A Curve in the Road(76)

“What happened? The suspense is killing me.”

I glance up at the sky, then give Nathan a full recap of everything Zack and I talked about. It takes me a while to get through it all, and by the time I’m done, Nathan and I have taken a seat on a bench overlooking the water.

“It sounds like he took it well,” Nathan says, relaxing his arm along the back of the bench. “You must feel so good about that, Abbie. It must be a huge relief.”

“It is.” I tilt my head to the side to rest it on his shoulder. He rubs the back of my neck and kisses the top of my head. I remain there for a moment with my eyes closed, relishing his calm, comforting presence.

I inhale deeply and sit up straight again. “I’m glad he took it well, but it’s probably going to take some time for him to fully process it. He was disappointed in his dad, which makes me feel proud, actually—that he has a sense of honor and knows how important it is to be faithful in a marriage.”

“He sounds like a great kid, Abbie.”

“He definitely is.”

Above us and around us, seagulls call out to one another as they soar over the fishing boats moored at the docks. I breathe in the salty scent of the harbor and want desperately to reach for Nathan’s hand and hold it, because I feel joyful and enraptured, but something holds me back. Shyness, I suppose. It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a man like this. Life with Alan was so comfortable for so many years. There were never any feelings of nervousness between us physically.

I realize it’s been ages since I’ve been touched.

“So what will you do now?” Nathan asks.

I let out a deep breath. “Somehow, I’ll have to figure out how to take the next step, because Zack wants to meet Paula’s son, but he’s back at school now. I’ll have to contact her, I suppose, and arrange a time. Zack has midterms coming up, but he said he didn’t want to wait until Christmas. I told him I’d be happy to fly him home on points for the long weekend in November, if he wants.”

Nathan does the very thing I was tempted to do just now. He reaches for my hand, turns it over in his, and studies my open palm. “I think you’re doing the right thing, Abbie.”

I feel a warm glow inside me. “Yes, I think so too. It feels good to finally have everything out in the open with Zack. I feel closer to him now—like he knows the real me, not just the perfect parent I always tried to be in his eyes.”

Except that I haven’t shared everything with Zack. He knows nothing about what’s happening here at this moment, between Nathan and me.

One step at a time, I tell myself.

“I’m glad you called me,” Nathan says, raising my hand to his lips and kissing the back of it.

Light from the setting sun reflects in the blue of his eyes, and I feel an intense wave of happiness. I sense that he feels it too, and we lean toward each other. Our foreheads touch. We sit like that for a blissful moment, eyes closed, our hands entwined. My heart swells with yearning.

There is a tremor inside me, the beginnings of a sea change that I am more than ready to welcome into my life. I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this will be an exciting and satisfying new journey.

Nathan’s lips touch mine in a deep and sultry kiss, and I melt at the sensation of his hand gently cupping the rim of my jaw. All my senses begin to hum. I feel as if I’ve known this man forever and I’ve been waiting for him. For this day.

We slowly draw back. The corner of his mouth curls up in a small grin that fills me with delight.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a very long time,” he says.

“Me too,” I reply breathlessly.

“Really? I wasn’t sure.”

I nod my head with exaggeration. “Oh, you can be sure, Nathan. Very sure.”

He gives me that dazzling smile I love. It makes me feel like a schoolgirl again.

“Okay then,” he says, still grinning.

We sit back and hold hands like a couple of teenagers, until Winston gets restless on the end of his leash.

“I think he wants to go forth and sniff something.” I laugh as I allow him to pull me to my feet.

Nathan stands up as well and walks with us. The sun is just setting, and the pink-and-blue sky is spectacular over the western horizon. The air is fragrant with the saltiness of the sea mixed with the scent of fallen leaves, and I breathe it all in, every last gorgeous bit of it.

A few weeks later, I meet Zack at the airport at noon on a Saturday because he has an important dinner engagement that evening—at the home of Paula Sheridan and her mother.

I called to let Paula know that Zack was interested in meeting her son. She was overjoyed to hear it, so I paid them a visit to meet the boy myself and discuss when Zack should come.

What a surprise it was to meet Paula’s son and feel such joy when I held him in my arms. He was a sweet baby, and he reminded me of Zack at that age. But why wouldn’t he? They were half brothers.

And yet their lives would be so very different. Zack grew up with a father who loved him deeply from the moment he took his first breath.

Adam would never know his father.

And Alan would never get to meet this beautiful child of his.

I bounced gently at the knees and listened to Adam coo. Then it all came rushing back—the tremendous delights and challenges of motherhood—and I couldn’t help but feel happy for Paula, despite everything.