A/N this is the same day as the last two chapters with the afternoon storm.
Jim was happy to make sandwiches together for our dinner. Ray always wanted a meal. I wondered if Jim would have expected one, if we weren't lovers.
"When I take Callie to meet with Gail, I'll go food shopping. I'll need plenty with the house full this weekend."
"Do you know, Liz Walters from O&C? She has headed up HR for years and is a friend. Dan invited her to come on Saturday. I wish he hadn't."
"Why?"
"Because she was kind to me after Deb and occasionally we'd go to dinner, but I think she thought, um."
"Thought what?" I asked feeling a tightening in my belly.
"That I was interested in being more than friends."
"But you aren't?" I suddenly felt unsure.
He took my hand and smiled. "Silly Pat, of course not, I love you. I wasn't even interested in a relationship until you. You came into my house and made your way into my heart." I felt relief wash over me. "I'll be nice to her, but just know you're the one. Okay?"
"Yes." I whispered while nodding my head. It was hard not to let my thoughts run away from me. I didn't want to show I felt insecure.
He must have sensed my nervousness. "We can tell the kids and then we can be together. I'll hold your hand the whole time."
"No, no. I'm fine." I assured him. "Tell me she's not young and beautiful."
Jim laughed. "Darling, you are young and beautiful. She is much closer to my age and frankly looks it. Stop worrying. Come on, the storm is over. Let's go walk on the beach."
A thunderstorm had brushed past The Point and brought some rain and a few rumbles. It was steamy when we stepped outside. We didn't walk like lovers holding hands, but we talked the whole way. Occasionally, Jim waves as they passed others. I recognized a few faces from the other summer I had spent on The Point.
"The kids are coming Friday night?" He nodded. "And your girlfriend is coming on Saturday? All day?"
Jim laughed. "I think late afternoon for drinks and staying through dinner."
"Will she stay for the fireworks?" Somehow I had envisioned sitting side-by-side watching the annual display.
"The kids will want to take the boat out to see them. Maybe if she stays she will go with them and we can watch from the house."
"I'd like that."
Maybe Jim was right and we should tell the kids, but Callie deserved to know first and she was so fragile. True, she had been happier lately with her little charges. I had other concerns, like what would we tell them when I didn't even know what our relationship was and what the future held?
Callie wasn't home when I went to bed. In the morning, I reminded her she had her appointment. I marveled at how she had bounced back, every day she was happier. Her physical bruises were long gone. I only wished they would arrest that man. I stopped fearing she would contact him, but I still worried. It was my job, as a mother to always worry.
Gail surprised me. "Pat, she's going to be okay. There's no need for us to talk unless she wants to. She knows how to reach me. Right, Callie?"
I watched as my beautiful daughter nodded and hugged Gail.
"Great! I have a car full of groceries. You can help me unload." I felt like a regular mother for the first time and a long while.
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A Summer Thing
Romance(Completed) When Patricia's daughter comes to her battered, she has to look at her own past as she helps her heal. As she focuses on mothering, she becomes aware that she is also woman. After leaving Parker, Callie never thought she would have a sum...
