Chapter 246: Katie and her two bosses 045

Tyler

I

pull

up my car near Katie’s house and park on the residential street. It’s just before 5, and Austin’s in the passenger seat. We’re both on edge, worried to death that she’s not home and she won’t show up. We plan to wait in the car rather than bother her mother and ring the doorbell.

Austin checks my phone. “Still nothing from Katie,” he says. “I don’t know if she even has her phone on at this point. Or...”

“What?” I ask.

“Or maybe she will just refuse to see us altogether,” he says, his voice grim.

“No, don’t say that. She has to come back to us,” I say. “We can’t lose hope now.”

We spend the next couple minutes in silence, checking our phones, watching her front door like a hawk, and craning our necks to look down the road.

Five o’clock comes and goes. Austin sighs, fidgeting and shifting in his seat.

Another couple minutes tick by.

“Fuck, she’s not coming,” he says, anguished. “I ruined it all.”

“It’s only 5:02,” I say. “Let’s give her a chance.”

“I think I blew it, man. I’m sorry I fucked it all up for everyone. I should never have put the business before Katie. She was worth so much more than that stupid company. If only I’d known...”

But I’ve stopped listening because I see a figure in the distance, running down the hilly road toward us.

“Shut up, Austin! Is that her?”

We get out of the car, and we instantly recognize Katie. We break out in a sprint, running through the street like maniacs. My heart is bursting, knowing that she decided to come back to us.

In a flash she’s in our arms, red-faced and panting. We’re all laughing and trying to catch our breath.

“Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick about you!”

“I’m so sorry for everything!”

“I never want to be apart from you again!”

We’re all talking at once, trying to say so many things at the same time.

Finally Austin and I shut up long enough for her to finish a sentence.

“I’m sorry to make you worry. I just panicked and ran away. I thought that I had ruined everything with your business, I thought that you’d be better off without me.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth, Katie,” Austin says. “We need you in our lives. We love you.”

Katie looks from Austin to me, and I nod. “It’s true,” I say. “We both love you so much. We just want to be with you.”

She grins, her cheeks rosy. “I love you both, too.”

Her eyes shine as she looks at me, then him. I can feel the love between us.

“I love you, Austin, and I love you, Tyler. I need both of you, I don’t want to be without either of you. And I promise to never run away like that again.”

“Good. And I promise to never again put work before you,” Austin says. “I just now realized what a mistake I was making.”

“We both made that mistake,” I say. “But never again. And no more hiding our relationship. As far as we’re concerned, the more people who know about us the better. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Agreed,” Katie says, laughing and pressing herself into our arms.

“Yep, one hundred percent,” Austin says. “I’m actually glad this whole thing with the picture happened, because it put everything into perspective. None of that other stuff matters to me anymore. I think I’m a different person now. You’ve helped me to change so much, for the better. I want to live my life, not waste it away buried in work. I can’t believe how much life I missed out on by chaining myself to the office and building up walls to keep everyone out.”

“I’m so glad you let me in, Austin,” Katie says, taking Austin’s hand in hers, then taking my hand in her other. “And you too, Tyler. I want to share my life with both of you.”

“And I want to share it with you, Katie,” I say. “I’m giving up my silly bachelor life. You’re the only woman I’ll ever need. Austin and I are going to take care of you now.”

“I think I can live with that,” she says. “That sounds pretty good, actually. I feel like I can finally let my guard down and learn how to trust. And I trust you guys, I really do. I want to be taken care of.”

“Why did you run off today?” I ask tenderly.

“Do you ever feel like everything you touch turns to shit?” she asks.

“Austin can definitely relate to that,” I joke. He playfully slaps me on the back. “Just kidding. Yes, I think we’ve all felt that way one time or another.”

“Well, I felt like I was destroying the company and ruining your lives. I thought that I should just leave before I completely messed it all up,” she says.

“Baby, you weren’t ruining anything,” Austin says, holding her against his chest. “You’ve made everything so much better. I look around and see so many positive changes in all of us. I’m learning how to let loose a little, and Tyler is becoming halfway human...”

“Hey!” I protest.

Katie laughs. “Well, I’m not giving in to those old fears and insecurities anymore. I’m going to decide how to live my life and not be ruled by self-doubt. Today I was reminded of just how important love is. And I know we have so much love between us. I don’t want to run away from that ever again.”

