AN With apologies to those of you who would like to just see things moving forward, this is another chapter entirely dedicated to Christian and Teddy feeling their way around each other.
Ch 37 Building bridges PART TWO
Christian stood with the two half eaten plates and Eddy picked up the remains of the salad and bread rolls and they once again moved to the kitchen. This time the lasagne went into the microwave and Eddy was directed to dump the food in a plastic box under the sink: "This far offshore anything edible goes into the water, we'll take it out later. There is no dishwasher I'm afraid."
"Uh, that's OK I can do the dishes," Eddy replied to the instructions, a little taken aback by the domesticity of the moment. He had gone from discussing trust funds to doing dishes in a few seconds flat. It felt a little artificial, as if he had been taken away from something, distracted from something… The last thing Christian had said 'And also, I would like to give you the details of the fund manager.' Eddy shook his head. How did he not see it? Even if he had not committed to using it, he had just accepted the trust fund. Christian had so far been careful to not step on his toes, had been careful with what he said and how - there had to be a reason he had changed tactics here, got him to accept the fund without going into any details…With a sinking feeling he formulated his suspicion in a question, asked while he was still looking down at the soapy plate: "How much?"
"Sorry?"
Eddy sighed. Apparently he was not going to get anymore slack here: "How much is in the trust fund?"
As there was no reply to his question he turned his head to see Christian casually leaning against the countertop, one arm crossed against his chest, the other bent at the elbow and his index finger covering his lips as if he was shushing somebody.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
Pausing in his chores and now certain this was what Christian had wanted to avoid discussing, Eddy returned the stare then admitted: "Might as well."
"10,000 a month for the first ten years, more after that."
'Don't break the plate' was the first thing that crossed Eddy's mind then his eyes went down to the now clean and shiny china. Before the half-formed thought of 'at least I can afford it' fully entered his consciousness he put the plate on the drying rack and then quickly rinsed the salad bowl.
His chores finished he wiped his hands and turned around as the timer for the first plate beeped and watched Christian swipe the plates and reset the timer.
"And I have just accepted it, haven't I?"
The gray eyes met his and Christian's assessing stare softened: "You don't have to use it Eddy. As I said, take your time, think about it. But you won't have to ask me or anybody else and now that you know it exists, you won't have to wonder if or when a cheque or a letter will suddenly appear in your letter box."
This time Eddy could practically hear the silent T before his name. He knew the missing letter was a compromise, an effort Christian was making to put him at ease. But he did need that: he needed to know that he was accepted as Eddy Parson before he could contemplate any other alternative.
Back in the saloon they quickly finished their food, the conversation this time staying firmly on neutral ground, courtesy of the engines briefly roaring before they once again settled into a dull persistent humming noise. Christian seemed to know quite a bit about them and about all the ecological options and improvements and Eddy could use his knowledge of car motors to keep up with the conversation. When they were done they once again picked up after themselves, then Christian removed the tray with discarded food before heading outside. "We should anchor first and then we can have coffee on the deck."
Anchoring, it turned out, required a second person to take care of the cables at the front part of the boat. While Eddy was directed to a seat in the sitting area, Christian negotiated with the skipper: "I can handle the windlass and I know what to look for in a bridle, these engines are new to me."
Fitted with a small headset - 'no reason to get our signals mixed, Mr Grey', the skipper had explained – Christian disappeared off the side of the boat towards the front and the skipper gently turned the boat around.
"First time on a boat, Mr Parson?"
Surprised to be addressed, Eddy nodded then realized the man at the helm could not see him. "Yes, I am."
"We have to turn her downwind then I'll keep her still as Mr Grey drops the anchor. He'll have to let me know when that is done and then I'll reverse the engine until the boat stops on the anchor and again he'll have to test if it's set before I cut off the engine."
They were already practically at a standstill and a few minutes later the hum of the engines was silenced and Christian's returning steps could be heard over the sound of the water gently lapping at the sides of the boat. The skipper was standing by the helm as first Christian's shadow then the man himself dropped back onto the deck. A look passed between the two then Christian acknowledged with a nod: "Go on skipper, check my handiwork if you have to. We'll get some coffee then be on the deck until the wind picks up."
Another few minutes and the skipper let Christian - who was now holding a small tray with their coffees -pass, then with a polite 'Mr Grey, Mr Parson' ducked inside and closed the door behind him.
