Derek turned in his chair to look at the door. “Who is that?”
Cleo let herself inside after she knocked, carrying her heavy purse that held her laptop and paperwork. She moved farther inside the condo as she looked into her bag, not seeing us yet.
Derek’s eyes popped open as if he couldn’t believe she was there. “Oh my god! Cleo!” He got off the chair and sprinted.
Cleo turned to see him rushing toward her, her features transfixed in shock. She had no idea he was there because we hadn’t spoken today. She dropped her bag on the rug, not caring about the laptop, and got to her knees just in time to embrace him. “Derek…” She hugged him tightly, squeezing him to her chest just the way I did. One hand cupped the back of his head, and her eyes immediately filled with tears. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too.” His arms were around her neck, and he held her that way for a while.
I sat there, my own eyes getting emotional at their reunion. It was like watching a different version of myself with Derek. She had the same feelings I did, the same tears, the same overwhelming love for that little boy.
When he pulled away, he looked at her face, where her tears were sliding down her cheeks. “Why are you crying, Cleo?”
She sniffed before she smiled. “I’m just so happy to see you.” She pulled him back into her chest and hugged him again. “I thought about you every single day I didn’t see you.” She kissed his forehead before she released her grip.
“Does this mean you’re back?” He turned back to me, looking for confirmation.
I nodded. “Yes.”
He turned back to Cleo. “Yay!” He jumped into her arms again. “That means we can go back to the cabin, go to the movies, I can show you my friends, we can go to the beach house…” He rambled on and on.
But she hung on every word. “I can’t wait to do all those things with you, sweetheart.” She cupped his cheeks before she released him. “I’ve had such a long day, but looking at you makes me forget about all of it.” She sighed loudly as she looked into his features. “I love you…”
“I love you too, Cleo.” He turned back to the table and crawled into his chair so he could finish his dinner.
I walked to her next and bent down to help her pick up the bag she’d dropped. “I hope your laptop is okay.”
She shrugged. “I have everything backed up, so I don’t care.”
I lifted the bag and set it on the couch before I turned to her.
Her cheeks were wet and her eyes were puffy, just like they were when we talked last week. I’d never seen anyone cry so much, which was unexpected since Cleo was so logical most of the time. My hands went to her cheeks, and I wiped the tears away with the pads of my thumbs, feeling the moisture stick to the callused skin.
She smiled as she looked up at me, her makeup ruined, her poise destroyed. “Caught me off guard… I wasn’t expecting to see him.”
“Would your reaction have been any different if you knew he was here?”
After she considered the question, she shook her head. “No…probably not.”
There were many reasons why I fell in love with her, but seeing the way she genuinely loved Derek was one of the bigger ones. It wasn’t a ploy to get my affection. It was real. I could see it in her face right now, the way she broke down once she finally had him back. It was the exact reaction I had when she’d brought him to New York for my birthday. “He asked about you all the time.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
“Well…he called me.”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“When you were in the shower, he called me from your phone.”
I felt like a fool for being outsmarted by a child, but I smiled anyway. “Of course he did…”
“We talked for a while. He asked me not to give up on you.”
My smile faded. “When did this happen?”
“A few days before you wanted to talk to me. He said you were sad…you weren’t the same.”
Looked like everyone noticed, from my five-year-old son to my colleagues. “He’s a smart kid.”
“Yeah, he is.”
My arms circled her waist, and I pulled her in for a hug, letting her rest against my chest, letting her decompress after a long day of taking care of everyone else but herself. Her face leaned against my chin, and I squeezed her lower back. The embrace lasted a long time because it was so comfortable, so right. The touch was satisfying, fulfilling all the emotional desires I’d had for a long time, like affection, intimacy, love.
It was difficult to let her go.