Picture Perfect Love

by Jerry Cole

  Within the hour, we were all dressed and ready to go. Leo was holding down the shop for half of the day on his own and joining us for dinner the following day. I took the wheel, and Ryan sat beside me as the women gathered in the back seat. Ryan guided me to the beaches I was familiar with, and we walked them holding hands as everyone wandered at their own pace.

  I brought my camera and took some shots of them and the scenery throughout the day. I thought it would make a lovely gift at Christmas for Pamela, and Jamie took several of me with Ryan.

  We decided to take them to dinner since the next day would be spent cooking. They would be in the kitchen all day, and Jamie was looking forward to learning some skills. Ryan called Leo, and we met him at The Reef for dinner, sitting at a table in the back. We ordered drinks and talked throughout the meal as Pamela caught up with Leo. Jamie and Sarah were in their own world and I caught them checking out the new waiter.

  Pamela hugged Leo goodbye and told him to come over whenever he was up the next day. We headed back to the houses, and the girls headed in to prep what they could while Ryan pulled me down to the beach. It was dark out, but we knew our way along the long stretch of sand and made our way slowly to some rocks to sit down.

  “I love you being here,” Ryan told me before kissing me. “Seeing our families like this is so great. I feel like we’re all bonding.”

  “It’s good. I just can’t help but think that we’re all leaving in a few days.” I cupped Ryan’s face and kissed him hard, letting him know that I valued the time with him. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to think about that.” I stroked his hair back and pulled him into my arms. “I love you.”

  “I love you.” He held me, and we just sat with the ocean breeze swirling around us as the evening turned into night. When it dropped in temperature a bit more, we stood and headed back up to check on the others before bed. I made love to him that night with the windows open and the waves as a background. I got the rushed sex out of the way the first night and now just wanted to worship every inch of his skin.

  We got up early to help out next door. Ryan pulled me into the shower, and we enjoyed the hot water for several moments before drying off. I chose black slacks to wear for the day as well as a dark green Polo shirt, and Ryan raised a brow at me. He was in shorts and a store shirt. “What’s with that?”

  “It’s Thanksgiving, and I’m spending it with a family. Isn’t that a formal event?” I asked, and he chuckled.

  “It’s not a requirement, but you look great. Are you comfortable? Mom is going to put us to work.” There was a warning in his voice, and I stepped forward to pull him close.

  “You can’t scare me away.” His lips pressed against my hair, and we both laughed.

  “I wouldn’t want to.”

  We headed over to the house, and I looked at the beach behind the house as we tapped on the door. Someone told us to come in, and Ryan led the way to the kitchen. I took a long look around and the reality of the holiday set in.

  There was a mess in there with the food prep. Pamela was making everything that he expected for the traditional holiday and then some. The girls were happily involved, and Jamie smiled at me. She was happy, and we shared a long look.

  “You’ve outdone yourself, Mom,” Ryan told her as he made his way through the kitchen to get us coffee.

  “It’s not done yet. Hold that thought,” Pamela laughed as he rolled his eyes at me.

  “It’s always good. Don’t listen to her.”

  “Can I help with anything?” I offered, and Jamie raised a brow at me.

  “Let’s see. The turkey is in the oven, and the other hot stuff will be ready to cook as that progresses. We’ll be cutting fruit and prepping salads later on, though. How does coffee out back sound? I’ll clean this up in a bit.” Pamela knew her way around a kitchen and looked beautiful doing it. I already loved Ryan and was quickly falling in love with his family.

  Everyone filled their cups, and we gathered outside to watch the waves crash against the sand. “This is a beautiful place to spend a holiday. I love New York at Christmas, but this has a different feeling about it.” Pamela seemed reflective and Sarah smiled at us.

  “You’ll spend Christmas with us, won’t you?” Her voice was bright, and my heart surged for a moment. I looked at Jamie, and she was frowning. “You can’t?”

  “We’ll be busy at the bakery. I don’t know how much time I can get off.” Her words were soft, and I saw that she was sad.

  “You are more than welcome to spend it with us, though I don’t know where yet.” Pamela owned a small marketing company back home, and once it became successful, she added staff to help her. She even had Sarah working for her, but Pamela made a point to ensure they would have free time to spend with Ryan.

  “Thank you. We appreciate it,” I told Pamela, and she smiled at me. I felt Ryan touch my leg and looked at him with a knowing smile.

  Leo walked around the back about an hour later and hugged the family before shaking my hand. I liked Ryan’s best friend and thought that he was supportive of my boyfriend. Rather than watch football like I thought people did, we were always in the kitchen or outside enjoying the weather. I never wanted to spend the holiday anywhere else.

  Chapter Ten

  Ryan

  I loved the laughter that filled the kitchen as we worked on dinner. My family loved to spend time together, and I felt my best around them. Having Ben by my side was a dream, and he listened intently to the stories about my dad and grandma.

  Ben didn’t have a family, but he didn’t resent me for doing so. I loved that about him and how eager Jamie was to be a part of things. She bonded with Sarah immediately, and I see them staying in touch after this trip.

