Nomads

Chapter 26

Mara bounded out of the house the next morning with a skip in her step and a grin on her face, humming some jolly little tune.

She'd won their bet, just like she knew she would.

Luca hadn't given her many details in the short text he sent her late last night. He just said 'you won' and she knew exactly what it meant. And this morning when she replied to his message asking a bunch of questions, he replied with 'meet me at the park by your house in 10 minutes'.

Needless to say, Mara was thrilled with the prospect of finding out exactly what went down the night before at his house. She was also excited to tell him about her cousin's visit, and how they cried together before playing board games until 1 in the morning. It was such a good family bonding kind of thing that she had missed a lot after moving here.

And so, without further ado, she briskly walked to the park where Luca was waiting.

Rounding the corner of her street, she spotted the figure of her boyfriend slumped in one of the swing sets a little ways away. Seeing the way his shoulders seemed to sag with the weight of a metaphorical heavy burden, she felt concern spike in her chest and picked up her pace.

"Hey, stranger." Mara called when she was closer. She watched as his head snapped up in her direction and his tense shoulders relaxed some. He stood up and began to move toward her to meet her halfway.

"Hey," he mumbled when they were right in front of each other, just before sweeping her into a hug and burying his face in her shoulder.

"Why so serious, my love?" she murmured, returning the embrace. "Is everything alright?"

"I talked with my uncle last night. It was... it was a lot for me."

She pulled back and scanned his features. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He nodded, taking her hand and pulling her toward the swing set where he had been sitting before. "Yes. I have a lot to tell you. I'm just, I'm still tired from that conversation and I needed a hug. Sorry if I worried you."

Mara grinned, letting him lead her and taking the seat right next to him with their hands still interlocked. "It's alright. I don't mind."

There was a long pause, and after a bit Mara squeezed her boyfriend's hand assuringly.

With a sigh, he began his story. "Uncle Bruce told me that he wanted me to know he was there for me, and I asked him about his relationship with my dad. He told me about how he could never measure up to my father in grandpa's eyes, and I ended up telling him about what happened with my dad."

Mara's brows raised slightly with surprise. "Did you tell him everything?" she asked softly.

"No, I gave him a shorter, more general version of the story. But it's the most I've told anyone besides you."

Mara hummed in thought. "How did he take it?"

"He believed me, which I was a little surprised about. And I also ended up telling him about how meeting you and giving my life to Jesus helped me forgive my dad."

Mara gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at her boyfriend, who simply continued to stare at the mulched ground in front of him. "How did that go?"

"I thought he would really be weirded out about it. But he wasn't. He actually was listening intently and really considering what I was saying. After that, he asked me a few questions, and I did my best to answer them, and we talked about life and my parents for hours. He didn't, you know, convert, or anything, but I think his perspective on all of that might have changed. I don't know. I thought I was going to die when I was telling him; my heart was pounding and I was scared he wouldn't understand and would get upset with me."