REAL, michael j. fox

Chapter 15: Heart of Mine

Song Selection: Never Let Me Go by Florence+The Machine

I was scared. That's when I realized what Michael and I have is something different. I knew I loved him, which was something that was new to me. It was...something else too though.

Something real

And that's why I'm sitting here scared and also happy all at the same time. Let's just- just start from this morning, shall we? Easier for the story to be told.

****

I brushed off my coat as we got out of the car, seeing Mike's family home now before us and having me take a peak at what exactly he grew up with. The front door opened to reveal his mother beaming over to us, having me let out a light laugh under my breath over he enthusiasm. "Caitlin! Hope you're a fan of waffles!" She called out and gestures to us, "Head inside you two before you freeze. California has made the two of you soft to this sort of weather no doubt."

Mike sighed under his breath and I laughed at this. "And you were wondering why I didn't want to spend the weekend at my parent's house. Hotel was the better option."

"Sure Fox, that's the only reason," I told him with a smug grin to have him blush slightly at the knowing comment, "Now c'mon! There's waffles!"  He rolled his eyes, taking my hand in his to lead me up the steps and soon enough seating ourselves in the dining room.

As his mother mentioned there were, in fact, plenty of waffles for the the four of us to enjoy and leaving us to succumb to silence due to overall hunger between everyone. That is, of course, until the dreaded small talk soon started. "So Caitlin, I hear you're the youngest surgeon in America. Must be a lot of stress for you," Michael's dad mentioned.

"It is but she's good at what she does. Makes sure everything goes the way it should," Mike told him.

I couldn't help myself to smile and held his hand under the table. "When you work with kids, you tend to be always looking for the most efficient solution because they've still got the rest of their life ahead of them. Pediatrics is a whole world of its own and I get to quite literally mend broken hearts which is all the more poetic to me at times; I love it."

His Dad smiled in approval and I assumed the typical questions would be over after this as everyone continued on with their attention on the waffles. Such not lasting for as long as I hoed for as his mother now continued on with some questions of her own. "Well I'm sure with working with so many kids you want some of your own, right?"

"Of course! In the future when everything for me is secure and I've found the right guy to settle down with," I told her casually, not realizing what my words were meaning or if they could have any significance. I could catch Michael beside me, his cheeks beginning to redden to match his small grin.

"I'm sure you'd make a great mother. Now let's eat as much as we can everyone! The game starts at 12!" All awkward questions aside, I excused myself from the table for a minute as everyone finished up and used it as an excuse to peak through the house to find any photos of Michael in his younger years.

Spotting a photo of him, probably not much older than the age of 8, in a team photo of his hockey term made me smile at his toothy grin. That along with pairs of photos from his high school graduation to his numerous photos from pre-K and such. "You get lost on your way to the bathroom there?"

I jumped slightly, stopping my walk through his childhood and seeing my Michael now standing before me with arms crossed jokingly. "Well you're a sly Fox. And also had such a cute little toothy grin, look at this!" He sighed deeply in annoyance at this, turning me away from he photos immediately to send me laughing hysterically. "You were adorable, c'mon!"