Tale as Old as Time

Chapter 11

Getting back to Boston felt like a little bit of heaven for me. This house was our home and I really loved it. Chris arrived a little after me, still just finishing up with The Winter Soldier. So I just decided I would go about making Boston my home.

I would take East for runs every morning although they had started getting slower and shorter. He really wasn't keeping up anymore. When he struggled I'd take him home and sit with him for a while before going out into the yard and practicing free running We had so many structures and trees it was fun figuring out new ways to make my way around the house.

I started pole dancing at a gym in the city. I really liked some of the women I did it with too. We started doing things together outside of the class. Usually brunch but sometimes we'd go dancing together. They were a good group of women and I really liked spending my time with them. For a lot of them it just felt like we might be on the same page. I felt comfortable talking about my sexuality and desires with them, even though I never went into much detail.

Gaby was back. Oh god did it feel good having her around again. We found some people who hosted things like Harry Potter balls and trivia to get our nerd out. She lived with James now, so it wasn't quite like before, she spent a lot of time with him. He was a good person though, and I liked being around him. Even though we did both have other people, I knew Gaby was still mine to some extent and we always made that special time for each other. Even if it was just PJs and watching Doctor Who time.

It was a good thing I liked him too because not long after they found a place together she invited me out for dinner with him to announce she was engaged.

"Oh. My. God!" I squealed, as I held her hand in mine and looked at her ring. "You guys! Congratulations!" I pulled her against me, hugging her tightly.

She pushed me off her. "Stop smothering me with your boobs."

I laughed and hugged her again and then James. "When? When are you doing it?"

"We were thinking October of next year. Maybe in California? You'll be my maid of honour right?"

I squealed with excitement. "Really? But you have so many sisters."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Of course it was going to be you. You're my soul mate."

Work was great too. I was my own boss. Not only that I was the boss of two other people. I had Gaby working for me and I hired a guy from Austria who had just gotten his PhD. His name was Jullien and he'd done his PhD on the Eurasian Brown Bear and we were looking at the role of Black bears and Coyotes in the Massachusetts Woodlands ecosystems. It was good having someone who knew bears on the team. We worked with rangers to put trackers of animals and things had already gotten off to a strong start.

Having Chris' family nearby was great. Lisa and I would go see Carly and the kids together. I'd get lunch in the city with Shanna sometimes. People would randomly pop around just to check up on me or bring me food.

When Chris got home I was feeling really good. Like this was how my life was supposed to be. I wasn't in this weird interim phase where I was just doing the things I needed to do to get to what my life was supposed to be. I wasn't just shadowing Chris' life. I had friends and family and hobbies and work and I was happy.

Chris being home was even better. We had people around for barbeques. We sometimes baby sat Carly's kids. We did things to the house together. I can't describe it any other way than to say that I felt like I was home. This was my home. More than any other place had been before in my entire life. I felt ready to try for kids again because that felt like the only missing piece.