Again they were seated with Eddy facing the open sea and Christian opposite him facing the deck.
For several minutes they just sat in silence, soaking in the sun and the sounds of the sea, Eddy getting used to the new noises - the intermittent creaking of the hull that had replaced the constant background noise of the engines. They were not quite alone although other ships were quite far away, far enough that on occasion the engine sounds were only heard a couple of heart beats after the ship had entered Eddy's field of vision. The movement of the water and the glare from the sun on the crest of the waves was almost hypnotic so he had to raise his eyes higher to the horizon. Somewhere to his left a dark streak marred the landscape painted in various shades of blue and silver and held his attention.
Noticing the change from casual watching to concentrated stare, Christian half turned to see what had captured Eddy's attention. Despite his age his vision was still 20/20 and with his experience at sea he immediately knew what was coming. He remained silent as the wisp of barely there darkness grew thicker and then appeared to be flanked by a flutter of colour, a hint of red to the right. It took several minutes before a solid black square took shape underneath the now continuous column of black smoke flanked by a patch of red apparently just floating in the air.
Eddy's face relaxed and Christian knew his son had identified the object of his scrutiny.
"I don't think I have ever seen one appear from beyond the horizon quite like that," Eddy admitted. "I have been to the port, to the docks before, but I suppose there was too much going on to notice."
He was a little disappointed when after just another few minutes instead of the ship looming larger the patch of red seemed to glide towards the column of smoke and the whole structure moved to their right rather than towards them.
"There are between 15 and 20 cargo ships coming in and out of Charleston every day, so we might get to see one actually coming this way," Christian responded to the loss of interest in Teddy's eyes.
Taking his eyes off the horizon Eddy nodded, letting go of the slight disappointment: "I passed Detyens, or at least the exit towards them, on the way to the club," he said. "I heard you signed a deal with them."
"The details are still a work in progress but it's a good deal for both parties so I expect we'll be able to sign before the end of the summer," Christian confirmed.
Eddy's intention had been to ask about the ships, especially the ones doing charity work, the part of Christian's activities that had not been mentioned at graduation, but the way the answer had been formulated interrupted that train of thought.
"But I thought…,"he stopped not really wanting to go back to where he was constantly questioning and challenging.
Break was apparently over so Christian braced himself to once again navigate the unknown waters of their fragile reunion: "Whatever is on your mind, just ask, Eddy," he encouraged his son.
Eddy took a moment to look into the earnest gray eyes facing him and a little reluctantly admitted: "I thought it was just to keep the accident out of the news."
Christian leaned his head to one side wondering if Teddy could be disappointed that he had made a good deal in the process. Realizing how petulant his remark sounded, Eddy hurried to add: "I know you have been in talks with them before but decided against it. And…I did some research," he admitted a little embarrassed. "GEH doesn't have any interests in this region. In fact there are no GEH connections in any of the neighbouring states."
The pale gray of Christian's irises darkened to steel blue as the torment of the years he had spent keeping himself away from Ana and Teddy slithered its way from where he had pushed it in the recess of his soul and threatened to make an appearance. With sheer determination he pushed the feeling back down. It was over, it was done, he was here with his son.
"I really meant what I said about wanting to preserve the peace of your life. If GEH outlets or connections were to appear anywhere near you, I thought Ana might get worried, perhaps even scared."
According to his research there were ten states including South Carolina where there was no GEH presence at all. The man had excluded twenty per cent of the states of the country from doing business with him just to preserve his mother's peace of mind and by extension not to trouble the peace of their family. Eddy felt compelled to give something back, share something of his own inner life. Holding Christian's troubled eyes he tried to convey as much sincerity as he could with his own expression: "I was going to ask about you this summer, about my father. If you had not contacted mom before graduation she would have never found out all that you have done for us through the years. She only found out because she knew how to look. What I mean is, I would have heard a different story, I wouldn't have known you cared. Knowing that you did care, that you have been around and that you have not just turned away and forgotten about us, has made a difference. A big difference."
He had meant his confession to be a sort of acknowledgement of Christian's efforts but the effect they had - stiff shoulders and clenched jaws and those eyes firing laser beams which mercifully almost immediately looked away from him - reminded him of that moment of rage he had glimpsed at his graduation.