  The thought of going back to normal after this week depressed me. I knew we all had lives built on specific places for now, and only Ben could relocate without hurting his job. I also knew that he didn’t want to leave Jamie in Venice Beach even if we were making loose plans together.

  I was here because of the shop and loved living in Belize. I would never abandon Leo with our dream, but it was hard to love someone that lived so far away. I never expected that to happen, particularly this quickly.

  We worked together in the kitchen to finish the last-minute jobs. The house we were in had a table in the large dining room, and we loaded it up with food before Mom took her seat at one end. I took the other at her insistence, and Ben sat beside me. Jamie sat beside him and Leo and Sarah across from them and she smiled at all of us. “I am not religious by nature but I do like to show gratitude for moments like this.”

  She led a brief but emotional prayer and smiled at me as I stood to carve the turkey. It was my job for the last several years and I made Mom proud. Once that was complete, we started plating everything and wine and beer were poured.

  Everything was delicious as always, but the addition of two great people made it so much more than a meal. I remained mostly quiet and just watched as I imagined these faces as a regular part of my life. I wanted it more than anything. We all headed to clean up, and I sent Mom to rest while I loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the counters. Ben and Jamie helped me, and we talked about what to do for the next couple of days.

  We all felt somber after that conversation started. Nobody wanted this to end, and we stopped talking as we finished. We got fresh drinks and joined everyone outside to watch the sunset over the ocean. I sat with Ben on a couch and held his hand as we took in the view, pressed together. Mom and Leo were chatting across the deck, and Sarah and Jamie were looking at their phones.

  We enjoyed dessert after it was dark, and I watched as Mom yawned. “Get some rest, Mom. Tomorrow is another day.” She smiled and stood to hug both of us good night, and the others decided to watch a movie. I led Ben to our house and we yawned as we walked through the door.

  “That was fucking amazing. Your mom can cook.” I smiled at Ben’s words.

  “I think I miss that the most.” I dropped the keys
on the counter and grabbed water for us. “Want to watch a movie and relax? I know we’ve been sitting around today, but you were watching everything.”

  “I like seeing families interact. I love yours.” Ben walked to me and kissed me gently. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

  “Yes. I think it’s going to be great.” We were sneaking out in the morning, and hopefully, we’d be back to do something with everyone in the afternoon. They knew that we had some quick errands, but that was about it. We settled on the couch and started a movie, cuddled together as we shared slow kisses.

  I was in love with this man in my arms and wanted a future with him. I wanted everything to fall into place, but there were a few variables that would slow the process down. I had to settle for visits for now and make that enough. We were both tired when the movie ended, and we snacked on some leftovers before bed.

  We had coffee at a shop before we met with the real estate agent, not wanting to see anyone before we left. This was going to be a surprise for Christmas if all went well. Once we finished our quick breakfast, we drove into the city and met with Roxanne to go over houses that we’d picked online. She was a regular at the restaurant, and I’d known her for a few months now. Ben opted to drive us to the homes, and we set about with optimism.

  The first one was a beach house a few miles from the shop. It offered four bedrooms, and while it was small, it was cozy. There was a great room connected to the open kitchen and a generous deck that overlooked the sparkling blue water. It would be mostly used for a vacation home though I’d stay here a lot. I wasn’t sure if Leo would want to share a house or be away from the shop right now. The proximity of our current home spoiled us.

  Each house that we saw had similar aspects that we liked. I couldn’t believe I was buying a house with my boyfriend in Belize and held his hand as often as I could the entire day. It was going to be a lot of money from both of us, but Grandma would support me if she were here. We could afford the holding fee and the payments, and Ben was sure that it could be some tax write off. He’d still get paid for working here when he came for shoots.

  Ben told Roxanne that we should all have lunch and talk about the choices. She agreed, and we found a seafood place and got a table outside in the back. Roxanne set out the sheets she printed about the houses, and we went over each one, discussing the pros and cons. I took Mom and Sarah into consideration as well as Jamie and we settled on a two-story home near the beach that we were staying at now. It had five bedrooms, two on the first floor and three on the second. Each level offered several balconies and a spacious kitchen with an attached living room. This particular home had been completely updated over the last two years and was in the best shape, and coincidentally, the most expensive of the ones we saw.

  An offer was written up and Roxanne promised to update us from here. We hugged her and then I kissed Ben by the car with all that I had. “It’s crazy how much I love you. We haven’t been together that long but I want this more than anything.”

  “I can’t wait to have a home here together, even part-time,” Ben replied before kissing me again. We enjoyed the moment before calming down to head back to the house and hide our plan.

  Everyone was interested in seeing the wildlife sanctuary and then returning to the house for leftovers. They had breakfast and were all ready to go. We agreed and hopped into the car to head over. There was too much terrain to see everything today, but we took an easy path and enjoyed everything we saw. There were a lot of pictures and the girls hit the gift shop to buy stuffed versions of their favorite animal.

  I was counting down the hours until they were leaving now. I hated the thought and fell silent through dinner as Mom shot me several looks. She raised a brow as I smiled at her, and I knew that we’d be talking later.

