Chapter 6 #2
My mind kept wandering to what it would be like to live around here.
I could picture eventually getting a big house with a porch.
Carter and I would sit out on our porch swing and drink our morning coffee together while we talked about what we had planned for the day.
When we had a kid, we could build a swingset in the backyard for them.
It was easy to picture, but then again, it was easy to picture any life with Carter. It didn’t matter where we were. I knew as long as we were together, I was exactly where I was meant to be.
As soon as we pulled into the driveway, the front door opened and Carter came out, waving like crazy. I said goodbye to Ethan, then hopped out of the car. Even though we hadn’t been apart that long, I found myself practically running up the driveway.
Carter and I met on the sidewalk, and she wrapped me in a tight hug. “Is it weird if I missed you?” she whispered in my ear.
“If it is, then we’re both weirdos, because I missed you too.”
“Good.” Carter pulled away from the hug, but immediately intertwined our fingers.
We walked hand in hand up the sidewalk, and I once again pictured what it would be like if we lived in a house like this, rather than our small New York apartment.
“I need to talk to you about something, but first, I want to hear how things went with your grandma. I’m just mentioning it so I don’t forget. ”
“Jax.” Carter came to a stop and turned to stare at me.
“How many times have I told you that you can’t do that to someone with anxiety?
If you’re going to mention you need to talk about something, then the talk needs to happen right away.
Otherwise, my mind is going to jump to the worst case scenario, which means you’re either dumping me or dying. ”
Wow. This girl had a very overactive imagination. Maybe that’s why she’s so good at writing. “I promise you I’m not dying or dumping you. Dying would be the more likely of the two, but as far as I know, I’m as healthy as can be.”
“Then what is it?”
“Let’s go upstairs and talk, okay?”
Carter squeezed my hand. “You are dumping me, aren’t you?” The lightheartedness in her voice told me she knew that wasn’t the case.
“Never, darling.” In a move that even I was surprised I could pull off, I swept Carter into my arms and carried her up the stairs.
I tried to sit her down on the bed nicely, but tripped over my own feet and ended up on top of her. I smirked down at her. “Quite an interesting position we find ourselves in.”
Carter brought her hand between us and pushed me away. “Absolutely not. That is not happening until you tell me what you want to talk about.”
I sighed and positioned myself so I was sitting beside her. I stared down at my hands. I couldn’t look her in the eyes because I was embarrassed by what I was about to admit. “I got some bad news from Betty.”
“Betty as in your boss? When did you talk to her? Did something happen at the cafe while you were out? Do we need to get back there?”
I shook my head but continued to stare down at my hands. “No. This happened the last time I worked. I was going to talk to you about it right when I got home, but that was the day you found out about your grandpa. I didn’t want you to have to worry about me when you had enough on your mind.”
“So, what happened?” I could feel Carter’s eyes burning into me, but I still didn’t look at her. “You’re really scaring me.”
“Betty is…” Oh god, please don’t cry. A sob escaped from my throat. “She’s passing the cafe on to her niece. Everything I’ve been working toward has been a complete waste.”
Two strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me close.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. God, I know how hard you worked for this.
I can’t believe Betty would do that to you.
I know we never really talked about it, but I kind of assumed it was a done deal and that you would be the first person she offered to sell to. ”
I snorted. “That’s what I thought too. Hell, Betty flat out asked if I was interested in buying, and trust me, my answer was a very enthusiastic yes.”
Carter placed two quick kisses on my temple that immediately had my body relaxing. “What changed?”
“I have no idea. She didn’t really give any details, and I wasn’t going to question it right in front of the girl who’s taking over. She already seemed terrified.”
“I’ve never even heard about this niece. Is she one of your coworkers?”
“That’s the really insane part.” I laughed at the absurdity of it all. “She’s from Ohio. She’s never even been to New York. She’s fresh out of college and has literally no experience.”
“That makes no fucking sense.”
I laughed again, but this was more sincere. “You normally don’t swear unless we’re having sex.”
“I also swear when I’m pissed, and I am very pissed off right now.
I feel like Betty has been using you. She knew why you were working so hard and took advantage of that.
It’s not fair at all.” Carter squeezed me even tighter.
“We’ll figure it out though, okay? I promise.
Whatever you want or need to do, I support you one-hundred percent. ”
“Thank you. I’ll think about it and let you know.” I figured that was enough to throw at Carter for one day. Asking her to completely uproot her life was a conversation for the future (if I ever decided to do it at all). “So, how did it go with your grandma?”
