Owen was so glad when he signed that last autograph. He walked to the children's area at the back of the store. He saw them, immediately. Cristina was in a chair, with Logan on her lap, reading a book to him. He crept up behind them and listened to her, reading the story, with all of the voices for the different characters. He listened for a while, enchanted by her reading. Then she said, "The End." Logan clapped his tiny hands.
"That's a great story," he said. She looked around and saw him there. "Hey," she said, happily. "You're all done?" Logan looked up and stared at Owen, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't say anything. He just kept staring.
"Yes," he replied with a huge smile. "I am all yours." He meant that in more ways than one. "Where would you like to go?"
"Well, we don't have any reservations," Cristina said. "So we probably could go to one of those casual places. Besides, we have Logan with us and I don't think he can handle a stuffy, fancy place."
"Fine, a casual family dining restaurant," he said. "Okay, let's go." He put out his hand for her to take. They had held hands before, many times but this time, it was different. Their hand-holding had been a necessity, when she used to guide him around. But now, it had a different meaning. It was more of a couple-like gesture. She slipped her much smaller hand into his, while Logan held on to his mother's other hand. She suggested a restaurant that wasn't too far away.
As they were shown to their seats, she remarked that Logan liked it here. "Good place, Logan," Owen said. Logan had been staring at Owen for a long, long time. He badly wanted to ask questions. "Owen," he said. "Can you see me now?" He was very solemn as he said it.
"Yes, Logan, I can see you," Owen said. "What color shirt do I have on?" Logan asked. He wanted to test him. "You have on a red t-shirt with blue jeans and red sneakers." Logan smiled. "You can see, Owen. You can see!" He got up from his chair and did a little dance next to the table before he sat back down again.
Their waiter came and they ordered their food. Owen kept looking at Cristina, marveling at the smoothness of her skin and the lush darkness of her curls. He couldn't wipe the smile off her face. "What's the matter? Do I have something on my face?" she asked. She pulled out a compact from her handbag and looked at her face.
"No, your face is fine," he said. "It is more than fine." She grinned at him and put away her compact. "Owen, I am going to tell you about how I was feeling when you told me that you were going for the surgery to restore your eyesight," she said.
"I am listening. Tell me," he said. He reached over and took her hand in his.
"I was a little bit scared that you weren't going to like what you saw," she said, softly. She felt embarrassed as she said it.
"Never," he said. "I knew you were going to be beautiful. I felt your face, remember. Plus everyone said I wouldn't be disappointed. And you know what? They weren't wrong. I am definitely not disappointed." Cristina blushed. "You're blushing, Cristina Yang. That is very endearing." He took her hand and kissed it. Just then, the waiter brought their food. Logan perked up, immediately. Cristina cut up his meat for him and he started eating, eagerly.
"Hey, he is feeding himself," Owen said. "That is just awesome."
"Yes, since Logan started preschool, he was a bit ashamed that I was still feeding him his meals and he said he wanted to do it himself. It was very messy at first but he was very determined," Cristina said. "Now he can handle himself at the table."
"Yesh," Logan said, his mouth full of food. "Remember, Logan, no talking when your mouth is full," his mother reminded him. Logan nodded and swallowed. "I am a big boy now," he declared. "I feed myself."
"Yes, you are a big boy," Owen said, reaching over and ruffling the boy's curly hair. "Oh, I forgot to ask. How is your mom? I heard she was ill. I had gone into the office, yesterday, hoping to see you and they told me that your mom was ill and you had taken some time to care for her."
"She got a bad case of the flu. She didn't take her flu shot and she came down with it," Cristina said. "She is getting better. I told her that I wanted to come into the city for your book-signing and she said that it was fine. She would be okay."
"I am really glad you came," he said. "Just seeing you made my day that much better."
"Hey, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? It's in a couple of days and I know you have book signings in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey," she said.
"I hadn't really thought about it," he admitted. "Joyce is on vacation, right now. She is visiting family in North Carolina. I thought maybe, I would go to a restaurant or something."
"Nonsense, no restaurant for you," Cristina said. "You are going to spend Thanksgiving with us." She pulled out a piece of paper from her purse and started writing on it. "This is our address in Westchester. It will just be mom, Logan and me but we would love to have you, there. If you want to stay the night at our house and not drive back into the city, we can do that, too. We have lots of room." His eyes lit up. "Thank you," he said. "I would be honored to join you for Thanksgiving." He hadn't had a family Thanksgiving in years, not since his parents died when he was 16. She handed him the piece of paper. He tucked it into his wallet. Though she didn't see it, he wiped away a small tear from the corner of his eye.
After dinner, he walked her to her car. She was headed back to Westchester that night. Logan was very sleepy and Owen placed him in his car seat and strapped him in.
