Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Callie laughed out loud. "That sounds about right. How's he doing?"
"Oh, he's fine. But go on — you were going to tell me something."
"Yeah, I was." Callie took a breath. "I wasn't completely honest with you about why I moved out here." She held her breath and waited for the reaction she'd dreaded ever since she left home.
Instead, all her mom said was, "Go on."
"I've been doing my pottery the whole time, Mom. There never was a job at the bank. I only told you that so you wouldn't worry about me. You and Dad didn't think I could make enough money making my pottery."
"Oh, now, Callie Claiborne, I never said that once. It's not that we don't believe in you. We always have. It's just that we used to worry, you know. We wanted you to have a stable income."
"Yeah, I know that, and I do." She waited, expecting something more. When her mom still didn't say anything, she said, "I'm really sorry that I wasn't honest with you."
"I am too, Callie, love. But all that matters is that you're being honest now." Her mom let out a small laugh. "It's taken you long enough. I've been waiting. Your dad said we should tell you that we knew, but I thought we should wait for you to decide when the time was right."
"What?" Callie sputtered. "What do you mean, you knew?"
Her mom chuckled. "We've known from the beginning that there was never any job."
"Wait — but how?"
"That Sidney at the bank tried to rat you out."
"How did she even know?"
"I have no idea. Knowing that one, she probably went snooping — but not until after she had your job."
"But what did she say?"
Callie's mind was reeling as she tried to figure it out. There was too much to process. Her folks knew that she hadn't moved for a job and had never said so. She'd been lying to them all this time for no reason. And Sidney? Why the hell would Sidney—
Her mom laughed. "I don't know what she had in mind, Callie, but the first time I went in there after you quit — when you were still getting ready to make the move — she acted all coy.
Like she was worried about you moving all the way to California even though you didn't get the transfer you wanted. "
Callie blew out a sigh. "Damn. I didn't think about that.
I did intend to transfer to a bank out here at first, you know.
That wasn't a lie. I did apply, but they turned me down, and that's when I decided I didn't need them anyway.
I knew I could make it on my own, even if no one else believed I could. "
"Oh, Cals, we believe in you. We always have and always will. I hate that you thought otherwise. We just worry, that's all. We want the best for you."
Callie's hand came up to cover her heart. "Thanks, Mom. And I'm really sorry I didn't tell you."
"Well, I guess that makes us even, then, doesn't it?" She could hear the smile in her mom's voice. "I'm sorry that we didn't tell you we knew, too. I just wanted you to be able to come clean in your own time. And now you have, we can put it behind us, can't we?"
"Gladly. Tell Dad I'm sorry too, would you?"
"I will. But you know he'd love it if you came home to tell him yourself. Just for a visit," her mom chuckled. "Since you've got no money worries because your pottery's doing so well, right?"
Callie laughed with her. "It is. I really don't have any worries. The pottery's selling well, and it might start doing even better soon. There's some new marketing coming up that I'm hoping will help."
"Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. And when you're flush with money, you can come back and visit us more often. How about that?"
"It's a deal."
"And since you finally told me about the job — is there anything else you're keeping secret?"
"No," Callie said immediately.
"I don't mean anything bad. I just mean you never really tell me what's going on in your life anymore. No boyfriends, no nothing. I know Becca's wedding sounded lovely, but apart from that, you never talk about what's going on, other than your pottery and your coffee and your walks on the beach."
Callie laughed. "That's because that was all that was going on in my life."
"Was? Is there something different going on now?"
"Yeah, there is. I met someone, Mom. He's awesome. I think you'll really like him."
"Oh, Callie, tell me all about him. What's he like? Is he from California, or is he one of those guys at your coffee shop? I always kind of hoped you might start dating one of them. They sound nice."
Callie laughed. "No, those guys are great — Drew and Kai — but they're dating each other, so no."
"Oh, right. I never thought of that."
Callie had to laugh at her mom's surprised tone. "That's probably why I never mentioned it before, either."
"Callie Claiborne," her mom said in a mock stern tone, "would you stop keeping things from me just because you don't know how I'm going to react? I'm older than you, even if I'm not smarter than you. I can figure it out for myself, okay?"
"Okay, Mom. I promise that in the future, I'll just tell you."
"I hope so, love. That way we can be closer and work stuff out together."
Callie squeezed her eyes tight shut and had to swallow a couple of times. "I'd love that, Mom."
Her mom sniffed. "But never mind all that stuff. Tell me about this guy. What's he like? What's his name?"
"His name’s Ollie." Callie sniffed again and had to swipe away a tear that had spilled out.
"And since I just agreed to be honest and not worry about how you might react to things, I'll tell you who he is.
His name's Ollie, but his full name is Oliver Stratton.
His dad is Miles Stratton. You know — the movie director? "
"What?" her mom asked in a shocked tone. "A movie director? You mean the one who made The Long Way Home?"
"Yeah, I mean him."
"Oh my goodness, Callie. How on earth did you meet him?"
"He lives in Napa. He's friends with Becca's husband, Jacob."
"Wow. You want to watch yourself, though, Callie — in fact, no, let's just go back to wow, tell me more."
Callie grinned. "Okay. So, he lives in Napa. We haven't seen each other as much as we'd like, but we're figuring it out."
"Is he good to you, Callie? That's what matters."
"Oh, Mom, he's awesome. He's such a sweet guy. And he has two dogs."
Her mom laughed. "Oh, well, he can't be all bad, then."
Callie laughed with her. "He's awesome, Mom. I really, really like him."
"This sounds serious, Cals. Does 'really, really like' mean...?"
"Yeah, Mom. I love him."
"Oh, Callie, I'm thrilled for you. Well, I have my reservations, of course, and I will until I meet him. But I hope you'll bring him with you next time you come home."
