Finding Unity

by Ripley Proserpina

  That was just his father’s way. He ordered, others followed.

  “See you then,” he replied. For one brief moment he considered asking his father to come to his house, but that would be met with an outright refusal.

  But why not ask? The relationship between him and his father had to change. It would no longer be a business relationship, one in which Seok was the follower. He was starting his own family and one day that might include children. It was time to give his father the opportunity to play a different role in his life—if he wanted to play any role at all.

  Father might choose to walk away and never be in contact again—but that would be on him. Seok wouldn’t be the one to cut all ties—just the business ones.

  Before he could change his mind, he wrote back to his father, telling him that he would meet him in the lobby and then bring him back here for dinner.

  No response.

  Not even the three little dots that meant someone was typing. With a sigh, he put the phone aside and shoved his hands under his head.

  This wasn’t a conversation that would end well—no matter how he looked at it. His father was too stubborn to accept that Seok could be satisfied with a life different than the one he’d laid out.

  A soft knock on the door had him sitting up. “Come in.”

  Ryan peered around the corner of the door. “I thought you’d already be up.”

  He was typically the earlier riser, not counting Matisse who had periods where he went to bed when other people were getting up.

  He rubbed his hands through his hair before pushing back the covers. “I’ve just been lying here, thinking.”

  A pair of sweats sat on the ground, and he put them on. Having a conversation about his father—which was where this was leading—would be weird if he were standing around in his boxers. Ryan was already dressed, though not for school.

  “Are you going to work out?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “I’m going with Apollo. I saw your door was closed so—” He shrugged. “Just wanted to check.”

  Huh. A workout sounded like a great idea. He hadn’t been to the gym with Apollo in longer than he cared to remember. The guy was always inviting him, and as miserable as he was during workouts, Seok usually felt better at the end of them.

  “I’m going to come with you.” He grabbed socks from his drawer along with a headband. “Meet you downstairs.”

  Ryan smiled as he pushed the band through his hair to keep it out of his face. “I’ll let Apollo know.”

  Energy–or anxiety—zipped through his veins as he brushed his teeth. He slapped on deodorant, shoved his feet into his runners, and grabbed his phone, ready to go.

  The screen lit up with a message that had him freezing in place. It was from his father. “Send me your address,” it said, “I’d like to see your home.”

  What. The. Hell? He had to read it twice to make sure he hadn’t imagined it. Sure enough, the message was the same.

  He replied, telling Father what time he’d be back from work. Okay then.

  In a daze, he went downstairs to meet his friends.

  “Hey.” Apollo’s voice startled him. He swung his keys on one finger as he studied him. “You okay?”

  “My father is coming to dinner.”

  Ryan came through the dining room, two stainless steel water bottles in his hands. “I caught the end of that. Did you say your father is coming to dinner? When?”

  Apollo opened the door and a cold breeze shot right through Seok’s cotton shirt. “Got cold.”

  “It’s supposed to warm up,” Apollo waved away his comment, waiting for him and Ryan to pass before he locked the door. “When’s he coming?”

  “Tonight,” he answered.

  The three of them piled into Apollo’s car, quiet for a moment. “Are you going to tell him about Nora?” Ryan asked. “Your engagement?”

  “Yes,” he answered. This was his chance. He’d actually share his life with his father.

  Apollo whistled low. “That’s a fucking trial by fire. Can’t wait to hear all about it.” He pulled off their quiet street into the heavier Brownington traffic.

  Seok stared out the passenger side window and smiled. “I won’t have to tell you. I’m inviting all of you. See for yourself.”

  From the backseat, Ryan gripped his shoulder hard. “You need to do this?”

  Seok could feel Apollo’s gaze on him. “I do,” he answered. He needed the support of his friends, needed them to have his back while he did the thing that would probably mean he’d never see his father again.

  It would be the end of one part of his life and the beginning of another. So yeah, he wanted the people he cared about most in the world there. “I do.”

  Chapter 34

  Nora

  By some witchcraft or blackmail, Apollo had gotten both Ryan and Seok to the gym with him. She didn’t go to Frank’s until after lunch, so she had the morning to be lazy. But she wasn’t.

  One cup of coffee later and she was humming with energy. Apollo’s ring sat heavy on her finger. Her thumb went there automatically, checking to see if it was in place, rubbing against the smooth band.

  It was too early to clean—especially since Cai and Matisse were still sleeping, so after unloading the dishwasher and straightening everything that could be done quietly—she went down into the basement.

  There was something about this space, the dark and the cold, the scent of paint and sawdust that made her happy. It immediately brought Seok to mind. She could be a million miles away and smell sawdust, and she’d think of him.

  Maybe one day, her children and grandchildren would associate the smell with Seok, too.

  Holy shit. Where did that thought come from?

  Nora walked over to her door. She’d finished sanding it, and Seok had given her a roll of blue tape, told her to edge it around the windows and then start to stain it.

  She studied the door as her mind went back to the earlier intrusive thought. Kids. She was young—there were years and years to have children—but she didn’t feel young.

  Even when she was a teenager, she’d felt like a grown-up with grown-up responsibilities and grown-up plans, like, where will I live when I’m eighteen? How will I get an apartment?