“Yeah, this is all that’s important,” I say. “This is all we need.”

We both hold her between us, feeling the warm connection and love flow through us all. It’s a magical feeling, and I silently say, thank you for bringing her back to us.

Katie looks up at us. “Will you guys come inside? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“We’d love to meet your mom, but are you sure this is a good time?” Austin asks.

“It’s a great time. Just let me run in and let her know we have company.”

She gives us a kiss each, then another kiss each, then turns to go inside the house.

Austin and I exchange looks of relief.

“See, I told you it would work out,” I say.

“All right, I’ll just listen to you from here on out,” he says, laughing.

“Can I get that in writing?” I joke.

Katie comes to the door and waves us over. Standing behind her is a woman who has Katie’s eyes and her sweet face. She smiles as she looks at us.

“Mom, I’d like you to meet my boyfriends – both of them,” she says. “This is Tyler Black, and this is Austin Murphy. Guys, this is my mom, Susan Jenkins.”

“So nice to finally meet you,” Susan says, giving us both a warm handshake.

“And you, too, ma’am,” I say, trying to turn on the charm.

“Katie has told us so many good things about you,” Austin says.

“Please, come in, come in,” she says, leading us inside to sit around the tidy, comfortable living room.

She uses a walker to help her get around, and Katie stands nearby to make sure she sits down in her chair safely.

“So you fellows work with Katie?” Susan asks.

“Yes, actually they’re my bosses,” Katie says. “They’re the CEOs of Tyaus Technology.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Susan says. “Katie is always talking about how much she likes her job. You must be treating her well.”

“Well, hopefully we haven’t been making her work too hard, or too many hours,” Austin says.

“Oh, not at all. I get by all right around here. And I have caretakers for when you two whisk her off to Santa Fe,” she says, winking.

“Mom! How did you know I wasn’t telling the truth?” Katie asks, then to us: “I told her I went with Michelle.”

Susan turns to us and says, “You can’t fool your mom for too long. I keep telling Katie this, but maybe she’ll believe me one day if she ever has children of her own.”

“Mom, you just met Austin and Tyler and already you’re pushing for grandchildren?” Katie asks teasingly.

Susan laughs. “Oh, I’m just joking. But seriously, I am delighted to finally meet you two. I know Katie was a little nervous to bring you guys around, I guess because she thought I wouldn’t approve of your non-traditional relationship.”

Austin and I both exchange glances with Katie, all of us a little uncomfortable.

“What Katie forgets is that I lived through the Summer of Love in San Francisco – this is pretty tame compared to what I used to see – and do – back then,” Susan laughs.

Katie groans. “Oh, no, please no tales of your hippie days just yet.”

“No, no, I won’t embarrass you, I promise. But I really am happy for you three. I don’t care who Katie is with – even if there’s two of you – as long as you treat Katie well and make her happy.”

“They do, Mom, they really do,” Katie says, looking into our eyes.

“I’d say we’re all pretty much giddy in love, ma’am,” I say.

“Well, that’s all I need to hear, then!”

“So you’re telling me that all this time I’ve been worried about you getting upset about this, and hiding them from you, and you wouldn’t have even cared?” Katie asks incredulously.

“Now you’ve got it! Katie, you always worry so much, dear,” she smiles at her daughter, then turns to us. “It’s my fault, really, for needing her help so much. She kind of had to grow up too fast. But maybe you boys can show her a good time and take her mind off her worries.”

She gives us a wink.

“Now, who’s hungry? I think a celebratory feast is in order. I can’t do it all by myself, but I can give good directions to everyone else in the kitchen,” she laughs again.

“Sounds great,” Austin says. “It’s been a crazy day, and I’d be willing to bet these two are just as hungry as I am.”

“Definitely,” I agree. Katie helps her mom into the kitchen, where we all work together to prepare a delicious home-cooked dinner.

As we chop vegetables, Austin and I exchange smiles, and I know what he’s thinking. Watching Katie help her mom so patiently and selflessly, we realize just how much she has sacrificed for her mother and just how big her heart is. She truly is beautiful. It makes me love her even more.

I’m so happy to meet her mom – now our love feels complete and more real. It’s true – we won’t be hiding anymore.

While we’re eating and sharing food and laughter with Katie and her mom, I feel like I’m part of a family. This is my new family, and my heart is bursting. I look over at Katie, then at Austin, and we all smile. I finally found what I needed.