"I'd love to, and I know he'd love to come. He's part of the reason I finally decided to tell you about me not having a job here — he encouraged me to."
"Well, tell him thanks from me, then, would you? And maybe you can do one of those video calls with him so that we can meet him that way until you can come."
"Yeah, we'll do that."
"Oh crap. Listen, Callie — Wyatt's flooding the laundry room. I don't know what I'm going to do with him. I'm gonna have to go. But call me again soon, okay? Say hello to this Ollie of yours for me."
"I will. Thanks, Mom. And thanks for being so understanding."
"Of course I understand you. I'm your mom. I love you, and your dad's the same too. We'll talk soon. Gotta go. Love you, Cals."
"Love you, Mom. Bye."
Callie set her phone down with a smile. She let out a breath, feeling so much lighter now that the truth was out. Although, apparently, the truth had been out all along — she just didn’t know it!
She picked her phone back up when she saw that she had a voicemail from Ollie.
~ ~ ~
As soon as Ollie sat down on the sofa in the den, both dogs jumped up beside him. He wrapped his arms around them, pressing his face into their fur. Peanut pawed at his thigh.
"What do you want, lady? Do you need to go out?"
She rested her head on his leg and covered her nose with her paws, making him laugh. He wasn't sure, but he thought she'd come to associate that gesture with Callie now.
"Yeah, I know. I miss her too."
Butter let out a low woof, as if voicing his agreement.
"She'll be back this weekend," he told them, "and when she comes, I'm gonna see what we can do about getting her to spend more time here."
Two tails waved back and forth in unison. He'd never know for sure if they understood, but in his mind, they understood every word he said.
He snatched his phone up off the coffee table when it rang and grinned when he saw Callie's name on the display.
"Hey, you. How are you doing?"
"I'm great, thanks. I miss you."
"I miss you too. But not long to go now."
"It's still too long for me. I'd come get you tomorrow if we didn't have this damn meeting."
"No, it's okay. I mean, sure, I want to see you, but if I drive myself down there, I can stop to see Charles on the way, hang out with him, Alara, and Zia while I'm delivering the glazes, and still be able to meet you at your place by the time you get off work."
"Yeah, I know it makes sense. I just wish we didn't have to wait. But that's the way it goes, since we're both working."
"I've been thinking about that," she said slowly.
"About what?"
"That I could come down there more often. You're tied there because work's there. I could..."
"You could, and I'd love it. But I could come to you more, too, in between. I know you love your cottage. I don't want to drag you away from it."
Butter woofed beside him.
"Aw, are the dogs with you?"
"They are."
"Say hi to them for me."
"I will. And you know what? I bet they'd love it at your place. We could take them for a run on the beach, and they'd love to run around in your yard in the trees, too."
"Oh, wow, that would be awesome," she agreed. "We'll have to get them up here. I'd love that."
"We will. We'll figure it all out. For now, most important is that we get to see each other again tomorrow. How was today? What did you get up to?"
She laughed. "Will you tell Peanut and Butter that they get to be product testers for me? I made them new water bowls. I think they're going to be great. And if they like them, I might add them as a new product line — see how they sell."
"That's a great idea." He petted the dogs, loving that Callie thought of them so often and seemed to love them.
"Oh, and I missed your call because I was talking to my mom."
"That's good. How are they?"
"Yeah, they're all great. And I told her, Ollie. I finally came clean that there never was a job here."
"I'm proud of you, Callie."
"Oh, thank you. But you know what? Apparently, they knew all along. The girl who took over my job at the bank went and told them that I didn't get the transfer."
"And they never said anything?"
"Nope. Apparently, they wanted to give me time to come clean myself."
He had to chuckle. "So that really is the last of the secrets behind us, then."
"Yep. And it turns out it never needed to be one anyway. My folks were just too good at keeping a secret of their own." She paused. "I told her about you as well. Even who you are."
He tensed a little. "And what did she have to say about that?"
Callie laughed. "She didn't care. She just wants to know that you treat me right.
Oh, and she wants us to do a video call at some point, when you're ready.
My mom will be sweet. My dad will give you a hard time to start with, just because he feels like he needs to.
And my brothers will no doubt have a million questions. But only if you want to."
"I'd love to. From what you've told me, your family sounds awesome."
She laughed. "I don't know that I'd go that far."
He hesitated, but he had to say it. "I think this is one of those times when I’m the one who gets to say — don't take it for granted."
She was quiet for a few moments, and he worried that he shouldn't have said it. But he relaxed when she said, "You're right. I shouldn't." Then she laughed. "And I'll remind you of that when they claim you as their own."
A rush of warmth filled his chest. He loved the idea of becoming part of a family like hers.
"I'd like that," he said quietly.
"Good." She paused. "Now you do the same."
"What do you mean?"
"Your dad, Ollie. He's been texting you."
He was quiet for a moment. She wasn't wrong. He'd been swiping those notifications away for weeks.
"Yeah," he said finally. "I know. I will."
"Okay." Her voice was soft — not pushing, just letting him know she saw him. "I should let you get some sleep. Big meeting tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. And you've got a long drive."
"I'll text you when I leave Charles's place."
"I'll be counting the minutes."
She laughed. "Me too."
"If we can get out of the meeting early enough, I’ll come to Charles’s with Reaves and meet you there."
"I hope you can." She yawned. "Goodnight, Ollie. Love you."
"Love you too, Callie. Night."
After he hung up, he sat there for a long moment, the dogs warm against his sides. Rosa's words from earlier rang in his mind — about marriage, about not waiting for someday.
He hadn't thought he wanted to get married. But that was before he knew Callie.
He looked down at his phone; maybe it was time to check in with his dad, too.