up, and instead, I hold her hand all the way to the bottom of the mountain, and then we make our way home.
“Today was so good,” she says, leaning her head back against the seat. “I can’t believe we were out hiking for six hours.”
“It’s my favorite thing to do,” I tell her as I drive back to the house. “I usually go by myself. It’s my solitude.”
She looks over at me. “I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have come if I had known.” Her voice goes soft, and again, she puts my needs in front of the fact that she loved what she just did.
“I wanted you there,” I say, and she looks out the window, sitting back, and when we pull up to the house, it’s dark outside, but the lights are lit up outside, and when she gets out of the car, I grab her hand and walk to the back of the house to enter. She walks up the steps and stops when she gets to the top of the stairs. The fireplace is already lit, and there is a chef in the kitchen. “I thought after all that walking outside, it would be great to come home and have dinner already done.”
“You did this?” she asks, looking around. “I was just thinking that I would have to cook since you took me to the waterfall.” She smiles. “But this is so much better.”
“Well, I’m happy I can assist you,” I tell her, and then she turns around.
“I’m going to shower. I’ll be back.” I watch her walk away, and then I walk to my own room, getting into the shower where, for the second time in one day, I take care of myself. Walking to the kitchen, I hear her laughter and then see she is sitting at the counter talking on the phone.
“I swear, Mom, I have Billy boots,” she says and then laughs again. “The next time I come home, I’m buying you a pair, and we are going to go hiking,” she says and then she looks up at me. “Okay, Mom, I have to go.” She looks at me. “Love you, too.” Disconnecting the phone, she puts it on the counter. “Hey.”
I walk into the kitchen, looking for the chef. “Where is Riccardo?” I ask her, looking around for him.
“He finished what he had to do, and I told him he could go. I’ll serve us.” She gets up, going to the stove and grabbing the oven mitt to take the food out. “He made steak with a peppercorn sauce, some sweet potato mash, regular mash, and steamed asparagus.”
“It smells amazing,” I tell her, and my stomach makes a loud rumbling noise. “Where do you want to eat?”
“The dining room,” she says, and I nod at her. “Do you want one or two pieces of steak? He left us six pieces.”
“One for now,” I tell her, grabbing everything I can to set up the table. “If someone would have told me I would be staying in on a Saturday night, I would have asked if they were drunk,” I tell her, “but I have to admit it’s not that bad.”
“I can’t remember the last time I actually got super dressed up to go out.” She picks up the plates that she just finished making.
“There is a red carpet event next Saturday,” I tell her, thinking about it. “It’s this whole fundraiser.”
“How red carpet?” she asks me, and I look at her confused as she cuts into her steak. “Like red carpet Oscars or red carpet MTV awards?”
“I have to wear a tux, so I have no idea what category that falls into,” I tell her and cut my own piece of steak.
“Do you hate it?” She continues to ask me questions.
“I don’t hate it,” I tell her honestly, “but I don’t love it either.”
“We did the red carpet for the Tyler Beckett movie, and I swear it was the longest day of my life.”
“I was there,” I inform her. “I did arrive a touch late.”
“I know you were there,” she says, shaking her head. “You arrived with Roxanne and left with that reporter.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I have no idea.”
“How do you not know who you slept with and who you didn’t?” she asks me, and I just shrug.
“It’s just sex,” I tell her the truth. “Have you never had just sex?”
“No,” she answers, chewing. “I’ve had sex with five people my whole life, and with all of them, we were in