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Marcy sat down with a stack of photo albums and a sweet smile on her face. David lit up like a Christmas tree sitting next to his future mother-in-law and knowing he was about to dive head first into “Patrick Brewer Age 0 - Age 18.”
“So, this is the first album and then they go in chronological order. I’m so excited to share this with you! And especially since Patrick is out with his father,” winked Marcy conspiratorially. Her wink reminded David of Patrick’s in a their-whole-face-moves-with-a-wink-kind-of-way.
David started thumbing through the albums. He and Marcy joked and cooed and awed at different photos while sipping on some iced tea. David heard stories of Patrick, saw his messy curls, shorter hair, penchant for blue and mid range denim. Marcy loved to share and offered David to take some photos, although at most, he would scan them in and send them back to her.
Eventually, Clint and Patrick came back from their day at the ballpark. Patrick looked wind burnt, but happy and Clint gave Marcy a kiss before heading upstairs to shower.
“Oh. So, the tickets to the ballgame was just a ploy for you to show David all of my childhood photo albums? I thought you were supposed to be on my side as my mother?” Patrick teased Marcy.
“Oh, my sweet boy. You know that I needed to find a way for David to love me more than Clint,” joked Marcy.
David just preened and smiled. “Mmhhm. Well, between the photo albums and the pies and ohmygod, the lasagna, I’m not sure there was really a contest.”
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Later that night, David and Patrick were getting ready for bed. Patrick noticed the stack of photos on the dresser and picked them up to leaf through. “Why did you choose these specific photos?” he asked.
David walked over and began to look through them. “Um, some are just cute. Some remind me of future Patrick — the one who loves spreadsheets and planning and blue shirts. Some show me a happiness on your face that haven’t always seen.”
“What do you mean? I’m really happy, Babe.”
David stroked down Patrick’s arm. “No, no. I know that, I do. Just, like see this photo. It’s you and so many friends and you just look so elated. Sometimes I wonder if you need more friends in Schitt’s Creek. Like your own group. Whatever happened to everyone?”
“Well, I think that in the moment of that photo, I was really happy. I was much younger — maybe 14 or 15? But honestly, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had barely started to date Rachel — it was more of a ‘let’s hang out more often’ thing. I wouldn’t say that I was elated to be with these specific people.”
David hummed in acknowledgement. Patrick proceeded, “I guess that over high school and then college, you just lose touch. You grow up and grow different. I never knew I was unhappy until I was headed for marriage with Rachel and it just overwhelmed me. And you know the story — even then, I wasn’t sure why.”
“So, you don’t miss them? You aren’t missing something now?” prodded David showing a bit of his old self and lack of confidence.
Patrick knew what David was doing and closed the gap placing his hands on his hips. “David, I have an amazing life. I have a great group of friends. I live in a town that is loving and caring and full of quirky people. My parents and friends know who I really am. I run a very profitable immersive experience with my business partner who also happens to be the love of my life that I am going to marry. What would I be missing?”
David just nodded and put his hands on Patrick’s shoulders.
“I have everything I need. And I promise that if I need more of anything, I’ll say something.” Patrick dropped his voice a bit and continued, “Speaking of, do you want to get in bed now, David?” He gripped David’s hips harder and pushed him back towards the bed.
“Mr. Brewer, we are in your parent’s house!”
“But, I have a cute boy, who, may I remind you, is the love of my life, in my childhood bedroom. I plan to make 14 year old Patrick REALLY HAPPY.”