"Eddy," the single word was strained, almost shredded, in the effort it had taken to utter it. "This is the single most difficult subject I can think of between us."
Christian was still focusing on something somewhere over his right shoulder and Eddy resisted the temptation to turn and see if the helm and the chair were still standing or had crumbled under the intensity. Several seconds passed before Christian infinitesimally moved his head and searched his face without meeting his eyes.
"If I had ever considered that that was the story you have been told…"
After another pause he dared again look at his son: "I am unspeakably sorry that you had to grow up thinking I had abandoned you. If I had known, this would have trumped any other arguments against coming to you."
No longer able to remain seated, Christian stood and took the frustratingly few steps to the railing. He gripped the railing and bowed his head closing his eyes as tightly as he could: "There is no name on your birth certificate. I assumed that's what you were told, that the name was unknown."
A semblance of balance restored he turned back towards the son he had so abruptly abandoned, cursing himself for the outburst and how it might have affected Teddy.
"It was not quite as bad as that," Eddy found his voice. "We never really talked about it. We didn't even know mom had been married. I assumed that it was an affair or a relationship that didn't work out, that the guy left before I was even born. It wasn't me really he had abandoned, it was more the idea of me."
Christian had resumed his seat and was once again left with his heart in a tight knot and looking in wonder at the young man seated opposite him: "How can you be here? How can you not just agree to spend time with me but want to do it?" he voiced his anguish.
Embarrassed at his own feelings and at witnessing the effect he had had on this man, Eddy let his head fall down a fraction and lowered his eyes.
"It wasn't any single thing," he admitted. "I admired you, at graduation, but there was also…something, a kind of connection, when I didn't know who you were. When I found out, I was angry, I felt betrayed. Then mom told us her story and how you first didn't know where we were but then helped and came to see us even if I didn't know about it. You helped Emma. It got me thinking and I talked to a friend, my roommate. He studied psychology and he had told me before that that piano piece had to be a childhood memory, something from around the age of four or five."
"You didn't expect me to remember," Christian recalled.
"But you did," Eddy pointed out and the significance of that moment gave him the courage to look up again and meet the still wondering gaze of his father.
"But you did," he repeated. "If I am to be honest, some of the things you did for us, maybe most of them, I sometimes thought they were just…guilt, perhaps. But at graduation, it wasn't only you: there were others there, your family. They knew about me and cared enough to come and see me when Carla only sent a card."
Christian was not quick enough to stop the snort of derision at Teddy's mention of Carla and caused the young man to frown in confusion.
"I'm sorry, it's Carla. She…" Christian hesitated between saying something unfriendly about the other one of Teddy's maternal grandparents and providing the little reassurance he could for him. But Teddy seemed to be under no misapprehension as to Carla so he finished his sentence: "At least she is consistent. She missed your mother's graduation as well."
Minefield. Christian had come prepared to have to discuss, to open up about subjects that were bound to be difficult or delicate to approach, but he had expected the difficulty would be in managing and preserving Teddy's emotional balance, not his. For the third time today a comment that had been as close to neutral as they were going to get, had exploded not as much in Teddy's face as in his own. The day of Ana's graduation was something he had not thought of since the very first days of their relationship. For the past six months the memories of the man he was then had returned to haunt him and now that remark about Carla had brought back a vivid image of the evening spent discussing the submissive contract. He had to move away from that before he once again descended into the self-hate that had made him shut down and shut the world out after Ana left Seattle.
Eddy had also had a similar reaction to that almost casual remark about Carla. Perhaps in the great scheme of things it was just a small detail, but one that had again reminded him how much he didn't know about his own mother and the life that had shaped her into the person she was today.
"The others, my mother and brother, Samantha, and I also have a sister, Mia, they all know about you and care about you. Mia doesn't know we came to your graduation. She lives in Europe and I have not told her. I am sure she would have been there otherwise."
The look on Teddy's face was expectant and hopeful so Christian spoke slowly, allowing Teddy time to interrupt him if he wanted: "They have known for several years that I have found you, they have seen pictures and I have told them as much as I knew about you. I never told them exactly where you were until I decided to come to your graduation. I realize this is probably too soon but if you would like to meet them, they would very much want to meet you too."
Eddy shifted restlessly in his seat.
"Not much room to pace, I'm afraid," Christian commented picking up on the unease.
