The Lingering Kiss of Farewell novel Chapter 108

CH 108

Calvin

It was a long, noisy flight out to Montana, because little Heather cried a lot on that plane trip, and although both his mother and two sisters, as well as her own dad, had tried to settle her. It was her first plane trip and nothing seemed to really work. It came down to them thinking her ears didn’t pop during the trip.

He was honestly glad to step off his own plane and out to the awaiting cars and drivers that were lined up to take them all to the ski resort. While he stood and waited for his luggage, leaned against the open car door, he took the opportunity to text the boys “I’ve landed.”

“What does your plane look like?” had come back from them to him.

He’d smiled and taken a photo of it and sent it to them. They were very curious about the things he owned. To his surprise, he got a picture back of one of the two of them, both of them smiling at the camera. They were all rugged up and standing outside next to a foot–high snowman.

Marilyn must have taken it, and he wondered if she was okay with them sharing this picture with him. He didn’t want them to get into trouble once more. “Did your mother okay you sending me a photo?” he asked them, and then added “Don’t do it if she doesn’t say it’s okay.”

“Mum sent it for us. We built him this morning.” Came the reply.

Calvin smiled at that. Marilyn had actively taken a picture of the boys and sent it for him to see. He clicked the photo and saved it to his phone, creating an album called Cal & Vin. “Tell your mum, I said thank you. It

means the world to me.”

“OK“, he got right back and was still smiling when he closed the message as his mother walked over to where

he stood.

“What makes you so happy that you smile like that, son?” She’d asked, smiling at him.

“I’ll tell you later, when we’re all together,” Calvin stated simply, and he pocketed his phone as their luggage was loaded into the cars. His parents would be travelling with him and his two sisters and their families were in the other cars. He motioned for his mother and father to get in before him, and then they were off to Big

Sky.

“Something makes you happy, Calvin,” his father commented.

“Mm, it does,” he nodded, because he couldn’t deny that at all.

“I guess you needed this vacation,” his mother told him.

“I’ll likely be taking an extended vacation in January, just so you know, and I’ll likely not be in Texas for Christmas dinner either,” he told her, and he was hoping that Marilyn would allow him to spend the majority of the day at her home with her and the boys. He actually needed to talk to her about that, and what to get the boys. But he still couldn’t at the moment, and he wasn’t the type of person to do last–minute shopping

either.

He would buy everything online where it was possible a full six to eight weeks early and his personal assistant would see to everything being wrapped and labelled properly, and delivered back to his apartment. Anything he couldn’t get online or delivered, his personal assistant would go and pick it up for him. So that

CH 108

he didn’t have to be out among the crowds.

+8 Points >

His Christmas shopping was all already done for the year, bar the twins and Marilyn, and he didn’t know if buying Marilyn a gift was even appropriate this year. He doubted very much that she would accept anything from him, and he was definitely not getting anything from her.

Calvin didn’t even know if she would let the boys buy him a gift either, but he would like to get them something, but he couldn’t, he knew, do it without talking to her first. He didn’t want to get them anything that might seem to overshadow anything she bought them. Something like that could potentially be bad for him, and he didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize his fragile trust building with her.

“Not here for Christmas?” his mother interrupted his thoughts. “No one works on Christmas Calvin.” She frowned at him.

He could actually refute that: Lots of people did actually work on Christmas Day, and there were many

volunteers out there feeding the homeless and helping in shelters to try and bring a little spark of Christmas joy to their lives. There were also places open that people could go and eat at if they didn’t cook, but he left it

alone.

“I didn’t say it was work, mother.” He commented instead.

“Not work! Then why would you not be home for Christmas dinner? You know, we all come together at the

house for Christmas dinner,” she stated.

“I’ll likely have other plans this year is all. I’ll explain that later on when we’re all together as a family,” he told

her.

She was looking at him now, but not with curiosity, he noted. But with what appeared to be concern, he thought, “I know when that restraining order ends, I called Wil about it. The 19th of December. Calvin, you’d better not be going to harass that poor woman once again.” She muttered, “You caused her enough trouble, don’t you think?”

“I did,” he sighed. “Wil and I have been trying to make sure all her bills are covered by myself, along with other ⚫miscellaneous things.” He told her. He didn’t like being reminded of all that he’d done to Marilyn by those around him. He also didn’t want it brought up around her or the twins when his mother was allowed to go

and see her.

They arrived and checked in, and he unpacked all his things and ordered food for everyone, many pizzas to be delivered for dinner. They’d go and do the grocery shopping in the morning. He was going to cop a beating from everyone in this room when he told them, and he wondered if he should put it off for a few days to let them all enjoy the week before incurring his mother and likely his father’s wrath along with full annoyance or anger from his two sisters, or should he just bite the bullet and do it now?

He found all eyes on him as his mother announced he wasn’t likely going to make Christmas dinner and was saved from telling them why, but his phone ringing “It’s Wil.” He stated and got up and walked away from them all, to take that call outside on the veranda. “Yes Wil.” He asked shrugging his jacket on as he answered

1. it.

“Sorry to interrupt your vacation, but I’ve got court on Monday morning, and I can’t seem to find my copy of the Coltrain Accounts. Where is your copy? Do you know by any chance?”

“Don’t worry about the interruption, and you likely just saved me for the moment. As for the Coltrain file, it’s likely in my home office. Finally, it’s going to court?”

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“Yes, or finally getting the preliminary hearing. But I don’t want to miss anything in the prep work. Now when you say your home office? Is that the apartment or out at Cliffside?”

Calvin frowned. He’d not been to Cliffside in a long time, but didn’t recall bringing the Coltrain documents to the apartment either. “I don’t know, to be honest,” he stated. His Cliffside office had full security features and a walk–in safe–style storage, where he kept all the important documents. That’s why only himself and Wil were in the know about it and had access to it. Why it had a motion sensor activated cameras in all corners of the room and sent an alert to his phone if anyone went in there.

“I’ll head to your apartment first, if it’s not there. Do you mind my going out to Cliffside?”

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