“Hey,” I said as they stopped in front of me. “Good day, right?”
Kai shrugged as Diego nodded. “Yeah. Good day. Charlie’s, like, so rad. He’s a leather daddy. I didn’t know what that meant, but now I want to be one too.”
Oh boy. “Give yourself a few years before making that decision,” I said with a straight face. “You’ve still got a ways to go yet.”
“You’re coming back,” Kai said. It wasn’t a question.
“Sure,” I said easily. “As much as I can. You both have my phone number if you need anything?”
“We do,” Kai said.
“I expect you to use it. I mean it. You need me, you text or call me. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“You’re all right,” Diego said, punching me lightly on the shoulder.
I snorted. “Thanks. I think. Be safe, okay? And if I can’t come back in before, I’ll see you all at the Pride parade in a few weeks. We’re going to celebrate our asses off this year. Deal?”
“Deal,” Diego said. “Later, Corey.” He started to walk away but stopped when he saw Kai wasn’t following him.
Kai was watching me with their head cocked.
I arched an eyebrow at them.
They rolled their eyes, and before I knew what was happening, they threw their arms around my shoulders and kissed my cheek. “Thank you,” they whispered. “For everything.” And then they were gone, following Diego out the door.
I stared after them for a long time.
IN THE end, it was just me, Marina, and Jeremy. We sat in Jeremy’s office, watching as he packed up the last of his things.
“How’s the director hunt going?” I asked Marina.
She smiled at me. “Pretty good. We’ve got a couple of prospects. And since we’re now fully funded through 2018, it’s more of an incentive to get someone in here. Funny how that works.”
“Why don’t you do it?”
She shook her head. “It’s… I like being down in the front lines. Getting my hands dirty. I don’t want to be cooped up in this office all day.”
“I didn’t stay in here,” Jeremy pointed out.
“I know. But… I’d like to get someone in here. Someone younger. Fresh blood, if you will. Someone hungry enough to steer this ship. My wife and I are talking about all the trips we’ve never gotten to take and what we want for our future. If I decide to step back at some point, I want to know Phoenix House is in good hands.” She looked up at Jeremy. “Sure I can’t change your mind?”
He smiled. “Pretty sure. Though who knows what could happen in the future?”
She nudged me with her shoe. “And don’t think I’m not going to come after you as it gets closer to graduation. Forewarned is forearmed.”
“Only you can make a job offer sound like a threat,” I muttered.
She stood with a grunt. “It’s how I’ve gotten this far. We’re still on for Pride? The both of you?”
“Definitely.”
“Good.” She looked at us both before sniffling. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but here we go.” She wiped her eyes. “Thank you. Both of you. For all that you’ve done. Because of you, Phoenix House will continue to help our community. You’ve given us a great gift, and I will be forever grateful.”
She leaned down and kissed my cheek before rounding the desk and doing the same to Jeremy. She sniffled again as she walked toward the door. “Don’t be strangers, you hear me? And for the love of all that is holy, if you haven’t kissed each other already, get it over with. Time is too short to act so foolish.”
We stared after her as she closed the door.
“Wow,” I said. “That happened.”