He stood up and waited for Eddy to do the same then turned once again to take the three steps to the side of the boat and they both ended standing up against the railing, facing the open sea.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Christian prompted
Eddy shook his head: "I'm sorry, I…I think I would like to meet them sometime."
Christian half turned to watch his son. Teddy looked preoccupied and he was preparing to reassure him that it was OK to take some time, that he understood it was probably too much to take on this soon, when Teddy beat him to it: "If you have been in Rock Hill you must have seen her there, Aunt Kate."
Stifling the impulse to sigh Christian only tightened his fingers on the railing and measured his words as he spoke: "I did, the year after I found you. Katherine and I have never been close, never liked each other. I am certain she had not shared with Elliot that she knew where the two of you were and she certainly didn't share that information with me. Elliot, Mia and I are all adopted. Had it not been for Grace and Carrick Grey, who knows what would have become of us. We didn't just happen to be a family, we had to work at it, and in a way that has brought us closer. We look out for each other… If Elliot had become aware that she knew and could have prevented much of what happened after you left Seattle, it would have ended his marriage. As it were it was too late to change anything, so I never confronted her."
A wave rolled under the boat and lifted it higher than what they had encountered so far then moved away and deposited them back at their previous level. The deep azure of the sea was now here and there interrupted by streaks of white foam and the surface looked wrinkled rather than gently undulating. 'Forge a future' Christian reminded himself of the goal he had set for this encounter.
"He knows now that Katherine has been visiting you but even if he didn't…"Christian stopped and again turned to look at Teddy and waited until Teddy also turned his head towards him: "This is now. We, you and I, have this chance, this opportunity to get to know each other. This is what matters now."
Eddy could tell Christian meant what he said, there was no hint of hesitation in his voice or in his eyes. His whole demeanour conveyed a sense of quiet determination.
"You said they know about me. Not just that I…exist, but they have seen pictures and heard about my life. I have tried to look them up," Eddy said, "but there is not much I could find."
"Would you like to know more?"
For the best part of the next hour Christian spoke about his mother, his siblings, his daughter and his nephews and nieces. The only person he did not mention was Matthew, as that was Elliot's tale to tell.
The sea had become increasingly agitated and by the time a wave broke against the hull and sprayed them with a fine mist of salt water Eddy had learned quite a bit about this other family he had, including the fact that Christian had raised his daughter as a single parent and that she, like his mother and siblings, was not only aware of his existence but willing, eager even, to meet him.
"Are you OK?" Christian asked as once again they were lifted and then lowered back down in a sweeping movement that was now more the norm than the exception.
"Yeah, I am. I…took a tablet earlier," Eddy admitted.
"It won't get much worse than this," Christian reassured him, "the wind should not pick up much more today."
"I really am fine. Is it strong enough to sail then?" he asked, ready to take a break from all the information once again filling him with conflicting emotions.
"If you are up to it, yes."
To his surprise Eddy ended up being placed at the helm.
Informed of Christian's decision that is was time to do some sailing, Adam Hale reappeared on deck and handed everybody life vests, then he and Christian worked together to pull the anchor back in. Once the engines had been started and they were again moving, the skipper had relinquished command to Christian and Eddy had been asked to take the seat in front of the wheel and the daunting instrumentation panel.
"Forget the instruments," Christian told him. "The only one you need to keep an eye on is the compass." He pointed out the bulging black and red instrument and the numbers on the side, obviously representing degrees of a circle. "Your job will be to keep us going in the same direction, not let the needle stray right or left while Mr Hale and I raise the sails. Oh and this one here," he added pointing to a black lever, "is to switch off the engine. Just twist it as you would a car key when I tell you to."
With Mr Hale hovering somewhere behind him and Christian now on the left side of the cockpit, he got his first view of the sea as seen from over the length of the boat.
"OK, Eddy, slowly turn her around to 270."
A little wondering at the power now under his fingers Eddy slowly turned the wheel until the needle hovered close to the 270 angle and then eased back as Christian had showed him. He had only shot the mark by a few degrees and corrected that with an even more careful turn of the wheel. And then movement caught his eye to his left and he turned his head to see a sail starting to unfurl from the side of the mast.
"Keep 'er steady Mr Parson," Hale warned from behind him and Eddy quickly lowered his eyes back to the compass to correct the slight change of course.
