Chapter 28
Darkest of Days
Noah
I sat in front of my computer, impatiently checking the time as I waited for the video call to start.
My boss had said we needed to do a quick meeting today because she wanted to run something by me.
I’d rearranged my day, and I was hoping to get this over with quickly so I could run some errands before I picked up Addie from school.
I thought of Jules and wondered if I could see her tonight.
She’d been scarce this week because her parents were staying at her place and Addie was at mine.
We still found the time to talk via text, but I knew we needed to see each other face-to-face, or at least I did.
After being together for a week straight, time apart like this felt like too much distance.
We’d agreed we were trying something, but it felt like we hadn’t had a conversation we needed to.
We were on the same page, right? I’d texted this morning to see how long her parents were going to be in town and if they all wanted to come to my place to have dinner with us, but I hadn’t heard back from her, which was unusual.
I glanced at my phone, but still no reply.
I was just picking it up to send her another message when my monitor showed the call starting, so I put my phone to the side.
Karen’s face came on the screen as I made sure my mic and video were all set.
I was taken aback by her appearance. She had shadows under her eyes and looked strung out, not at all like herself.
“Hey, Karen, you okay?”
We’d worked closely together for years, and I’d never seen her like this. She was typically unflappable and always put together.
Karen sighed, exhaustion visible even through the screen. “Noah, I’m cutting to the chase because we share a distaste for bullshit.”
“To be fair, I don’t believe anyone enjoys the taste.” I tried to joke, but I could see it fell flat, which only increased my concern.
“We’ve lost major funding.”
“Wait, what?” We had multiple streams of funding to avoid any catastrophes. I’d had some meetings earlier in the month to deal with a few issues, but I thought they’d been resolved.
“The grants we were able to secure in the past have been reallocated due to the current federal climate. We haven’t had as many donations this year, and costs across the board have all gone up.”
She shared her screen, and I looked at the numbers she was referring to. This was bleak.
“What are you saying?” My heart was jackhammering in my chest. I had a damn good feeling I knew what was coming.
“Noah, I’m sorry. I’ve been looking at these numbers for the better part of a month. You have a ton of seniority in the company, so you’re not out a job, but the only positions currently open are on location in Africa.” Karen looked like she might vomit.
I wanted to join her.
Africa. I loved the place, but I knew it wasn’t where I belonged anymore.
Addie had just turned six. Last night I’d lain in her room under the large castle canopy we’d gotten her for her birthday to go over her bed.
She had a matching one at Jake and Ivy’s place.
She’d told me her bedtime stories as I lay beside her and cataloged all the ways she had changed already in the past eighteen months of seeing her daily.
I couldn’t leave her again, but what was I going to do?
“Karen, when do you need to know my answer?” I asked, figuring that was the fastest way off this call.
“I can give you a week,” she said. “Noah, for what it’s worth, I’m so damn sorry. Maybe in a year or so we’d be able to get you back in the States, but with the fluctuations in funding, it’s too precarious right now.”
“Not your fault. Thanks for looking out for me.” With a wave, I signed off and dropped my head to my desk.
I sat there for a few moments, feeling sorry for myself.
I had worked for this company for eight years.
What else did I know beyond this world? Maybe I could find a job locally.
Or I could give whatever funds we could access from my inheritance as a donation, but I didn’t know how quickly I could get my hands on anything.
And, frankly, would that fix the fact I needed to stay local?
How long would it fund my position? Would the company even want to funnel the money to ensure I could still stay stateside?
Maybe they already had more pressing needs.
In the future with the estate settled, I wouldn’t need to work full-time, but that wasn’t helpful now.
Also, I knew bone-deep I’d need something fulfilling work-wise to be happy.
Most people wouldn’t understand that, but after a lifetime of watching people in my parents’ sphere live off inheritances, that wasn’t for me.
My stomach churned with unanswered questions, and I found myself getting up and heading out my back door and to Jules’s house before I even really put it together. I needed to see her; I had before the call and now it was imperative.
I reached her back door and was surprised to find it locked. I rang the bell once, but nothing. I knocked.
“Jules?” I called. I rang the bell again. Please be here, please be here.
