Page 111 of Burning for Alexander
My words were a whisper against his skin. A promise. “I’ll keep finding new ways to light your fire.”
The following morning, after we’d showered and managed a little sleep, we met up with Tavo and my uncles Joel and Pete. While Joel owned a security firm that also did investigations, Pete—Tommy’s father—was an attorney in the Bay Area. He was fired up to protect Tavo’s best interests, no matter what happened next.
It took a couple of hours to work through everything, but since Steve Whatshisname, the man in custody, was cooperating fully, it looked like there was plenty of evidence of Judge Miller’s involvement. The judge had told Steve flat out—via text, no less—that he wanted Tavo “retrieved” for him. Steve produced evidence showing the money trail, too. From what Joel had provided, it seemed clear that there were witnesses at Pinch who could provide corroborating testimony about the judge’s inquiries intoTavo’s whereabouts. And as of this morning, the soon-to-be ex-judge was the subject of an SFPD investigation.
“I can’t believe it’s over,” Tavo kept saying as we joined the rest of my family at the lodge for a late lunch. “Is it really over?”
Pete clapped his hand on Tavo’s shoulder. “Foster said he knows a judge in Wyoming who would process a name change for you and seal the records if you’d like. You know we’d be proud to make you a Marian.”
Everyone around the pair of long tables in the kitchen nodded and added their approval as Tavo looked around in shock. Then he burst into tears.
Tavo’s friend Drew rushed breathlessly into the room from the direction of the front door. “Tavo, I’m here! The car wouldn’t start, and I?—”
Tavo crashed into him, tucking his face in Drew’s neck. Drew’s arms went around him as his eyes slid closed. “Sorry I wasn’t there, baby. I’m here now. It’s going to be okay.”
I blinked at the two of them. While I’d known they’d messed around and had been spending a lot of time together over the past several months, I hadn’t realized things had become serious.
Ella clutched her chest and made anawwface, and so did almost everyone else in the room.
One thing you could say about us Marians is that we were unapologetically in love with love.
I glanced at Judd, and the second our eyes met, he mouthed, “I love you.” My cheeks flushed, and my stomach went floaty.
Papa noticed because he nudged Judd in my direction. “Careful, Chief,” he said with a warm smile. “Once we start making Marians, there’s no telling who else might get swept up.”
Judd took my face in his hands before kissing me full on the lips in front of everyone. I threw my arms around him and heldhim tight. When he finally let go, everyone was staring, some in shock and some with zero visible surprise.
“Oh, right. Turns out I don’t hate him,” I announced with a shrug. “Surprise.”
The room broke out in laughter.
I slid my hand into Judd’s. “And… we’ve known each other longer than you think.”
Judd stood up straighter. “I met Alex online over five years ago. We became close, but then I was in an accident?—”
“IndexEcho?” Ella’s eyes went comically wide, and Mattie’s jaw dropped.
He nodded once. “It’s a long story, but now we’re here and we’re together… and I can’t thank you enough for loving and supporting Alex during everything. I’m so glad he had you.”
Tavo leaned against Drew’s chest, smiling through his tears. “And I really thought you were at Alex’s apartment to inspect the smoke detector.”
Judd’s cheeks turned crimson, but before he could say anything, one of my cousins said, “He was there to inspect something, Tavo, but it wasn’t the smoke detector.”
Considering my grandparents were in the room, I was officially mortified.
“Alright, alright,” my uncle Derek said, waving everyone to calm down. “No one needs to hear about their child’s… or grandchild’s… inspections.”
Grandpa shot him a wink. “Promise? Because you’re one to talk, Derek Marian.”
As everyone began laughing and joking around tables filled with sandwiches and side dishes, I grabbed Judd’s hand again, and we went to check on Tavo.
“You okay?” I asked.
Tavo smiled. “God, yes. I can’t thank you enough foreverything. After my parents left, I thought I was on my own. Then your family just… just appeared like a miracle.”
“No miracle. Just helping others and giving back,” I explained. “And I’m sure you’ll do the same to someone else someday.”
He nodded.