His eyes darting between the compass and the increasingly large stretch of canvass he saw the sail begin to stretch and then slightly curve and he gripped the wheel a little harder as it seemed to want to turn to the right.
"Jib is up. Hold steady on the wheel and switch off the engine," Christian commanded.
And just like that he was now at the helm of a sailing ship. A little incredulous he shook his head but a smile was fluttering over his lips.
"Ready for the main event?" Christian's voice reached him from just behind his left shoulder.
"Ready," he replied his fingers once again taking a firmer grip of the wheel as his head turned towards the voice.
Christian's eyes were like two pools of mercury as he stretched one arm towards some of the buttons he had told Eddy to ignore. "Moving the boom a little leeward," he explained and the horizontal part of the mast started swinging towards them, then stopped at a 45 degree angle to the length of the ship.
Then Christian was gone and from the side of the mast a second sail started unfurling. It took longer this time before the sail was fully deployed then filled by the wind and then for another few minutes the shape of the sail seemed to slowly change until it too looked bowed rather than straight. Under Eddy's hands instead of the constant and even vibration of the engines the waves were transmitting more irregular jolts. From his vantage position it was obvious that they had picked up speed and not even the ominous groans and creaks of the mast and the sails could distract him from the sheer exhilaration of the moment.
A slight flutter of darker strips of fabric at the edge of the main sail caught his attention and Christian's voice once again coached him from the side. "Ease the wheel right just a fraction."
His first sailing lesson began then in earnest as he learned how normally the boat would be on auto pilot to keep the general course and the helm was used to do minute corrections to keep the flow of air over the sails just right. The strips of fabric, he learned, were there to indicate just that and he got to test and practice keeping them aligned.
"We are not really going anywhere right now so all that matters is to keep the wind in the sail," his tutor encouraged him.
"'And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by'" Eddy said remembering the first few moments on the boat.
Christian did not reply, but a reply was not needed. For several minutes they just shared the moment, racing over the water.
"Ready for something a little more challenging?" Christian finally broke the silence.
It quickly became obvious that what Christian was doing was to see how the boat performed with the wind hitting it from various directions. At first it was not too challenging, at least not for him. The two men behind him were doing whatever it took to change the shape of the sails and his job remained to keep whichever course Christian instructed. But then they eventually performed a full U turn and now they were sailing almost directly against the wind, with the main sail just a few degrees from being parallel to the boat and keeping the airflow smooth over the inflated canvas had become increasingly difficult. He was frowning in concentration as he was effectively zigzagging over the water.
"Having fun?" Christian asked, startling him.
At this precise moment in time he wasn't really sure if he would qualify the experience as fun and he didn't dare interrupt the constant eye darting between the sail and the compass so he didn't answer.
"Let go of the wheel a little," he was instructed. "You are doing great. The only thing more difficult than what you are doing now is if we also had to maintain course to a destination, but then we would probably not try and maintain a straight course."
Eddy shook his head least he became convinced he could actually sail a boat. "That and work the sails and know where we actually are and how to get to where we are going."
"True," Christian chuckled. "Want me to take over?"
"No. Uh, not unless you want to that is," Eddy said remembering himself.
"Not yet, no. There's one more thing I'd like to try and I am going to have to trim the sails. But I thought you might need a warning that it is not going to be as smooth as what we have done so far."
At the seriousness in the man's voice Eddy dared take his eyes off their alternating targets and turn his head. Those pools of glittering mercury were back and an eyebrow slowly rose high above the right eye as Christian's head leaned to the left assessing him: "If you are up for it that is."
His lips pursing to not allow the wide grin to spread over his face Eddy silently accepted the challenge by simply returning his attention to his task. Another chuckle and Christian's voice close by: "I take it that's a yes then. When I tell you, I want you to turn the wheel sharply about 30 degrees to the right."
Eddy's nodded as Mr Hale gruffly warned: "Mr Grey."
Christian's reply didn't come until he had already reached his station by the left side of the cockpit: "Trust me skipper, I wouldn't risk this cargo."
Under Christian's directions Eddy slowly turned the boat back into the wind and their speed once again picked up. Then Christian warned: "Ready to come about."
"Ready," replied Adrian Hale.