  The uncertainty of her childhood and teenage years had isolated her—or so she thought. Now, she realized there were other kids who had the same worries she had. Take those four kids who came to the comic book shop. Nora couldn’t say how she knew, but they’d been through some stuff.

  She taped one edge to the top of the glass, careful to get it right to the edge. Kids. She didn’t want to get pregnant right away, no way, no thanks, but it didn’t scare the shit out of her. Instead, a warm ball of happiness filled her belly, like she had a Christmas present waiting for her. It would happen someday. Not right now, but someday.

  She went about prepping the door, her mind thinking about how different of a life she’d be able to give her child.

  Seok had left a can of stain and a rag on the counter. It was small, and all she needed to do was give it a good shake. He’d gotten it at some specialty store because he wanted the color to be authentic to the house. Small and authentic equaled expensive in her mind, so she pried the lid carefully.

  As she stained the wood, everything inside her settled down. Her thoughts still tumbled over each other, but it didn’t stress her out. It was just a flow of thoughts, like staring at a stream. She worked until the can was empty and then straightened, stretching her neck from side to side.

  “How long have you been working?”

  She jumped, dropping the rag on the ground. Seok stood on the stairs. He gripped a beam above his head and leaned forward. The movement lifted his t-shirt above his waist, revealing a strip of golden skin. His hair was still wet, and he had a button-down shirt flung over his shoulder.

  “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “What time is it now?”

  “Nine.” He came down the last few st
eps and approached her. The scent of something spicy and manly filled her nose.

  Holding her hands away from him, she stood on tiptoes to kiss him. “You smell good.”

  “You smell like paint and sawdust.” He smiled and took a step back before tossing his head to get his hair out of his face. He’d never dyed it pink like they discussed. The streaks of grown-out color, from a distance, gave his hair a salt and pepper appearance. He could be a cover model for a steamy age-gap romance novel. Nora was digging it.

  “Then I smell like you,” she replied. He laughed and stepped back onto the stairs.

  “I can pick you up from Frank’s tonight.” His gaze dropped to her toes as his smile disappeared.

  Hmm. Not answering, she waited for him to keep going.

  “My father arrives from Seoul today, and I invited him to dinner.”

  Holy. Shit. She’d wasted an entire morning painting when she had a house to clean. And then she had to go grocery shopping. Fuck. What should she make? What did he like?

  “Okay.” She forced herself to keep from verbally assaulting him with questions, except for, “what can I do to help?”

  A small smile touched his lips before he met her gaze. “You’re fucking perfect, you know that?”

  Well, that wasn’t true at all, but she loved him for saying it.

  “But nothing,” he answered. “I’m ordering from One Stone, and I’ll pick it up before I get you at Frank’s.”

  She nodded. He’d probably planned everything already. She’d still clean though. The guys weren’t messy, but she wanted it to sparkle. Or shine. Seok had done so much work to this place, she wanted his father to see just how talented he was. An idea began to form in her mind. She had five hours before Frank’s—hopefully, that would be enough time.

  By the time Seok arrived at Frank’s, Nora felt like she’d stuffed a week’s worth of work into one day. She’d let Matisse run her down to Congregation Street, but even that hadn’t helped the bone-deep exhaustion that had hit her by mid-afternoon. When the teenagers she looked forward to arrived, they’d taken one look at her, spun on their heels, and left.

  Yikes. She didn’t think she looked that bad. Touching her hair, she used her phone’s camera to check her appearance. Her cheeks were rosy, and she did look tired, but not so bad as to scare off children.

  The door opened a short time later, and she glanced up. Jax, one of the teenagers from earlier, held out a can of soda. “You look like you need caffeine.”

  “I really, really do,” she answered, shocked. “Thank you.” She hadn’t even thought about it.

  He’d only shrugged and gone to join his friends in their spot. The small kindness had made Nora all the more committed to creating a space where they could relax and feel at home.

  “Ready?” Seok asked.

  The past thirty minutes of closing had been nerve wracking. She couldn’t even imagine how it made Seok feel, but he looked as cool as a cucumber. His hair was brushed back from his face and he wore a casual but perfectly fitted suit. To her, he looked like a stylish, unique professional. How would his father see him, though? He still had the washed-out streaks, and the suit was a deep, royal blue. He wore pink socks that peeked through each time he took a step.

  “I am.” She grabbed her bag from under the counter and started to follow him before she remembered something. “Wait. Crap!”

  She’d had a print made at the camera shop next door and they’d rushed her order, dropping it over not long ago. Lifting the wrapped parcel, she faced him.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Surprise.” Should she show him now or later? She’d wanted to put it on the mantel in the living room, but maybe with everything going on, she should show it to him first. That way he could decide if he wanted it out, or not.

  “Can I open it?” He took it from her, weighing it, and lifted his eyebrows.

  Letting out a breath, she nodded.

  He tore the brown paper off, and froze. “Where did you get this?”

  The print had been hastily put together and reduced by the amount of money she had to spend on it, but a close inspection would show a series of photographs of buildings and properties, including their house, that Seok had renovated.

