She wanted to be with him and March, to join the puzzle they had been working on when she had left them an hour ago. An hour too much. All she wanted was to slip back into that comfortable life as though she belonged. To another version of herself, it was laughable that she felt as though she did belong after so little time, but that version had learnt to shut up.
In a matter of days, she had squirreled her way into the family that Raphael had curated, and he had held her hand the whole way. He had pulled her in; his son had welcomed her with open arms, no questions asked. To him, it was simple. He had sent off a wish and Santa had delivered.
Tala felt the same way, as though there had to have been some kind of cosmic intervention for her to have found Raphael right when she needed him. Her thoughts lingered on the question he had asked a few days ago: did she believe in soulmates? The more she thought about it, the more she agreed with the answer she had given without hesitation.
Of course she did. She hadn't always, but that was before she had met the person she thought really could be the one.
She rushed the rest of the cleaning, throwing her things into the bag that she hauled out to the car before doing a quick once-over. Leaving a scrawled note – an apology and a thank you, and the cash for the extra night – she locked the door and clambered into her freezing car. It was even colder than outside, but she would be back with Raphael in half an hour. That thought warmed her up.
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The puzzle was still going. March was crouching by the coffee table, his little face scrunched up as he stared at the pieces in front of him, and Raphael was sitting with his back against the sofa, a mug of coffee in one hand. The other was idly playing with his son's hair. Tala spotted them through the window, her spirits lifting when her gaze fell on the moment of undisturbed fatherly love.
She didn't want to break the moment but it was cold outside and the door was locked, so she waited a few seconds until March lurched forward to place a piece and she rapped on the door. Raphael jumped to his feet to let her in, pulling her into the deliciously warm house, and a hug.
"Hey there, beautiful," he said. "Fancy seeing you here."
"Long time no see," she said, kissing him when he let go of her arms and pushed the door shut. "That's the longest we've been apart in a whole week," she added, her own eyebrows raising with the realisation.
"Wow. No wonder I felt so weird." He ran his hand down his side. "This is your nook. Kinda cold without you."
She tucked herself against him, his arm around her shoulders, and he grinned.
"That's better," he said. His hand warmed her cold shoulder. "Like it was made for you." His hand moved to hers, leading her back to the sitting room. March had separated all the edge pieces and now he was slowly finding matching patterns to fill the middle. He looked up and smiled before returning to his puzzle, unfazed by her presence, as though he expected it now.
