so he understood the need for rest. At least she didn’t need to leave before midday with her flight being a late one.
Del cleaned the kitchen, took a shower, and went to bed.
At least he’d see Justin in the morning. He missed his boyfriend so fucking much that he almost reached for his phone to tell him so, but decided against it, just in case Justin had already fallen asleep next to Scarlett and forgot his sounds on like he sometimes would. Not that it mattered when he stayed over, because he didn’t really get any texts or calls during the night.
Del sighed and let himself relax. It was fine.
Sleep must’ve taken him around eleven-thirty, because when he woke up to a noise he couldn’t place, his cell said twelve o’clock.
Groaning, Del sat up and listened. Maybe it had been Abigail using the bathroom or something?
It wasn’t.
“Del! Help!”
He was out of bed and down the stairs before he could register moving consciously. He ran to the back door and saw the kids behind the glass in the dim light the ancient porch light provided.