The door swung open, and in it stood a tall dark-haired woman I didn’t recognize. She had long hair piled on top of her head and more freckles on her face than I had seen on most adults.
“Who are you?” I asked.
She batted her eyes at me. “Your fantasies come to life. Who are you, gorgeous?”
I shook my head, so confused. What the hell was happening? “Where’s Jules?”
The woman looked at me with an assessing glance. “Went with her dad to get more moving boxes.” She gestured behind her, and I saw boxes stacked in front of Jules’s favorite kitchen nook. “Want me to pass on a message?”
I blinked, willing everything to make sense. Nope, still didn’t. I stepped away and then turned and jogged back to my house as I heard the door shut behind me. Moving boxes? Her house was being packed up? Not replying to my messages? What was going on here?
Thirty minutes later, after pacing my house and trying to call Jules no less than ten times, I still had no answers.
I’d taken off to pick up Addie with my stomach in knots, taking the scenic route to her school to try to get my mind right.
Now not only was I unsure about my job, but a relationship I’d decided to pursue looked like it was going to crash and burn and I didn’t understand why.
My mind raced, thinking about showing up at Jules’s house to find that she was moving and I hadn’t known.
Was I not enough for her? Was Highland Falls not what she’d expected?
Or now that her family knew about her writing career, was she less fearful of diving into life as a best-selling author?
I’m sure she figured out she could do better than a single dad in a small town who didn’t have his shit together in the slightest.
Yep, I was all up in my feelings. Seeing Addie would help me put everything in perspective and was exactly what I needed.
I pulled up to Addie’s school only to find I was running late.
There were only a few kids still on the playground, and most of them appeared to be playing on the equipment while their parents watched from the sides.
I got out of my car, checking the time. Yep, fifteen minutes late.
I was so preoccupied that I had my head up my ass and had missed pickup.
Shit. I scanned the kids, but where was Addie?
I jogged to the school and saw Addie’s teacher standing by the door, talking to the principal.
I knew them both, so I headed in that direction.
“Ms. Tracy, so sorry to interrupt, but I’m late to pickup and I don’t see Addie.” I was breathless at that point. The run hadn’t been hard, but everything else about the past hour sure had been.
Addie’s teacher turned toward me and gave me a reassuring smile. “Oh hey, Mr. Lawson. No worries—Addie’s grandfather picked up today. Sorry, he thought you knew.”
I looked at her in confusion for a moment. Clearly she wasn’t referring to my dad, and I’d fall over in shock if Ivy’s dad ever lowered himself to pick up his grandchild from school.
“Which grandfather,” I asked for confirmation, though I had a good guess. Really, the only one that would make sense.
Ms. Tracy double-checked her clipboard. “Sam Spencer. That’s okay, right? He’s on the approved pickup list.”
I nodded, not wanting her to worry because Sam was welcome to pick up Addie, I just usually knew if he was. “Yeah, I must have just gotten some wires crossed.”
She nodded. “I’m sure it’s hard to keep track of schedules at times. For what it’s worth, I think you all do a fabulous job of co-parenting. Addie is a lucky girl to have so many people around her that care about her.”
Ouch. Shot to the heart. I nodded and waved as I headed back to my car where my phone was. As soon as I got in, I started it up and dialed Sam’s number. No answer. I tried Margot and bingo, she answered in one.
“Afternoon, Noah. Isn’t it a beautiful day?”
“Hey Margot. I’m somehow screwing up all over the place today. Did Sam pick up Addie?” My heart was thundering in my chest, thought logic was telling me that everything was fine.
“Yes, he picked her up to have their goodbye tea party. We’re heading home in a few hours, but we’ll be down again in a few weeks.” Then she paused. “Oh no, didn’t Ivy message you?”
I exhaled for the first time in an hour, though there was plenty to still stress about. “Ah, no, she must have gotten sidetracked. No problem.”
Margot was quiet for a moment, which was always dangerous. “Noah, you don’t sound great. Come on over to Jake and Ivy’s. I’ll make you a snack or Sam can make you a drink.”
“No, I don’t want to intrude on your time with the grandkids.”
“Noah.” Her voice had the don’t-fuck-with-me tone she got at times. “Get your ass over here.”