Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 50

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Second Chances in New Port Stephen - Chapter 50

Eli was about to protest that his parents’ house was, at most, a twenty-minute walk away, but
then he remembered how Nick’s mother had died and decided not to push the issue. “Yeah,” Eli
said instead. “Yeah, that sounds good. If you don’t mind.”
Nick’s smile was—new. Nervous? Coy? Eli couldn’t tell, and he’d thought he knew all of Nick’s
smiles. “I don’t mind. But I’d really appreciate it if you got the door for me?” He shook his key
ring in the hand that was occupied with holding Zoe against his hip.
“Shi—shoot. Of course.” Eli rushed forward to take the keys and get the front door unlocked.
Once they were all inside, safe from prying eyes, shoes off, Eli expected to get out of the way
while father and daughter went through their bedtime routine, but he ended up enmeshed in
every step. Nick sat with Zoe in the bathroom, helping her brush her teeth while Eli picked out
her pajamas. (He and Zoe agreed that the green plaid ones with the pinecone embroidered on
the front pocket were understated and classy.) By then, Zoe’s tears had dried, and she was the
kid equivalent of a wrung-out dishrag, rubbing at her tired eyes and yawning hugely.
Christmas cookies and milk were set out for Santa, and Eli listened attentively to Zoe’s sleepy
mumbles as she explained how Santa stopped at Daddy’s house to deliver one gift that she
could open in the morning before going to Grammy’s, where the rest of her presents would be
waiting. Also, Santa apparently entered Florida houses by making himself paper-thin and sliding
under the front door, since there wasn’t a chimney. Eli agreed that this all checked out.
He left the final step—the tucking-in and bedtime story—in Nick’s hands, and fell into the cozy
embrace of the sectional sofa to catch his breath. There was a ceramic tabletop tree in the

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corner of the spartan living room, its lights blinking in a slow, soothing pattern. He could hear
the low rumble of Nick’s voice from down the hall as he read ’Twas the Night Before Christmas
to Zoe. In another lifetime, he thought with muzzy warmth, this might have been his living
room, and his Nick, and his Christmas Eve traditions.