Page 102 of A Return For Ren

She watched as he drained the potatoes in the sink and found her masher. “Did you see the dessert in the fridge?”

“I did,” he said. “I’m going to assume you picked that up when I was gone?”

“I ran out for it. We said no gifts, but I thought considering your day today, dessert would be welcome.”

“It’s always welcome. I might have gotten you something. Don’t be mad.”

She frowned. “I know you. I’m not surprised. What is it?”

He always went overboard on holidays when they were dating before. She expected it at Christmas again and was surprised that he didn’t do as much as she thought. She was actually happy and it told her he listened to her.

“Flowers. I figured, all things considered, it’s traditional enough and easy. I happen to know someone who put together a pretty bouquet for you. They are in the living room.”

She laughed. Zara did love getting flowers and having them around the house but found she didn’t have them as often as she used to.

Willow used to bring her flowers all the time that she picked. She sure did miss that.

“Wow,” she said, going into the living room. “That is one big bouquet of flowers. And it’s bright and cheerful. Who put it together?”

“Poppy,” he said. “The store was busy, as I figured it would be. I wasn’t thinking and went in the wrong door and ended up in the storefront. Poppy saw me and I told her what I was looking for.”

“Poppy never liked working in the flower shop,” she said. “This looks like what she’d do. She’s all over the place in what looks good rather than flowers that work better with others.”

“I was happy to get in and out fast. Dinner is the second part and, well, I thought maybe we could have some time together tonight too.”

“That was on my mind. Let’s get dinner on the table. I’ll get food for Max ready and then we can talk about what happened with Thomas today.”

By the time they were sitting at the table, Max getting some mashed potatoes along with his jarred food, Ren said, “Thomas is going to look into Michelle and Rachelle for me.”

“Look into what?” she asked. She listened while he relayed what Thomas had told him. “I wouldn’t have thought of the survivor benefits either. It didn’t occur to me about a life insurance policy. I guess I assumed that if she had one you would have gotten it.”

“I wasn’t thinking of any of those things months ago. For all I knew she could have lost her job and not had one. I called social security today and I’ve got an appointment tomorrow morning to drop off all the paperwork and sign a few things. It will take a few months, but I don’t care. I’ll set up a trust or something for Max by then and invest the money. I’m not worried about it.”

“What are you going to do about Michele though? Just wait for her to get in touch again?”

“That is what Thomas suggested. I want to see her next move. I also want to know more about her.”

“It’s going to be hard if she’s a nice person and wants to get to know her grandson. Will you let her?”

He sighed. “I don’t know. Would it be horrible to say no? It’s not like she lives around here. I’m not going to let her take him without me.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t provide information on Max,” she said gently. “Pictures and updates. Cards. Things like that.”

“I know. I don’t want to be a dick about it. But he’s mine.”

She smiled. “He is your son. But he has another side of the family too. You have to make those decisions, not me. But it’s best to at least have the information. Maybe years from now Max might want to know his mother’s side of the family. Do you want to make that decision for him when he’s old enough to voice his own opinions? I’d think you of all people would know what it’s like when you don’t feel as if you’re being heard.”

He frowned at her. “Point taken.”

“I know you don’t want to hear that,” she said.

“There are a lot of things in life I don’t want to hear, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t. Why don’t we end that now though. There isn’t much more to say and I want to try to put it out of my mind as much as I can. I want to focus on you tonight.”

“I like the sound of that,” she said.

They got through their meal. Max had his bath and bottle before bed, then Ren laid him down.

Zara was on the couch under a blanket when Ren came downstairs.