Chapter 14 - The Christmas He Finally Stayed Home
One year after Evelyn left, Christmas Eve returned.
Snow covered Chicago.
Noelle House was full.
Families decorated trees.
Children baked cookies.
Evelyn spent the afternoon helping wrap donated gifts.
Adrian spent two hours assembling a toy kitchen and used language Father Bell strongly disapproved of.
At sunset, they went home.
Their townhouse smelled like tomato sauce.
Evelyn stood in the kitchen.
Noelle waddled between cabinets.
Adrian came downstairs wearing sweatpants.
Evelyn stared dramatically.
“You’re not wearing a suit.”
“No.”
“You’re not leaving?”
“No.”
“No mysterious consultant?”
“No.”
“No secret meeting?”
“No.”
“No empire emergency?”
“I don’t have an empire.”
She smiled.
“Good answer.”
He approached.
“What can I do?”
“Set the table.”
He did.
Two plates.
Then a small plastic plate for Noelle.
Adrian placed his phone inside a drawer.
Evelyn noticed.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing tonight is more important.”
“That sounds suspiciously romantic.”
“I’ve been practicing.”
Dinner was imperfect.
Noelle threw pasta.
Adrian burned bread.
Evelyn forgot dessert in the oven.
They laughed.
At 11:38 p.m.—the exact time Evelyn had received the photographs the year before—Adrian handed her a small package.
She stared.
“If this is another bracelet worth more than a car…”
“It isn’t.”
Inside was a simple brass key.
Evelyn frowned.
“To what?”
“The front door.”
“We already have keys.”
“Not this door.”
He handed her an address.
A small building downtown.
Evelyn recognized it.
The foundation office where they first met.
“You bought it?”
“No.”
“Adrian.”
“I leased one floor.”
“For what?”
He smiled.
“The Evelyn Moretti Foundation for Family Independence.”
Her eyes filled.
“What does it do?”
“Legal aid. Emergency housing. Financial planning.”
He paused.
“For people who need somewhere to go before they need to run.”
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“That’s…”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
She hugged him.
He held her carefully.
Noelle waddled over and demanded inclusion.
Adrian picked her up.
At midnight, church bells sounded in the distance.
Evelyn looked at her husband.
“One year.”
“Yes.”
“Last Christmas I left you.”
“I remember.”
“You tore your empire apart.”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
Adrian looked at his daughter.
Then his wife.
“No.”
“None of it?”
“I regret needing to lose almost everything before understanding what mattered.”
Evelyn touched his face.
“You didn’t lose everything.”
“No.”
May you like
He kissed her forehead.
“I found out what everything was.”