Carter pulled away from me slightly and sighed. “It was fine. We found a really nice place that she was agreeable to.”
There was definitely more that Carter wanted to say. “I sense a but coming.”
“She’s sad. Really sad. And I don’t blame her.
This has been her house for so long. It seems really unfair that she has to give it up at this point.
She doesn’t have much time left. I can’t help but feel like she deserves to live out the rest of her days in this house where all of her memories are. ”
A few tears fell from Carter’s eyes, but it might as well have been a monsoon because it broke my heart to see it. Now I was the one pulling her in close. I just hoped it helped her as much as it always helped me. “What can I do? How can I help?”
“I’m not sure, but I think there might be something I can do.
” Carter unwrapped herself from me and jumped from the bed.
“This is going to sound really crazy, and I haven’t even decided if it makes any sense.
It’s definitely not logical, and I love logic.
Logic keeps me from completely losing it.
” Carter paced back and forth across the room, her pace picking up each time she turned.
“I would really have to think about it, and I definitely won’t even consider it if you tell me it’s a bad idea. ”
I stood from the bed and stepped in front of Carter. I put my hands on her shoulders to stop her movements. “I can’t tell you whether or not it’s a good idea until you tell me what the idea is. I also can’t focus with you running laps around the room, so can we sit back down?”
Carter closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then blew it out through her nose. “You’re right.”
“I’m always right.” I chuckled as I led her over to the bed. “Now tell me more about this big plan that has you so overwhelmed you’re acting like you’re training for a marathon.”
“You won’t be laughing when I tell you what it involves.”
Cryptic, but I wasn’t one to be easily deterred. “Try me.”
“So, you know how my boss is fine with me working from home when it’s necessary?”
“You mean when you’re on your death bed but refuse to call out sick? Yes, I know.”
Carter nodded a bunch of times. “I don’t know for sure, but I feel like they’d be okay with me working remotely more often.
Like, I think they’d probably approve it if I asked to go completely remote.
My boss has honestly encouraged me to work from home a few days a week.
The only reason I don’t is because I like the structure working in my office provides. ”
“So, are you saying you want to work from home more often? What does that have to do with your grandma? Are you planning to come down and visit more often or something?” I honestly had no clue where she was going with this. It felt like she was talking in circles.
“So, not to sound morbid, but I don’t think my grandma has much time left. She was already in bad shape, and I feel like losing my grandpa is going to be the final straw. I’d be surprised if she lived a whole year.”
“Okay…” She wasn’t wrong. It was definitely morbid. I just hoped she got to the point soon so my brain stopped feeling like it was spinning in circles.
“I want her to spend whatever time she has left here, in her own house. No one else is going to stay with her, so I thought maybe I could. I hate the thought of being away from you, but maybe we could figure something out. It would be a lot of driving back and forth for both of us and we would have to sit down and really map out how it would work to see if it’s even possible.
I don’t want to give up my time with you, but-”
I cut Carter off with the laughter that bubbled up from my belly.
I didn’t know if this was fate or serendipity or just some really crazy coincidence, but it really felt like this was meant to be.
It was like everything fell apart at the same time, so something great could come together.
“What if we didn’t have to be apart? What if I moved down here with you? ”
Carter’s eyes went wide and she shook her head back and forth countless times as if she couldn’t believe what I was saying. “Whoa.” She put one hand in the other. “I never said anything about moving. I more so meant that this would be a temporary arrangement.”
“But what if we did move? I know you love New York, but if you are able to work remotely and my job is at a dead end, this might be the perfect time to try something new.” I put on my most charming smile. “What do you say?”
Carter rubbed her head. “I wasn’t sure about committing to a few months. How am I supposed to commit to forever?”
“A move doesn’t have to be forever. Nothing has to be forever.”
“But if this was more than just temporary, we’d be giving up our apartment. What if we decide to move back?”
I shrugged. “Then we find a new place. I’m pretty sure there are other apartments in New York.”
Carter loved to make everything more complicated than it actually was, and I liked to act like everything would just fall together no matter what. It was a good balance.
Carter moved her eyes over my face as if she was searching for something. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“As serious as I ever am.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Carter jumped from the bed and hurried over to the bedroom door, closing it behind her as she ran away. I felt like I knew Carter pretty well by now, but at that moment, I couldn’t figure out if that was a good reaction or a bad one.
All I could do now was wait to find out.