I thought you hated reading?”
Pike frowns. “It’s not that I hate reading. I have a reading disorder that makes me very frustrated when I read.” He muses her hair. “But, I did listen to the audio version.”
“That’s genius!” Jo Jo exclaims, and I beam at the triumphant look in Pike’s eyes as he picks Jo Jo up and spins her around the room. It takes a smart man to know and admit his limitations, and I managed to get myself the smartest of them all. If only more people could be like Pike. Selfless, understanding, and loyal without limits.
The world would be a much better place.
Preppy closes the book, then opens it again, flipping through the first few pages. “Have you seen this yet?” he asks Pike.
Pike puts Jo Jo down and peers over Preppy’s shoulder. I know exactly what he’s showing him, and I haven’t yet told him about it myself. I watch his expression as he takes his time to read it to make sure he doesn’t get the words jumbled.
He looks at me. “That’s…” He nods, his expression a mixture of emotions. He clears his throat. “That’s…we’ll talk about it later. I think I just heard Thorne calling me. Come on, Jo Jo,” he drags her out by the hand.
“Dad, I didn’t hear anything? You high or something?” Jo Jo asks.
“What’s got him in a rush?” Thorne asks, coming back in from the storage area with a box in her hand, obviously not having called Pike.
Preppy holds up the page so Thorne can read the words I wrote to thank the man who gave me my life back. A true purpose. The man I trust and will fight for with every day I have left on this earth.
For Pike, I chose love because you showed me how.
Epilogue
Mickey
Love is biology. Neurochemicals, hormones, neuropeptides. They all have to align with testosterone, estrogen, dopamine, vasopressin, and oxytocin in order to produce the feeling of love. It’s not an easy task which is why love––true love––is rare.
They are why I feel this bigger-than-myself love for Pike, Jo Jo, and Thorne. And this love is a feeling I trust more than anything. A reliable constant.
My truth.
Pike and I are walking down the beach. We are hand in hand with Jo Jo between us who switches between cursing at the seagulls and loudly pointing out the men wearing tiny speedos.
Our pace slows as we come upon the timeshare that I spent so many summers in with my family. The one that I fled to the night they were killed. The night I met Pike.
I glance up at the once boarded-up duplex where I spent so many happy summers. “I hope that whoever bought this place loves it as much as I do,” I lament. “I spent a lot of happy times here.”
Jo Jo runs ahead of us, chasing a crab in the sand. Mickey, the dog, chases her and then barks at the crab, punching her paws into the sand.
Pike takes my hand. “Your neighbor, the older lady, moved away to be with her kids. The other side was sold at auction. The same buyer picked up both halves and recently renovated it, combining the sides and making a decent three-bedroom two-bathroom house.”
“That probably cost a fortune,” I say. The once pink siding is now a more modern bright white. The shutters are black instead of the previous shade of faded purple. The wooden stairs and deck that was chipped and faded has been reinforced with strong beams crisscrossing underneath and freshly stained. The open spaces underneath that used to be for parking now houses a paver flooring and a huge outdoor kitchen with comfortable modern outdoor couches and tables. “It’s beautiful. I’m jealous of whoever gets to live there.”
“Because of your family?”
I squint against the sun and shade my eyes with my hand to get a better look at the house. “No, not just for the memories it holds, but because it’s a gorgeous beach house.”
Pike squeezes my hand. “And you’re right, it did cost a fortune.”
I twist my lips. “How do you know that?
He reaches into his pocket and holds up a key. “Because, I oversaw everything and because––” He hands me the key. “We own it now.”
I turn the key over in my hand and look back to the house and then to Pike. “Are you serious?”
“I think you’ve figured out that my sense of humor doesn’t extend to tricking you into believing I bought a house for us only