  There was the opera house. The farms. The house. The facade of a red brick downtown office. The entire print was probably over a foot long, and had side-by-side before and afters.

  “Do you like it?”

  He hadn’t said a word. Afraid he was trying to figure out something polite to say, she turned to lock the door of the comic shop.

  “I can’t believe you did this. Where did you find these pictures?” He touched her shoulder, urging him to face her.

  “I did a search. Those buildings are pretty famous, so it was easy. I called city hall, actually, Frank did; he has a friend there, and they found our house in the archives.”

  Holding the canvas in one hand, he snaked the other around her waist and pulled her against him. His kiss was hard, demanding, and it overwhelmed her. In private, Seok had no problem with affection, but in public, he held back. She was the one who had to be pushed away. Now, he backed her against the door to the shop so hard she heard the bell inside jingle.

  “I love this,” he said, pulling away just enough to speak.

  “I wanted your father to see,” she said, gazing up at him. “Actually, I want everyone to see what it is you’ve done.”

  “Showing him my portfolio wouldn’t really be smooth, would it?” He laughed, but there was a tinge of seriousness to it.

  Taking his hand, she pulled him away from the building. “Where did you park? Let’s get home and settled.”

  He spun her in the right direction. “Thank you, Nora.” He lifted their hands to his mouth, resting his lips there. “For everything.”

  The house was just as she’d left it. She’d used those hours before work to make it shine. All the ladders and drop cloths had been dragged into the garage with Cai and Matisse’s help. Then she’d made them straighten it up on the off-chance Seok’s father happened to look inside.

  Every bit of surface gleamed, from the wooden bannister to the countertops. There were still parts of the house that hadn’t been renovated, but with some elbow grease and a little bit of furniture rearranging, she didn’t think anyone would notice.

  Seok paused in the entryway and carefully placed the bags of food on the ground. “Did you do this?”

  He stared into the living room, gaze fixed on the mantle over the fireplace. She’d found some branches, sawed them off, and placed them in the grate as if the fire were ready to be lit. Then she’d cleaned the fireplace poker and brush and the exposed marble and brick.

  “It’s incredible.” He shook his head. “I didn’t even realize it was that dirty until looking at it now.”

  Nora laughed and gathered the bags. Shaking her head, she took a step to the dining room, but he stopped her. His smile creased his eyes, but the dark color shone. “Wait. Really. This is so much. Thank you.”

  She stared at his lips and then at his eyes as he formed the words. “You’re welcome,” she whispered.

  His picture was tucked beneath her elbow, so he took it from her. “I’m putting it in the place of honor.” He placed it right in the center of the mantle. She’d worried when she picked it up from the shop that it was too big, but on the mantle of the beautiful fireplace, it fit perfectly.

  “Seok?” Ryan’s voice came from the direction of the kitchen.

  “In here!”

  Everyone converged at once. Apollo and Ryan came in from the kitchen, and Cai and Matisse from upstairs.

  “Nice!” Matisse leaned in to study the picture. “Those are all your buildings! Where’d you get it?”

  Cai wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. “I can guess.”

  “There’s a place downtown that helped. I found some, Frank found another. I wanted Mr. Jheon to see.”

  She turned to see the gu
ys and found they were all dressed up in slacks and button downs. Yes, Matisse’s pants were velvet, and he had at least four rings on one hand, but he was definitely dressed up. When he saw her studying him, he stuck a hand in one pocket and lifted his chin. “What do you think?”

  He looked amazing. Like he’d just stepped off a runway. Matisse had a level of cool she could only aspire to.

  “So handsome.” She smiled at each of them. “All of you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so dressed up.”

  Apollo was making her mouth water. He filled out the shirt perfectly in a way that showcased his muscles without looking like the hulk. A pair of suspenders went over his broad shoulders and clipped at the waist of his pants. She’d never thought of suspenders as sexy, but they were.

  Very.

  Cai’s long hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, though a few strands had escaped, and Ryan looked ready for a courtroom showdown.

  It made her aware of her own outfit. Jeans. The t-shirt Frank had gotten her with the logo for his store.

  “I should change.” And probably shower again.

  Ryan was saying something to Seok that was too low for her to hear. When she spoke, they both stopped. “We’ve got this,” Seok said. “You’ve done enough.”

  She ran up the stairs and into her room. Her clothes were much more casual, even the ones she’d call dressy.

  Once inside, she studied the sparse contents of her closet. It was really down to two dresses. Both were sort of swingy and sleeveless. She chose the one that was a sea-foam green, flinging it onto her bed, before she grabbed her shower stuff.

  That had been easy.

  If she took a little more time with her curls and makeup, she could make it work.

  Pleased with herself, she took extra time with her shower, buffing and shaving and when she was done, fixing her makeup and hair.

  Leaving the towel wrapped around her middle, she stepped back after fixing her last curl. She decided to part her hair and pin it on one side, sort of like a flapper. Her skin glowed, both from the heat, and from the scrub she’d given herself, and her makeup had done a fairly good job of hiding the scar on her face. It was now just a light tan, instead of the purple she was used to.