Page 29 of Spicy Nick

“Okay,” I sigh. “I hear you. I get the message. Shutting up now.”

“To answer your question,” Scout continues. “No, I don’t think it was a dream. First because it felt too real. And secondly, because of all the little things that I’ve noticed since I’ve been back, or that have happened over the last few days.”

“Like the roses at the airport,” I say, trying to keep up. I knew there was no way that flower cart should have been there; I knew it!

“Like those roses,” Scout agrees. “And the ones at the diner, and the squabbling couple out at the nursery. Not to mention myplane getting in early, and the wait for my luggage—which was identical both times—and... There were things, okay?”

“Okay. If you say so.”

“Anyway, alternate Oberon…I don’t know how to describe it. But it was awful. I don’t even want to think about it. So many things had gone wrong—worse than I could ever have imagined. Everyone was miserable. Or they’d gotten together with the wrong people and weren’t as happy as they should have been.”

“What people?” I can’t help but ask. “Can you give me an example?”

“Ryan and Sinead,” she answers dryly. “And I know what you’re gonna say.”

“What? That anyone who knows them could have seen that coming? It’s still true, even if I don’t say it.”

“Regardless. Everything was a mess. And it was all my fault. And I couldn’tfixanything!”

“Well, yeah, I’m sure. I bet alternative me wasreallymiserable.”

“You have no idea.”

“Sure I do. Learning that forfive yearsmy paranoia wasn’t rubbing off on you? That must have been brutal.”

“Anyway,” Scout says, hurrying on, ignoring the opening I’d given her—which in itself is worrisome. “The good news is that I learned my lesson. I never have to go back to that reality, or even think about it if I don’t want to. Which I definitely do not. I’m so very grateful for everything we have; and I don’t wantanythingto change that.”

“Same,” I tell her. “We’re a team. And whatever happens, whatever comes next…we got this. We can handle anything as long as we’re together. Right?”

“Right.” Scout nods and smiles, but it’s a watery sort of smile and I can’t help but feel that we’re not out of the woods quite yet.

“So, then what happened?” I ask her.

“Well, then I came home—for real this time. Or I woke from the dream, if that’s what it was, and you were there, and Cole, and Lucy, and…”

“Like the Wizard of Oz,” I say nodding thoughtfully, because wow. I’d nailed that reference, hadn’t I?

“I guess,” Scout agrees. “But, ever since then…I’ve been feeling bad. Because…”

“Because…?” I prompt, as her voice fades away.’’

“Because you weren’t wrong about the past few weeks. I’ve been distracted. And I probablywasacting distant. There were things I wasn’t telling you and…I think we should probably talk about them now.”

“Okay.” I take a deep breath and try for an encouraging smile. “I’m listening.”

“As you’ve probably guessed, I’ve been keeping a secret. But it didn’t start out that way. I hadn’t planned for that to happen. And it’s not because I didn’t trust you. But…it was my decision. I had to decide what I wanted to do. And I didn’t want to burden you, or make you feel responsible for my choices.”

“Okay,” I say once more, feeling faint. This sounds ominous, and I don’t really like it, but “It is what it is, right? And I just want to go on record to say that I will always support whatever decisions you make.”

Scout smiles. “Thank you.” She hesitates for a moment then says, “And now…I think maybe we should exchange Christmas presents.”

“Now?” I ask, more than a little perplexed. “It’s the middle of the night.”

“So? A lot of people exchange presents on Christmas Eve,” my wife points out. “And besides, I think it’ll be better if it’s just the two of us. I don’tthinkyou’re going to be mad, but I’ve been wrong about stuff like that before. And, either way, I really don’tthink we should do this in front of an audience. It’s not fair to you.”

“Okay,” I tell her. I get up from the bed, then reach out a hand to help her up as well. “Let’s go get the presents. We’ll meet back here in… five minutes or so?”

Scout nods. “Okay. It’s a plan.”

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