The smaller sail seemed to change shape a little, becoming hollower somehow. By now Eddy was aware that the change was going to make them loose speed and was wondering just what Christian had in mind that had alerted their skipper, when the outside edge of the sail seemed to acquire a slight tremble. Before the tremble turned into a flutter Christian shouted: "Now Teddy!"
The boat took a moment to respond to the rapid turn of the wheel and in those two or three seconds their speed dropped rapidly and both sails started to flutter, the erratic movement causing the wheel to tremble and jerk under his hands. Then the main sail started retracting towards the mast while the smaller one moved in the opposite direction and the front of the boat turned to the right despite the wheel not moving. As if new life had been breathed into it, the small sail once again tensed and bowed, then the main sail started travelling outwards on its rails as it also filled with wind and once again propelled them forward. Only then did Eddy dare loosen his grip on the wheel and turn his head towards his father: "Thanks for the warning."
"You're welcome," Christian answered dead pan then let his shoulders slump a little. "Too much?"
"No," Eddy refused to back down. "Just unexpected."
Apparently done playing with the boat, Christian looped the rope he was holding around a protruding metal hook then came to join Eddy at the helm.
"I wanted to see how she behaved when tacking conditions were not ideal. That is turning when there might not be enough wind to do so," he translated the nautical term. "Turning the wheel that fast caused the airflow to drop from the surface of the sails and made us drop speed. She did very well," he added.
"Glad you think so," came the grumbled comment from behind them.
"It is considered a rookie mistake, turning that fast," Christian continued, unfazed. "Except I did it on purpose. Perhaps we should try that again. It should be even more powerful if we also raise the spinnaker."
"Perhaps I should take over the helm for a while," came the counter proposal from the older sailor.
Uncertain whether any of them were serious in their suggestions Eddy looked from one man to the other, then Christian finally smiled: "We're good skipper. Time to turn homewards, so smooth sailing from now on."
For the next hour or so Christian and Eddy shared the double seat at the helm, with Christian leaving the actual helm to Eddy and for himself occasionally adjusting the sails from the winch positioned to the left of the station. From Eddy's surprised remark that 'I didn't realize you could do that from here,' to Christian's admission that he wanted him to enjoy the experience without the distraction of somebody constantly pulling a rope besides him they mostly talked about sailing, both of them content to, for a while, simply share the experience of gliding over the water.
Soon, too soon, with each raise at the top of a wave the sun started getting in their eyes. As the shore line loomed larger and more vessels appeared in their neighbourhood, Christian finally retracted the smaller sail and let their speed fall a little. Proving that he had kept an eye on his charges, Adam Hale also emerged from where he had retreated inside the ship.
"I assume you'd rather take her from here, skipper?" Christian acknowledged his presence.
"I thought I'd better be close at hand, Mr Grey. It's getting a little crowded."
"No, that's fine. Take the helm, I'll help if you need me," Christian replied and stood from his seat.
Eddy and Christian moved to the couches in the lower part of the deck as Hale took over the sailing.
His eyes first on the approaching shore line, Christian finally turned them towards Teddy.
"I have to be in Seattle next week end," he confessed. "Unless you want to come over, I can be here the following Saturday, on the third."
At first surprised by the out of the blue statement, Eddy then nodded: "It's OK, I understand that you might not be able to come over every week." And then the second part of what Christian had said hit him and he stopped to think not of what to say but how to formulate it.
"I will think about coming over, perhaps later in the summer."
"I'm sorry. You have already said you'll think about it. I just wanted to make sure that you know that is an option."
And Eddy finally deciphered one of the puzzles he had been struggling with through the day. The way Christian spoke, the words he used and the way he formulated his sentences: time and again he would revert to sounding as if he was conducting a business meeting. After his almost overwhelmingly warm welcome, when he first started speaking about Taylor, describing the events that had led to him coming at graduation, the trust fund, Detyens…all related to the past, all leading to revelations that might be upsetting to hear. Each time the words risked to scare him away, Christian had retreated behind his business man persona as if it were a shield.
"Thank you, I know."
"OK. I'll come over the week after next. Is there anything you'd like to do?"
A little embarrassed Eddy admitted: "I thought perhaps I'd arrange something."
And he finally got the response he had hoped to achieve earlier, with his remark about how the decision to come forward had been the right one: Christian's face relaxed and the smile that had been there when he had first greeted him made a reappearance.
AN: Next chapter Teddy's thoughts and a glimpse into what's going on in Seattle