Page 163 of Blind Prophet

“Are you okay?” The concern in her eyes reminds me how perceptive she’s always been—perhaps why I fell into the habit of not speaking my thoughts. She seemed to understand without words.

I lift her hand and press a kiss to her ring finger. “One day,” I say, meaning it as both a question and a promise.

“My rings are in my jewelry box back home.”

“Mine is with my cufflinks in Colorado.”

“We can?—”

I stop her with a finger over her lips.

“We will. One day. I promised you we’ll take it day by day, and I intend to fulfill my promise.”

She flattens her fingers over my chest, smoothing the holiday plaid flannel shirt she picked for me to wear today.

“I thought, maybe, we could give your mom a call?” Caroline’s voice is gentle, tentative.

Something tightens in my chest. My mother. The woman I met for the first time just days ago, after a lifetime of believing she abandoned me.

“It’s Christmas,” she adds when I don’t immediately respond. “We can call her together.”

“She has her own family. I’m sure she's busy with them.” The excuse sounds hollow even to my ears.

“She’d love for us to call. I told her we might.”

“Caroline…” I start to protest, but those pleading blue eyes make resistance futile.

“We don’t have a relationship.” It’s the truth, but saying it aloud feels like admitting defeat.

“No, but that's the funny thing about relationships. They build over time. And they start with a conversation.” Her fingers brush my cheek. “She never stopped loving you, even when she couldn’t reach you.”

The words shouldn’t hit, but they do. I pull Caroline tight against me, grateful for her solidity while everything else in my world has shifted.

“You really want this, don’t you?”

She nods, with her upper teeth sinking into her lower lip. It’s a look I’ve never said no to.

“All right. Let’s do it.”

“Mom has a list of cookies we need to make to give to the neighbors. Why don’t we do that, and after we finish, we’ll call. I’ll text your mom to coordinate a time.”

“Okay. Make sure she doesn’t feel obligated. She shouldn’t miss out on time with her family.”

“Dorian. You’re her family, too. You’re her son. She loves you. And she always will.”

Man, saying it like that stirs emotions I’m too old to feel.

“We can call your dad, too.”

“Nah, we’ll see him on our way back.” I can’t stand the confusion he so often exhibits when we have a video call. Even though video calls were coming into use before he slowed his time at the office, he never warmed to them. And now, they just seem to increase his confusion.

“I didn’t ask…when you saw him in Colorado, how was he?”

“He misses Geoffrey. I think he keeps expecting him. But Dad’s doing okay. The staff is good with him. They’re good at redirecting him.”

“When we go back, do you think I can go through his files?”

“Of course. Whatever you want. These days, most everything is electronic, but Dad’s from a different generation. There’s no telling what you might find in his files.”

---