A long lane at night

2.11. WHATEVER YOU WANT Part 2

All the preparations were made. Jack's shoulder bag had all the material he needed for his first day as a Uni professor. After spending a good hour on her dad's arms, Alice was peacefully sleeping in the cot in our room and I was dutifully and gladly walking him to his car.

'Have a wonderful first day, Sunbeam,' I said with a kiss before he opened the door. 'We'll be right here waiting for you when you arrive back home. Now go make better scholars than your old classmates.'

'You are perfect, do you know that?'

'You keep telling me that, I might one day believe it.'

He gave me another kiss, stepped into his car and drove off. I stood there staring as his car disappeared into the thin woods that separated us from the town. Morning traffic meant he would take probably some good two hours to arrive and that was why he blatantly refused to take early morning class. It was a late addition to his deal with the dean, after he found out we would make the town our permanent residence instead of the city.

I went back inside, where Margaret was washing the dishes after having her final breakfast with the whole family. Now that Alice was almost ten months old, she felt it was time to go back to her city house. 'She has two well-trained fathers, two uncles, and two grandfathers with a sharp eye on her. I miss my home.'

Jack had offered to drive her, but she was afraid he might be late for his first day. Uncles Allan and Brian would do the honours at some point during the morning, instead.

I approached Margaret at the sink and told her to leave the dishes to me, so she could go enjoy her kids a bit longer. She gave me a thankful smile and handed me her apron. I shrugged and put in on.

I kept busy over the sink and I was thinking of maybe cooking something special to welcome Jack back home later, when I felt a pair of arms engulf me from behind. Recognising who they belonged to, I relaxed a little.

'Thanks, uncle Allan.'

'Sometimes I feel like we don't hug you enough, Nate,' he said. 'You know we love you just like we love the other three, right? And just like with the other three, there is nothing Brian and I wouldn't do to make you happy and accomplished.'

'That means a lot. Thanks.'

He slightly motioned his arms, which could both mean he wanted to let go or that he wanted me to face him so he could hug me properly. I decided to gamble on the second one and spun in his embrace.

And I made the right move. Uncle Allan really gives the best hugs and he squeezed me in his arms. It made me realise how much I was holding deep inside without taking notice. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed.

'You and Jack together remind me a lot of Brian and I,' he said, still holding me tight. 'He also keeps it all in until he can take it no longer. I spend a huge amount of energy trying to dissipate his pressure and he spends his making sure I remain on track. May I offer some advice, though?'

'Always, uncle Allan.'

'You are always one step ahead of Jack, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but try practicing letting him get to the conclusion with you instead of coming to him with a ready solution. I know you hate it when you see him feeling powerless and that is a great way to start changing that. Still have a plan for everything, but let him believe he's also part of that plan. After all, I'm positive he's always the reason behind your decisions, isn't he?'

'One hundred per cent.'

We had all that conversation through our hug and I finally let go of his embrace, I felt refreshed. Maybe that was the solution for a problem that wasn't as small as I liked to believe. If Jack's parents were aware of it, maybe I have been cutting their kid too much away from the decision-making process in the family we were starting to build and I absolutely didn't want that dynamic for us.