Chapter Nine

Gavin

"How's she doing?" I ask my grandpa, keeping my voice down so my co-workers don't hear. Henry's stayed at my mom's house for two nights now, and every morning I call and check in with him.

"She's fine," he says. I can barely hear him above the sound of power saws and hammers banging. 

"Can you go somewhere quieter?"

"I'll have to go outside if you want quiet. And there's a crew out there too, working on the sign."

"It's gotta be quieter than where you're at."

He goes outside and the hammer sounds are replaced by street noise, which is a little quieter.

"So what do you mean by 'fine'?" I ask. "Did you see her last night or did you stay in your room?"

"I saw her on my way to the kitchen. We spoke briefly and that was it. She was in a hurry to go somewhere. She didn't say where but she was dressed up more than normal."

"And she didn't seem like she'd been drinking?"

"No. I don't want to get your hopes up, Gavin, but I think it might stick this time. She seems to be preoccupied with something and whatever it is, it's keeping her mind off the desire to drink."

"And you haven't seen any bottles lying around?"

"I looked around the house after she left last night and didn't see anything."

"Did you check in her bathroom? She used to hide bottles behind the towels in the linen closet. Or under her sink."

"Gavin, I'm not going to spy on your mother. Doing that doesn't help her. If she truly wants to get better, she has to do it herself. And I think she's doing that. I honestly think she hasn't touched the stuff since she's been back. She looks better than I've seen her in years."

"I think so too. I'm just worried something will happen to make her go back to it."

"There's nothing we can do about that. We just have to hope she stays on the path she's on. Gavin, I should get going. I've got a lot to get done."

"What are you working on today?"

"Kate has me hanging pot racks in the kitchen. After that, I'm not sure. She's got a list a mile long."

"Thanks again for all your help."

"It's my pleasure. And spending all this time with your girlfriend has me liking her even more. You need to marry that girl, and soon."

"She's not ready for that. She's told me that a million times."

"Then at least give her a ring. Go to that jewelry store where I got your grandmother's ring. They have the best variety and it's family owned."

I smile. "Already went there."

"You got a ring?" He sounds surprised.

"Got it in May. I was going to ask her but then she got busy with the restaurant and I decided to wait."

"When are you going to give it to her?"

"I'm not sure yet. I at least want to wait until the restaurant is open."

"You kids and your obsession with waiting for the right time. Right time to get married. Right time to have a kid. Right time to get a house. There is no right time. Just do it and don't look back."

I chuckle. "I'll take that into consideration. I really need to go before my boss yells at me."

"Speaking of bosses, mine's coming this way and she looks ornery."

I hear Kate laughing in the background. "I'm not ornery. I came to tell you I brewed a fresh pot of coffee if you want to come inside and have some while we go over the list."

"Let me say goodbye to your husband and I'll be right in," he says.

She laughs again. "He's not my husband. Hi, Gavin!" I hear her yell. "Love you!"

"Love you too," I say, but she can't hear me.

"We'll talk later," Henry says.

"Yeah. Bye." I end the call and see Jett in the hall coming toward my cubicle. I'm at my regular office, not the campaign office, so I'm surprised to see him here.

"Gavin," he says, smiling. "I need to talk to you. Let's grab a conference room."

Why does he want to talk to me? And why do we need a conference room? Why can't he just tell me here? Did I do something wrong?

"Is this about the website?" I ask when we're seated in the conference room.

"No. It's about your future on the campaign." His smile is gone and he's very serious now. Maybe I screwed up and he's firing me. If so, part of me would be relieved because my work on the campaign is bad for my relationship with Kate. But the other part of me is really starting to like what I'm doing and wants to keep working on it.

"What about it?" I ask.

"I want you to be more involved. So far, you're doing a great job and really making a difference. The website is getting more traffic and we're seeing more interaction on social media, especially among the younger demographic. The team you've been working with at the office says you're smart, a hard worker, and have good ideas. You're a born leader, Gavin. That was clear to me when I met you and it's even more clear now."

"Thank you," I say, not sure where he's going with this. I don't know what he means by 'more involved' and it's making me nervous.

"I want you to work for me four days a week. I've talked with Peter about this and he's fine with it. In fact, he encouraged it."

"Senator Falkin, I—"

"Call me Jett. We're friends now. At least I think we are." He gives me that toothy grin of his.

"Jett, I appreciate the opportunity, but I really want experience drafting proposals and this job gives me that experience. Although I like doing the campaign work, it's not what I see myself doing in the future."

"If you like the campaign work, why wouldn't you make it your career?"

How do I explain this in a way that's not insulting to him or what he does for a living?

"The lifestyle just didn't fit me," I say. "I want to get married. Have a family. I don't want to work all the time and always be on the road."

It's a fair answer. He can't fault me for wanting a personal life.

