Page 21 of Exhale

“Passe-moi l’eau, s’il te plaît.” Olive smiled sweetly, showing off her linguistic flair.

“Well done!” Leo praised. “Almost perfect.”

“I signed up for French club for next term. It’s on a Tuesday so won’t clash with swimming. Luke said to ask if you can get me after. You don’t have extra classes on Tuesday so I said you would.”

“Of course,” my darling boyfriend replied, and he would. He loved all this family stuff as much as I did. Despite being the only child of a single mother, this brave new world had never been a hurdle to overcome. He’d just slotted in, adding another little box to his quirky personal collection. Boyfriend. Friend. Lover. Sibling. Godfather. Constant cause of smiles. Chief Olive tutor. Homework master. Cat tamer. Chief window washer. Hater of hoovers. Wearer of manties.

“To us!” Tessa exclaimed from the head of the table, raising her wine glass. “To my amazing family, whom I love more than I could ever tell you. May you always be as wonderful as these delightful fish fingers on my plate. Cooked to perfection, Jamie. So. Cheers, my dears, and remember that Alan and I adore you all. We love you, always. Every single day.”

“Cheers!” rang out through the room, swiftly replaced by the normal noisy chatter and giggles as Annabelle shouted for a rag to mop up the baby spills and her toddler tipped a glass of milk over his head and Leo shouted for the ketchup and Olive stood on a chair trying to get everyone’s attention so she could read out her English essay.

I shook my head and kept on grinning.

No, comfort was awonderfulthing. I was happy. So bloody happy.

I had Leo now. A friend who made me laugh and who held my hand when my confidence faltered. I was no longer alone, not only part of a family but, as Leo always said, part of a whole. Never on my own.

He made me complete. This Leo who kissed me good morning and bade me goodnight. It had taken time, but we were getting there, and he was always there to remind me that we were still getting to know each other and talk me down when I doubted what we’d so quickly become. It was his body that wrapped around me when I needed him the most, and it was mine that took him away when he needed relief, when life became a little too intense and he just needed for us to lock ourselves away from the world. The two of us in bed, in my room, our little kingdom of pure bliss. I would always be his Prince Charming, and he would always be my princeling. We lived in a tiny castle in a kingdom that strangely held strong. Perhaps we needed to expand our quest and find a kingdom of our own. But right now, everything was as it should be. Not always perfect. Just perfectly, beautifully imperfect.

Those were words he’d say, my Leo. Whenever I held my breath, he was there to help me exhale. With every step he took, I was there to catch him when he stumbled. We were two halves that made a whole, and for as long as we had each other, we’d keep learning how to live. And if we could live like this forever, we would. For now, our forever after was happily ours, and I intended to keep it that way.

Ticking theJamie and Leobox, every single time.

The End