"Okay, so we will see you in a couple of days, right?" she asked. "Yes, I wouldn't miss it," he said, smiling.
"Well, hope your next set of book-signings go well," she said. "Goodbye." As she turned to go, he held her hand and turned her around. He gently pushed her head up so their lips could meet. This was the first kiss that he had initiated. She had made the first move for their last two kisses. He started with soft kisses and then, he deepened the kiss, as his tongue pushed her lips apart. Their tongues danced with each other's. They were clearly hungry for each other that it was hard to break apart. He forced himself to pull away and stared into her eyes. "I guess I need to let you go." She was breathless as she nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Need to get Logan home." She could hardly get the words out. As she got into the car and strapped herself in, she said, "If you wish, you can come early and help us with the preparations."
"Yeah, I would like that," he said. "I used to help my mom when I was a kid. I haven't done that in a long time. I will be there." He watched as the car disappeared down the street. He got into his own car and drove back to his apartment. He went to bed that night, feeling a lot happier than he had, since Cristina had left Maine.
The next few days were a complete blur for Owen. He had interviews on a couple of morning shows plus he had the book signings in the afternoons. It was just an endless parade of people who needed their copy of the book signed. His hand hurt, every evening but he was always ready for the next day. Phyllis had told him that initial sales of the book were already going well. Pre-orders on Amazon were quite high. He was glad because the book was not only his accomplishment but also Cristina's. That is why he had dedicated the book to her. Without her, the book would have never been completed.
He woke up early on Thanksgiving morning. He had a leisurely breakfast at a nearby restaurant and then picked up two bouquets of flowers for Cristina and Helen - red roses for Cristina and white lilies for Helen. He hoped that they liked them.
He put in Cristina's address into his GPS and drove to Westchester. He pulled up in front of a house with a brick and stone façade. It had a strong, traditional look about it. "So this is where Cristina grew up," he thought to himself. Picking up the bouquets and his overnight bag from the back seat, he made his way up the path to the front door. He heard some shuffling in the house and it sounded like somebody had fallen down on their way to open the front door. The door opened and Owen found himself looking down at the person in front of him.
"Hey, Logan, happy Thanksgiving," Owen said. "Can I come in?" Logan's mouth was dirty like if he had been eating.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Owen," he said. "Come in." Owen stepped inside. He could detect a delectable smell of food in the house. He gave a cursory look around and noted the family pictures on the fireplace mantel in the living room. There were pictures of Cristina as a child. He made a mental note to take a closer look at those pictures.
"Where's your mommy?" Owen asked. "Kitchen," Logan said. "Come on." He beckoned Owen to follow him.
"Mommy, Grandma, Owen is here," Logan said. Cristina looked up, a little surprised. She knew she told him to come early but not that early. She looked like a mess. She unconsciously put up her hand to check her face and managed to put a dab of flour on her cheek. Owen found it quite irresistible. He grinned.
"Brought you flowers," he said. He handed Helen the lilies and kissed her on her cheek. "Hope you're feeling better, Helen."
"Much," Helen said. Then, he gave Cristina the red roses, wiped the flour from her cheek and then gave a soft kiss on the lips. Helen was taken aback a bit. She hadn't known that Cristina's relationship with Owen had progressed to a romantic one. "I guess I will take these flowers and put them in water. The lilies will be perfect for the centerpiece for the table," Helen said, leaving Owen and Cristina alone, as she grabbed Logan's hand to lead him out of the room.
"Hey," Owen said. "Missed you. A lot."
"Gosh, I look like a mess," she said. "You should have given me fair warning. I would have managed to put a brush through my hair."
"Nah, you're beautiful just the way you are," he said, giving her another soft kiss. "Would you show me to my room?" She nodded. He followed her up the stairs to a bedroom at the far end. "This is it," she said. "Our guest room. You have your own bath, too." He sat on the bed and pulled her towards him, so he could kiss her. Their kissing became more fervent and frantic, so he fell back on to the bed with her on top of him. He pulled himself further into the bed, so they could get more comfortable. He rolled her over, so he was on top. They were so engrossed in making out, that they didn't notice the small person on the side of the bed, watching them. Cristina briefly opened her eyes to notice her son looking at her. She didn't know how long he was standing there.
"Oh, my God, Owen, stop, we have company," she said. "Um, hi Logan," Owen said, sheepishly.
"Grandma says if you're done showing Owen the room, you can come help her," Logan said. It didn't seem to worry him that Owen was on top of his mother.
"Okay, Logan. We will be right there," Cristina said, throwing Owen off of her. As Logan left the room, they both burst out laughing. "Seriously, I need to teach that boy about knocking before entering. Let's go help Mom," she said, getting up. She pulled him up from the bed. They wrapped their arms around each other and headed down the stairs.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. Thanks for taking the time to do so.