Just One Look (Castleton Hearts)

Theo chuckled.

“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad. You had to get here somehow.”

I looked at Theo and she was smiling at me.

“Nearly fifty-three hours of labor with this one,” Mom said.

“Mom! Enough!” I said. Could she not?

Theo was still smiling.

“It’s not funny,” I said to her.

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed.”

I took my napkin from my lap and put it over my head and that made everyone at the table laugh.

“This is not going how I pictured it,” I said, my voice muffled under the napkin.

Theo helped me clean up from dinner and put the leftovers away and we all went to the living room to watch a movie and I brought my parents some tea.

A breeze blew through the window and ruffled the curtains.

“Memma would be so pleased that you’re living in her house,” Mom said. Dad was in the rocking chair, going back and forth to his heart’s content. He’d been quiet tonight, but he was like Theo. It took him a little to warm up to someone new. It was honestly remarkable how alike they were in ways that I’d never noticed before.

“I like to think she’s happy,” I said.

“She is,” Mom said with a sigh, sipping her tea. We’d put on a documentary that Mom had said was good, but I wasn’t really paying attention. Theo was next to me on the couch, her arm around me. I looked over and smiled at her. She noticed my attention and smiled at me before leaning over to give me a quick kiss.

I’m fine, that kiss said. I snuggled a little closer to her and I know Mom noticed, but I didn’t care. She knew that I loved Theo and Theo loved me, and that was all she’d wanted for me anyway.

Someone who loved me and made me happy.

My parents said they were tired after the movie, even though it was still pretty early, so they headed to the guest room, giving me hugs before they left. Theo said goodnight to them minus the hugs.

Their door shut and I looked over at her.

“Well?” I asked, my voice low in case they might be listening.

“They’re lovely, of course,” Theo said, pulling me closer. “Were you afraid I was going to hate them?”

“No. I knew you wouldn’t. But I know how you feel about new people,” I said.

“Yes, but these aren’t new people. These are the parents of the woman I love. It’s different.”

She said it so matter-of-factly.

“Everything about you is different,” she said, stroking my cheek. “I’m still scared, but that fear is quieter when I’m with you. It gets drowned out by your voice, your laugh, your everything.”

For a grump, she sure had a way with words.

“One of these days I’m going to write down all the romantic shit you say and put it in a book or something,” I said.

“Do I get royalties?” Theo asked.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, and she glared at me, but I kissed her anyway.

Theo went to work the next day, Friday, and I took my parents around Castleton. We got breakfast at Sweet’s, looked through the shops, visited Beth at the library, had lobster rolls from the food truck, and then went on a walk at the beach before hitting the lighthouse.

It was a lot to do in one day, but they said they were up for it. I also had to grab a few things for the party the following day, so I did that, and we stopped at the cottage to rest up and decompress before Theo came over.

“What can I do?” Mom asked as I finished cramming everything in the fridge and Dad was taking a nap in the guest room.

“Nothing right now. I think we’re going out to dinner, so there’s nothing we need to do here,” I said.

“You look happy,” Mom said after a few moments.

“I am,” I said. “I really am.”

Mom hugged me and sighed. “That’s all that matters.”

I pulled back and mom adjusted my hair. “She reminds me of your father. When we first met, I thought he was just a jerk, but it took a few dates before he opened up and I learned what was going on in that head of his. Once I did, I knew he was the one.”

I didn’t say it, but I think I’d known Theo was the one from that very first moment. I’d always thought love at first sight was reserved for the pages of books, but now that I’d experienced it? I knew it was real.

“I love her,” I said.

“I know,” Mom said. “It’s obvious.”

Theo got back and wanted to take a shower before we went out, so Mom and I roused Dad and played a quick game of cards in the living room while we waited. We’d always been the kind of family that played board games together. Hopefully I could include Theo at some point. I knew that her competitive side would come out and I couldn’t wait to see her lose her shit at Go Fish or Monopoly.