"You can do all that and still work on campaigns. I have plenty of people on my staff who have families. You should talk to them. See how they make it work."

"I'm sure I could make it work. I just don't want that to be my life. I don't want to be traveling all the time."

"But as of now, you're single, which means you can work on the campaign. And you'll still be working for Peter, just not as much as before."

He pauses, expecting me to agree to his offer, but I keep quiet so he continues.

"I don't think you understand how high-profile this re-election campaign is going to be. Being a staff member on this campaign will expose you to a lot of people. People in the media. Policy makers. Influencers. The type of people who make change happen. The type of people you need to be connected with if you really want to make a difference."

He's persuasive. I'll give him that. He's saying exactly what I want to hear. And although he's probably exaggerating a little, part of what he's saying is true. It is a high-profile campaign that would connect me with a lot of influential people. But I'd be doing what I told Kate I would never do. Accepting this job will mean arguing with Kate again, but maybe if I explained my reasoning and how it'll help our future down the road, she'd understand.

"What do you say?" Jett asks. "Are you on board?"

I hesitate. What do I do? Take it and possibly harm my relationship with Kate? Or turn it down and keep doing a job that's monotonous and boring and doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

"Count me in," I say, before my mind has a chance to catch up.

"Great!" Jett stands up. "I'll let Peter know. We should all go to lunch to celebrate. But not today. I have to catch a plane back to Washington." He walks to the door, opens it, then turns back and smiles. "You made the right decision, Gavin. You're on your way to a bright future."

He leaves and goes down the hall while I remain in the conference room wondering what just happened and if I really did make the right decision or if I just made a huge mistake.

***

When I get home that night, I find Kate making dinner. She's stirring something on the stove and I come up behind her and wrap my arms around her. "Hey, beautiful."

"Hi." She lifts her head for a kiss.

"You didn't have to make dinner," I tell her. "You've been cooking all day. I was going to take you out."

"I wanted to stay in." She turns to face me. "Last night we didn't get a chance to..." she smiles, "...you know...do what we talked about earlier."

Lowering my mouth to her neck, I leave soft kisses just below her ear. "How soon will dinner be done?"

"A few minutes." She closes her eyes as I continue to kiss her. "You need to stop that."

"Why?" I run my hand down the back of her skirt and lift up the fabric to caress the soft skin on the back of her thigh.

"Gavin," she breathes. "Dinner. It'll burn."

"Who cares?" 

"We'll do this later." Her head falls back as my lips move up her throat.

"I think you want to do it now," I say, as I feel how wet she is. I shove her panties aside and slip my finger in her.

"Hold on." She turns the stove off, then slides the skillet off the burner. "Okay, let's go."

I move her away from the stove to the counter across from it. I lift her up and hurry to undo my belt.

"Gavin, we're not doing it here."

"Why not?" I kiss her. "We haven't done it in the kitchen yet. We said we'd do it in every room. And this way, you can keep an eye on dinner."

She puts her hand on my chest, holding me back. "If we do it now, can we do it again later? In the bedroom?"

I smile as I kiss her. "You really have to ask? You know I'll do it whenever and wherever you want. Consider this an appetizer."

She smiles and yanks her tank top off, then quickly undoes the buttons on my dress shirt.

"I love your body," she says, her eyes going to my chest.

"I love yours more." I shove her skirt up and flick open the front clasp on her bra. As she takes it off, I suck her nipple into my mouth, teasing it with my tongue.

"Gavin," she moans, pulling me closer and wrapping her legs around me.

Moving her panties aside, I push inside her, then grab her hips, keeping hold of her as she moves with me.

"You feel so damn good," I whisper in her ear.

She loves it when I say things like that. It turns her on and makes her come faster, so I say it again as my hands grip her tighter and my hips thrust into her.

I'm ready whenever she is, the rising tension ready to burst. When I feel her releasing, I let myself go and we ride it out together. I'm always amazed how compatible we are. I've never been so in sync with someone.

I take a moment to breathe, then gently kiss her before lowering her back to the floor.

"I love you," I whisper, looking her in the eye.

"I love you too." She gives me that beautiful smile that instantly attracted me to her when we met and was one of the many reasons I fell in love with her.

"That was a good appetizer," she says, putting her tank top on.

"And later we'll have dessert." I give her a kiss. "I'm going to go change and then I'll help with dinner."

She returns to the stove while I go to our room. The anxious feeling I had on the train ride home is back now because I know I have to tell Kate about my job. I was going to tell her as soon as I got home but then I hugged her and she kissed me and before I knew it we were having sex. 

Now I have to go in there and tell her. I've practiced it in my head so I know what to say. I just don't want to say it. She's going to be mad, or at the very least, disappointed. I don't know which is worse. Probably disappointment. I hate disappointing her.

"Gavin, dinner's ready," I hear her say.

