‘Dad, your game is off,’ I teased. Our regular chess match was being interrupted by the Bears game.
‘And yours is even worse. Anyway, multitasking isn’t my strong suit now in my old age, but I think we can turn off the Bears. They’re going to lose, and I don’t need to see that.’
I turned off the TV. That had always been Dad’s credo: he supported the Bears but didn’t need to waste his time watching when they were losing.
‘Now, Dad, about Thanksgiving…’
He looked up, freezing in the act of moving his pawn. ‘Is this when you tell me you’re going to make plans with a woman worth your time and ditch my old ass?’
I frowned. ‘No, I was going to ask if you want us to start dinner earlier than usual.’
He looked at the board. ‘That woman you went to the lake house a few weeks ago is still around?’
I stared at him. ‘How do you even know about that?’
‘You told Dora. You don’t think she keeps secret from me, do you?’ He tsked. ‘Son, you’ve got a thing or two to learn. She tells me everything.’
‘Got it.”
‘So, she’s still around?’
‘Yes,’ I said without getting into details. Reese and I had been spending a lot of time together since then.
‘Good. I want to meet her.’
I hadn’t counted on this. I was sure Reese had her own thing going on for Thanksgiving, so it hadn’t even crossed my mind to ask her to spend it with us.
‘You want to have Reese here for Thanksgiving?’ I double-checked.
‘Yes, I want to meet the woman who’s got my son so wrapped around her little finger that he’s losing the game even when half my mind was on the Bears. It’s a good omen. When I first met your mother, I forgot when meetings were supposed to start or what they were about. Let me tell you, my work colleagues were up in arms.’
I had never, not once, heard my father talk about my mother since she passed away.
‘Tell me about her,’ he insisted.
I spoke about Reese while we finished the game. My mind was racing. I wasn’t a genius, but I was 100 percent certain she already had plans with her family. We hadn’t been going out for a long time, but instinctively, I knew she would fit in here with us. So I came up with a plan, but I was only going to put it in motion after I left Dad’s house.
He beat me, of course, but I was enjoying watching him win. He was in an excellent mood afterward. We had an early dinner with Dora, and I only left after they started on his evening routine.
As soon as I stepped outside, I called Reese, still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that he wanted to meet her. She answered just as I got into the car.
‘Hi. How’s your dad?’
‘Happy. He won.”
‘Oh. Then that’s a good thing, right?’
‘Yeah. But he got suspicious and concluded that I’d played like shit because I was thinking about you.’
‘Oh.’
‘And he was right.’
‘Huh. Really? What else did he say?’ Her tone turned playful.
‘He’d like to meet you, and I was thinking, what are you doing on Thanksgiving?’
‘There’s a huge dinner at Aunt Lena’s house.’
As I’d figured. ‘I have a proposition for you.’
‘I’m listening.’
‘Dad and I usually have lunch together on Thanksgiving. I can make it a brunch, even, if that works better for you. And afterward, you’re free to go to your family’s event.’
‘I’d love that,’ she exclaimed.
I’d have given anything to see her right then. I liked the way her eyes lit up when she was happy. In fact, her entire body changed.
‘But on one condition,’ she continued.
‘Of course.’
‘Would you like to join me in the evening? The whole family will be there. Your dad is welcome, too, of course.”
‘He will flatly refuse. But won’t there be too many people if I come?” I asked.
‘Trust me, one more is really not going to matter. Everyone will be happy to see you.’
‘Will it make you happy, Reese?’
‘Of course.’
I smiled. ‘Then I’ll be there.’
***
On Thanksgiving, I was at Dad’s house at six thirty in the morning to give the turkey plenty of time to cook until lunchtime.
‘Dora, how do I look?’ Dad asked after I set the table. He’d dressed up smarter than I’d seen him in a while, wearing a dress shirt and a tie too.
‘You look very dashing. If you weren’t fifteen years my senior, I’d try my chances.’ Dora winked at him.
‘Fifteen? Try fifty, girl.’
She frowned. ‘You’re not that old.’
‘No, but I feel like it.’
I was glad Dad and Dora were getting along. We were lucky to have found a caregiver as good as her.
When the doorbell rang, I went straight to open it. As I passed Dora, she whispered, “He insisted on dressing up for Reese.”
I figured something was going on to that effect, and it made me grin.
When I opened the front door, I burst out laughing. I could barely see Reese.
‘What’s all this you’re carrying?’ I asked as I took the boxes from her.
‘I brought a lot of sweets and a pie from Liz’s bakery. Everything she makes is delicious.’
I kissed her over the boxes but couldn’t deepen it as much as I wanted because Dad was right behind us.
I turned around. ‘Dad, Dora, this is Reese. Reese, Dad and Dora.’
‘Hi, I’m so pleased to meet you,’ Reese said.
Dad shook her hand. ‘I’m Theodore. Glad to meet you, girl. Very nice of you to stop by today.’
‘Of course. I couldn’t miss it.’
‘I hope you’re hungry, because Dom’s cooked up a storm.’
‘I am. I purposefully didn’t have any breakfast, and I’m extremely glad that I managed not to taste any of the goodies in these boxes.”
‘I like you,’ Dad said. He was usually terse, but there was a subtle change in him since she’d stepped into the house.
‘Come on and give me a tour of the kitchen,’ Reese said, ‘and put me to work.’
‘Nonsense,’ Dad replied. ‘You’re going to keep me company. Dominic’s got everything under control, doesn’t he?’
Reese looked at me in surprise, and I laughed. ‘Dad likes to boss people around.’
She winked at me. ‘I guess I know where you get that from. How about this?’ Reese said. ‘I’ll chat with you while I help Dom.’