  Sarah insisted on cleaning up after dinner, and Mom gestured for Ben and me to follow her down to the beach. He shot me a scared look and I grabbed his hand to follow her to the deck and then down the steps.

  “You two are great together.” She looked at us and smiled. “I can see how in love you are. Do you have any plans for the future?”

  Some parents might make this sound like an interrogation, but Mom was coming from a place of love. Ben told her that he could relocate and live nearly anywhere but he was too close to Jamie just to leave her behind. He wasn’t going to mention the beach house until it was ours but even that didn’t also mean him being a permanent resident here.

  “I can see how close the two of you are, though I think there are some sparks between her and Leo.” Ben groaned since we talked about that already.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. He’s not serious about women.” I pointed out, and Mom stared thoughtfully at the water.

  “He’s having his fun. I can see that, but the right person can change that. I think they’ll be keeping in touch.” Mom laughed and I raised a brow at her. “I think the same thing about Sarah. They clicked from the beginning.”

  “It’s better than I thought possible. I also realize how far away it is between all of us.” Ben had a tone of concern in his voice, and I squeezed his hand.

  “We will make it work. There are visits to plan, and we have Christmas coming up. We’re going to work that out.” Mom nodded as she spoke and wrapped her arm around my waist. “We’re a family now.”

  “I love that. Thank you.” Ben said with reverence in his voice, and I heard the emotions that he was dealing with in the moment. We made our way to the rocks and sat for a while, discussing life as Mom got to know Ben. It was dark and the moon was high when we headed back to spend the evening watching a movie.

  Flights were scheduled for the afternoon two days away. We were going to spend time at the beach and eat the last day together, spending as much time together as we could.

  That meant that I carved out time with Ben. I wanted to feel his body wrapped around me as much as possible and feel his skin against mine. The idea of sleeping alone again was harsh, and I was awake much longer than Ben that last night.

  I watched him sleep and memorized every line of his perfect face. I knew that we’d probably own a home together soon, but that didn’t mean he was going to live here right away. The sun was coming up when I drifted off to sleep, hoping to sleep in a bit before having to drag myself away from Ben.

  Mom cooked a big breakfast, and we went to my surfing beach to show them around. In addition to surfing, it was beautiful there and there was a lot of stuff to do. I felt like an asshole for missing so many surf mornings, but I couldn’t bear to step away from my family. I knew how I coped with life so I’d be back a lot and more than likely hitting the gym again.

  Night fell too soon, and I fought the urge to stay awake all night. I sensed that Ben was doing the same and we both knew we could sleep tomorrow. The problem was that neither of us wanted tomorrow ever to come. The sun rose as I stared at the blinds and the pain began to sink in. I knew that I should just get up and help them clean up next door but I couldn’t move. Ben was sleeping and holding me in his arms. How could I move?

  Eventually, he woke up and gave me a sad look before getting up. Ben showered, and I joined him, eager to feel it for the last time in a while. We packed up the house and left the luggage by the door before heading over to the other house. Everyone made a pact to clean up in the morning and enjoy the last night in Belize. They were working but in silence. I smelled coffee and we poured some before helping out, but the mood was heavy in the house.

  Mom started making small talk and smiling, but her voice was too high. She always got like this when it was time to leave and made a significant effort to lighten the mood. The trouble was that nobody else did and the girls even worked in silence. We finished the kitchen, the biggest project, and I took my coffee and headed to the deck. The sand and waves were as beautiful as ever but they hurt me today. I blinked as my eyes stung and heard the door open behind me.

  Arms slid around my waist, and I breathed in Ben’s scent. “This is going to
be okay, Ryan. It hurts like hell right now but we’ll see each other again. Soon.”

  “I know.” I covered his hands with mine and held on tight. I felt like crying, but I would try to hold it in until I was alone later today.

  “Everyone was thinking about going to breakfast since the house is clean. How does that sound?” Leo had taken home the remaining leftovers, and there was nothing to make.

  “Good. How about that little diner?” I asked, and Ben chuckled.

  “My thoughts exactly.” We stayed on the deck for a moment before turning to go into the house where everyone was getting ready. We headed to the diner in the rental, and I saw Mom and Sarah looking out of the windows while we made our way into town.

  “I had such a wonderful time here. I always do when I visit my son, but the two of you are such a bright spot in my life now.” Mom squeezed the hands of Ben and Jamie as she beamed at them. Sarah nodded in agreement, and I leaned back to watch as emotions flooded me.

  We got through the meal and had just enough time for one last beach visit. We wandered down the sand and laughed about the best memories of this trip. I couldn’t help but play them back through my mind and held Ben’s hand a little tighter.

  We had to go back to the houses and collect the luggage too soon. We checked to make sure everything was packed or clean and left the keys on the counter as instructed. I smiled at the thought of having our own place down the line and drove my car to the airport with Mom and Sarah. We needed that time alone, and I loved that my mom tried so hard to make me feel better.

  Hugging them goodbye hurt worse than ever, and I held tight to all three of them.

  Chapter Eleven

  Ben

  I watched as the family embraced at the airport, feeling like part of it but also like I was watching from the outside in. They loved each other, and they loved Jamie and me. They made that clear.