When I picked up Izzie just after midnight she had a mischievous glint in her eye. I sensed she was amused by something.
"So how did your night go?" she asked.
"Oh, the usual, unusual," I grinned, "Frizzy and I played cards and got drunk and I danced around with a lampshade on my head. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Hmm,' she tilted her head and looked skeptically at me, "So that wasn't you I saw spending Bro time with Jeff over drafts?"
"Oh that...Granger made the mistake of staking out The Cactus and I told Jeff and he called the cops and we watched the action. Front row seats. It was priceless."
She laughed, "You two are something else. Aren't you wary of poking the bear?"
"Naw, if Granger is dumb enough to violate a no-contact agreement, then he deserves to be hassled by the OPP."
"And what if he decides to come back and torch the shed?"
"He won't do that. From what Jeff tells me, Mace was pissed he drew attention to the clan. I wouldn't be surprised if Mace tells him to take a hike. If that happens, Granger will go back East and we'll never see him again."
"Yeah, that would be a banner day for the community. We'd all declare a holiday."
"I won't be happy until Mace and The Boys are behind bars where they belong."
She lay her head on my shoulder. "It's been a long night. I'm jealous of Frizzy―she got to spend time with you before the fire."
"I made a midnight snack for us and there's a bottle of cab sav waiting to be opened. You won't be left out."
She closed her eyes and smiled. "As long as it's only Frizzy...there's no one else I have to be concerned about, is there?"
I kissed her forehead. "No one else can ever compete or compare with you."
"I'll hold you to those words, Shakespeare."
"Do that," I whispered, "I'll even swear a vow if you want me."
She knew exactly what I meant.
"I want that, Jase. I really do."
I looked in her eyes and saw it was true. I finally began to feel secure.
It felt different coming home that night.
As we drove, a soft rain began to fall. The roads were shining with lipstick squiggles of tail lights and as we neared the house a mist was rising from the fields.
Seeing the house windows alight and blue smoke curling from the chimney made me feel fulfilled. After so long being away, I finally felt like I was coming back home.
It wasn’t perfect, but neither was I, but it was real, and that was the most important thing.
I didn’t want this feeling to end but if I were really paying attention to the warning signs I would have foreseen trouble brewing ahead.