I kissed the side of her head, putting a hand on her waist. ‘There’s no need, Reese. Just relax with Dad. I have everything under control. I’ve done this a few times.’
‘All right, then. That means I’m all yours, Theodore.”
She sat with Dad in the living room while I went back into the kitchen. The turkey was ready on time, and Reese did help me set the table. ‘This looks so fancy. I’ve got to take a few pictures.’ She started to reach for her phone but stopped. ‘Actually, never mind.’
‘What were you about to say?’ I asked.
‘That I could send them to Aunt Lena, but then she’s going to be jealous that I’m eating turkey before I taste hers.’
I smiled at her. ‘Come on, let’s all sit down and see if it tastes as good as it looks.’
The four of us gathered around the table and chatted away during the meal. It pleased me to see Dad and Reese getting along so well. Dora kept smiling as Dad opened up and became more animated.
Once we finished the food, Dad looked at Dora. ‘Is there any program on TV that’s showing Christmas lights around the city?’
‘Not that I know of,’ she replied.
‘I have an idea,’ Reese said, standing a bit straighter. A wave of her perfume reached me. It was a new one, but it was just as addictive as the last one. Slowly, I was starting to realize it didn’t matter what perfume she was wearing—I was addicted to her. ‘Why don’t we go out and see some lights? The city is full of them.’
Dad frowned. ‘What’s an old bag of bones like me going to do out in the freezing cold?’
‘We can always go to Light up the Lake at Navy Pier. That’s indoors, and it’s gorgeous.’ Reese sounded so enthusiastic. I hadn’t had the time to warn her that my father only used to go on Christmas lights strolls with my mother. ‘I’m sure we’ll have fun.’
Dad glanced at me and then at Dora. ‘You make a good case, Reese. I didn’t think about indoor lights. I say let’s go.’
Dora jerked her head back, her shock mirroring mine. Not in a million years had I expected Dad to actually want to go.
‘I can put things away and leave now, give you some family time, if you want,’ Dora offered.
Dad cut his eyes to her. ‘Tell the truth, girl. Do you want to have free time, or are you just doing it because you think you’ll be in the way?’
‘As you know, my family isn’t in Chicago, so I don’t have any plans at all. But if the three of you want to spend time together…’
‘Nonsense,’ Dad said, waving his hand. ‘You and I can move around at a distance from these two so we’re not a third wheel.’
‘We’ll all have fun together,’ Reese said, smiling from ear to ear.
Dora stood up. ‘All right, then, let’s get you ready,’ she told Dad. I was still waiting for him to change his mind abruptly and make up an excuse, but none of that happened as they went into the bedroom.
Reese turned to me once we were alone. ‘Anything wrong? You’re frowning.’
‘I’m surprised,’ I admitted. ‘My father hasn’t left the house in a long time.’
‘You told me that. But you also said he used to like Christmas strolls. That’s why I looked up where we could go indoors.’
‘Wait, you researched this?’
She nodded. ‘Yeah. I like Christmas markets, but I haven’t been to an indoor one for some time.”
‘You’re unbelievable, you know that?’
She smiled sheepishly and dipped her head. I pulled her onto my lap, wanting even more body contact.
‘Hey, what are you doing?’ she said, looking over her shoulder. ‘They could come back any second now.’
‘No, that’s going to take a while.’ I kissed up her neck, and she relaxed in my arms. That was always my favorite moment, when she went from composed to being putty in my hands.
She smirked. ‘You can’t even behave when you’re in your dad’s house, huh?’
‘I can’t stop wanting to be closer to you, to touch you.’
‘I like what I’m hearing,’ she murmured.
A sound startled us both. Reese jumped out of my lap and grabbed some of the plates for no reason at all. The door opened, and Dora stepped into the room.
‘We’re almost ready,’ she began. Then her eyes fell on Reese, who was red in the face, clutching the plates tightly. ‘You don’t have to clean up. I’ll do it afterward.’
‘It’s just a few plates,’ Reese said quickly. ‘We’ll manage.’
I got up, too, taking the last plate and the four mugs.
‘We’ll be ready in a few minutes,’ Dora said. ‘We should take two cars, right?’
I’d bought Dora a car that could comfortably seat my dad’s wheelchair. Even though he hadn’t wanted to leave the house, I always wanted him to have that option.
‘Sure,’ I said, and she headed back into the bedroom with Dad.
Reese and I carried everything to the kitchen. I set the mugs and the plate next to the sink, where she was already rinsing the others.
I pushed my hip into hers and grinned at her.
‘No,’ she said under her breath. ‘See? I knew something like that would happen and we’d get caught.’
That made me laugh. ‘Reese, we’re grown-ups. There is no ‘catching’ us.’
‘I always feel I’m doing something wrong when I’m under a parent’s roof or my aunt and uncle’s.’
‘Fine,’ I said, kissing the back of her head, then her temple, and then tugging at the lobe of her ear. I could never stop when it came to Reese. I always needed more. ‘We’ll be on our best behavior.’
Dora had Dad ready to go just as we finished the dishes, and we piled into our respective vehicles. We arrived at Navy Pier half an hour later. I parked first, then waited for Dora and Dad. She didn’t need much help getting Dad out, as the car did most of the heavy lifting.
Reese went straight to him once he was settled. ‘They’ve got a lot of amazing things. You’re going to enjoy it, and so am I.’
Dad looked up at her with a smile. I hadn’t seen him this happy in a long time. But that was the effect Reese had on people. She had an inner warmth and joy and goodness that spread around without her even trying.
I couldn’t understand how Malcolm never appreciated her. How could anyone have this woman by their side and not be madly in love?
That was the exact moment that I knew. Here, in the dim parking lot, watching Dad and Reese laugh together, I knew I loved her.
And I’d never ever feel about anyone else the way I felt about Reese.