"Be there in a minute." I need to tell her before dinner. If I don't, I won't be able to eat. Then again, when she finds out, it'll likely start an argument and we won't end up eating anyway.

When I get to the table, she has our food plated and candles lit.

"I wanted a romantic dinner," she says, pointing to the candles. We almost never light the candles. They just sit there on the table as decoration.

"It looks great." I take a seat. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She kisses my cheek, then sits across from me. I watch as she picks up her fork and starts eating.

"Kate, I need to—"

"Did I tell you my mom's getting here tomorrow?" she says, interrupting me.

"Um, I thought you said Friday."

"I did, but she got an earlier flight so now she'll be in tomorrow around six. I thought we could pick her up and take her to dinner, then drive her to New Haven. She'll be using her friend's car while she's here, but it's at the apartment she'll be staying at so she needs a ride."

"Yeah, that's fine." I need to just say it. I can't concentrate on what she's saying when my mind is on what I need to tell her.

"My mom didn't really say what she's going to do while she's here. She offered to help with the restaurant but I'm not sure what to have her do. Maybe she could retest some recipes. Make sure I got the measurements right."

Kate continues to talk but I'm not sure what she's saying.

"Gavin?" She nudges my foot under the table. "Are you awake over there?"

"Sorry, I'm just tired."

She smiles. "You weren't tired a few minutes ago."

"The sex relaxed me. Now I'm tired."

"Too tired to do it again later?"

After I tell her this, we won't be doing that. She'll probably make me sleep on the couch.

"Gavin?"

I never answered her. I keep spacing out. I need to pay attention.

"I'm never too tired for that," I say.

"Well, if dessert is as good as the appetizer, I can't wait." She shoots a smile my way as she cuts into her chicken.

She's being really flirtatious tonight, wanting sex, more than once. She used to always be like that, but the past few weeks she's been so consumed by the restaurant that sex has been last on her to-do list.

I think having my grandfather help out at the restaurant has eased her stress. It sounds like he's also helping manage her work crew, which was taking up a lot of her time.

"Did Henry say how it's going at your mom's house?" Kate asks. "I was going to ask him but then thought it'd be better if you did."

"I talked to him this morning. He said it's going fine. My mom's been gone a lot so he hasn't seen her much."

"Where does she go?"

"I don't know. Probably to dinner parties or other social events. Now that she's back in town, I'm sure she's getting invited to that stuff again."

"Do you know if she's..." her voice trails off.

"Drinking? No. But my grandpa doesn't think she is and I don't either. I'm telling you, Kate, when she's sober, she's like a different person. She actually seems like she's there when I'm talking to her instead of having that distant look in her eyes. And she responds right away when you say something instead of having to stop and think. I used to have to keep repeating myself because she couldn't remember anything. Even when she wasn't drunk, she still wasn't quite right."

"Maybe it'll stick this time." Kate reaches over and squeezes my hand. "Maybe the rehab worked and she'll quit for good. If my dad can do it, your mom can too."

"Have you heard from your dad?"

She sits back. "Not since we had dinner. He has a ton of new clients. He's been working nonstop so I haven't called him. I'll text him tomorrow and see how he's doing."

"You think he'll hang out with your mom at all while she's here?"

"Probably not. They only talk or see each other when they have to, so I think it's safe to say they won't be hanging out together. But they'll only be living a few miles apart so they might run into each other at the grocery store." She laughs. "I still can't believe your mom was flirting with my dad."

"I can't believe you were worried about it. You know your dad would never date her."

"I know. I overreacted. I'd just never seen your mom flirt before so I kind of panicked when I saw her flirting with my dad. But I still don't know why she did it."

I need to tell Kate about my job. I can't keep stalling.

"Kate, I need to tell you something." I set my fork on my plate.

"Go ahead." She takes a drink of her water.

"So you know how I've been—"

Her phone rings. It's on the table next to her and she has the ringer turned up. It's really loud.

"It's Megan," she says, lowering the volume. "She called earlier and I was too busy to talk and forgot to call her back." She gets up. "Go ahead and eat. I have to talk to her. I'll be right back."

Ten minutes later, she's still on the phone, and when she finally ends the call, she tells me Megan's in town and wants Kate to go to a movie. I tell her to go and that I'll clean up dinner. I know Kate misses Megan, and after all the hours Kate's put in at work, she could use a night off. She kisses me goodbye and promises we'll have 'dessert' later when she gets home.

I didn't get to tell her my news and now I'm wondering if maybe I should wait. Because honestly, I really don't know what I'll be doing for Senator Falkin so maybe I should wait until I know for sure and then tell Kate. Besides, I won't be working for him full-time, just four days a week.

So there's really no rush to tell Kate. I can tell her later. I'd rather not tell her at all, but we swore we'd never keep secrets. So I'll tell her. Just not now. Not until I have to.