Page 89 of The Unhinged Christmas of a Cat Lady
And he agreed, but I felt the shift. Just a flicker.
And yet, here I am with Sim-Sim.
He walks next to me like it is not a big deal. With enough distance to give me space but still very much present. That kind of presence he can turn on like a light. The one that used to make people assume we were still solid, even when we weren’t.
He’s not hiding what he wants. The way he’s showing up suddenly. Sticking close. Like he’s waiting for a gap to open.
Jasper noticed.
Will he put up with it? All this… baggage?
Would I, if I were him?
SJ mumbles something about brushing his teeth. I nod, distracted.
“In you go,” I say gently, nudging him towards the front door.
He trudges in without protest, pausing in the hall just long enough to glance back.
“Night, Dad.”
“Night, mate,” Sim-Sim says, warm but quiet.
SJ disappears. I hear the soft thud of his shoes hitting the wall, then nothing.
I stay by the door.
Sim-Sim lingers a second longer. His breath clouds in the porch light.
“I’m sorry I came,” he says eventually. “Didn’t mean to make things... weird.”
I look at him. “Then why did you?”
He meets my eye. No dodging, no charming smile. “You know why.”
I wait.
“Because I miss you,” he says. “Like I said. I miss us.”
“There hasn’t been anusin a long time,” I reply. “Not really. We were housemates with a joint calendar.”
He nods, once. “I know. And that’s on me. I let it happen. I stopped seeing what I had until it was gone.”
I cross my arms. “It wasn’t working.”
“I see that now,” he says. “I just wish I’d seen it sooner.”
He doesn’t push. Doesn’t ask for anything. Just stands there, still and quiet.
Then he gives a small nod—half goodbye, half surrender.
“Night, Miranda.”
He turns, walks down the drive without looking over his shoulder. The car beeps softly as he unlocks it. Driver’s door opens. Closes. Headlights flare, and for a second the hedgerow lights up.
Then he pulls away, smooth and silent, tyres crunching over the gravel.
I stand there a few seconds longer, fingers cold, key still in my hand.
