Page 438 of Seasons of Love
“You’ve seen me every day for the past three weeks.”
“I’ve seen my nephew, the hardworking young man who’s putting everything he has into the resort. But I haven’t seen my son. He’s the one I miss.”
I finally understood. Because I hadn’t been home, he’d missed all the things we used to do together that were just ours, like tending to my aunt’s flowers in the garden, cooking together, talking about my mom.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Frank. I guess I got too focused on work and forgot about everything else. I can stay here more often. Mal and I won’t have that much work all the time. The resourcing matrix is nearly complete.”
He placed his hand on top of mine.
“Don’t mind me, son. I’m only an old man with far too much time on my hands. You and Gabriel are young. You both need to be out there having fun.”
“Uncle Frank, you’re not old, and I promise I’m out there having fun. But I am also enjoying my job at the resort. It’s making me think about what I always thought I wanted from my career.”
“How so?”
I wasn’t sure I was ready to have this conversation just yet, especially since I hadn’t been doing my job long enough to talk about the future.
“We’ll talk about it another time, but I want to ask you something.”
Jessie, who'd followed Gabe and Zak to the kitchen, no doubt hoping for treats, came back and jumped on the sofa on the other side of my uncle. Laying her head on his lap.
He instinctively scratched her fur.
“Have you ever thought about dating?”
He let out a belly laugh.
“There’s only one woman in my life now.”
“As much as she may warm up your bed nicely, I’m talking about the two-legged kind of female, Uncle Frank. I know no one will ever replace Aunt Annie, but I think she’d like you to be happy.”
“She made me promise I’d open up my heart to someone else after she was gone.” His voice was so wistful, it almost broke my heart. “But you two boys were young, and I had a company to run. Maybe now it’s a little late. Who’d want an old man set in his ways?”
“Just think about it,” I said. “You might not want to tell Gabe, though, or he’ll have a line of women at the door by the end of the week.”
My uncle looked absolutely terrified.
“I should be a better guest and see my friend. I still can’t believe he’s here. Will it be okay if he stays with us?”
“Of course, son. He sounds like a good man. Are you two…?”
“Oh, no. We’re just friends. There’s nothing between us.”
“The Lady Doth Protest Too Much.”
I laughed. “Zak and I are close, and I love him dearly, but what we were is in the past.”
“Is that because there’s someone in your present?”
“Time out,” I said, getting up. “I’ll see you at breakfast. If you want me to stay, there better be some of your special scrambled eggs on the menu.”
“Got it,” he said, waving his hand and turning the game back on.
When I got to the kitchen, Gabe and Zak were sitting on opposite sides of the island, each with a beer in hand.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge to join them, but Gabe got up. “I’ll leave you alone to catch up. I have to study for my finals.”
“When are you leaving for Berkeley?” I asked Gabe.
