Page 45 of Business or Pleasure

“Of course.” She shook his outstretched hand. “You have a beautiful home.”

As we exchanged other pleasantries, Alec caught my eye and raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything until a half hour later when he and I went to the kitchen to grab a couple beers.

“Before you say anything,” I said preemptively, “I didn’t ask her out until after she finished with her part of my project. And to be honest, waiting was more at her insistence than forethought on my part.”

“And your promise about not flirting with my employee?” he asked, tone unreadable.

“I couldna help myself.”

After a momentary pause, he sighed and nodded, “All right.” He took a long drink and then added, “It’s not as if I haven’t done something similar. Lumen was, after all, my daughter’s teacher. Not exactly the behavior encouraged at PTA meetings.”

“May I ask a personal question?” At his nod, I continued, “How did you do it? How do you do it, I suppose, would be more accurate. How do you come from such different worlds and make your relationship work?”

He leaned back against the counter, his expression serious. I appreciated that he was taking his time to think about an answer rather than just giving me some flippant cliché.

“We made our own world,” he said finally. “We decided that what we had, this family we were making, was more important than any obstacle society could throw our way. We took the things that were good and true from the individual lives we’d led up to that point, and we found that our principles were the same. The things we wanted for our future were the same.”

I nodded slowly, absorbing what he said. It made sense, and the idea of creating something where I took only the best of how I’d been raised appealed to me. Only one glaring problem could prevent it.

I didn’t have the familial support my friend did.

“Should you ever need me, I’ll be here.” His small smile made me think he knew what I was thinking. “For whatever you need. Even if you did exactly what I asked you not to do.”

“Harlee’s not in trouble with you, is she?” I asked, kicking myself for not making that my first question.

He shook his head. “If she makes you happy, I won’t get in the way of that. Plus, I know consent wasn’t an issue with you, which is a big reason for the policy I have.”

“Thank you.” I reached out and squeezed his shoulder.

After another couple minutes, we rejoined the party, and I put aside the solemnity of the conversation to enjoy myself. While I met and spent time with a few of Alec’s siblings before, I never attended any of his family gatherings. The differences between his family and mine had never been more pronounced than they were now.

As Evanne and Soleil passed out cake, Harlee and I settled on an overstuffed loveseat. I put my arm around her shoulders, and she leaned against me, both gestures so natural that we could have been doing the same thing for years. Having her here at this family thing – even though it wasn’t my family – felt right. From the moment I met Alec's parents years ago, I saw what I always wished my family had been.

As I thought about what it would be like for Harlee to go to something my family had put on, I felt uneasy. And put on was definitely the most accurate description.

“Do you want to go?”

I didn’t realize that Harlee was talking to me until she put her hand on my arm. “Pardon?”

“You were frowning, and I thought you might want to leave,” she explained.

“No.” I squeezed her hand. “It was a passing thought.” I studied her features. “Unless you want to leave.”

She shook her head. “I’m having fun.” A wistful smile curved her lips. “Growing up, it was always just me and my mom, then just me and my dad.” She gestured at the scene. "I never really got to have this sort of thing."

“I have four siblings and never had this either.” The admission slipped out before I could stop it. At her questioning look, I added, “My family is…proper. Birthday parties are an Event.”

“I can hear the capital ‘E’ in that.” Her thumb soothed my skin. “Even when you were little?”

I nodded. “Every generation has a point where they receive the lecture about the responsibilities that come with our family legacy. Part of that is the sacrifice of certain ‘normal’ experiences.”

Harlee gave me a searching look and then suddenly stood. “Come with me.”

I took the hand she offered and followed her out of the main room. Despite my curiosity, I didn’t ask where we were going. I’d find out soon enough, and a part of me liked letting her take the lead.

Down a short set of stairs, around a corner, into a shadowy alcove, and then a turn through a doorway. She flipped on the light, and I saw that she led us to what she would call a bathroom.

“How did you find this?” I asked as she closed the door behind us.

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