Prologue Owen
“ J ust get in here; we already called him from my phone,” Brandon yells to his brother who keeps trying to enter the video chat from their parents’ computer in the other room.
“How is it that the person in I.T. is the worst at this?” Graham, our youngest cousin, mumbles.
“I am not the worst at this,” James says, entering the room while frowning at Graham and Brandon. “We could have all been in the den where we could see him on the computer screen instead of crowding around a phone.”
I’m just sitting in my apartment in New York as these guys figure things out and continue their argument over whether cell reception or the internet is the best choice for a video call. I don’t want to crush James’s argument and say that the internet at that house is atrocious so I let them continue.
They’re all wearing our standard Christmas sweaters so it looks like they’re sitting down for a “cousins photo,” just without me. The jealousy I usually feel when I see them together with me off in the Big Apple doesn’t hit quite as strong today though.
“The video hasn’t cut out on you, right?” Brandon asks me, effectively shifting the conversation to why we’re here.
“Nope, I caught all of that,” I say, chuckling.
“Why aren’t you wearing your sweater?” James asks, squinting at the phone.
“My dad is working until six for last-minute orders that came in, so I’m not leaving to help my mom get dinner ready until five, which still gives me an hour.” The sweaters were given to us by my mom and her siblings a couple of years ago when Graham turned nineteen, thinking he’d be mostly done growing so we could all match. Unfortunately, my family didn’t get to head to the coast of Maine this year for Christmas to see everyone, but we agreed to wear the slightly scratchy sweaters for our parents.
“Who cares about what he’s wearing right now? What’s the big news?” Brandon asks, leaning forward in his excitement.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” I start, trying to keep my emotions tempered. There were a few things that needed to be in place before things really felt official, so I’ve been sitting on this news for a few days.
“We’ll be the judge of that.”
“Okay, so a few weeks ago, I found a temporary position posted for a high school English teaching job in Maine.”
All three of them raise their eyebrows almost in unison and for some reason I’m nervous. God, what if they only like seeing me a little each summer and one major holiday each year?
“I interviewed a few rounds and then right before break started, I did a sample lesson where I recorded myself teaching and sent that in for them to see my style and how I interact with my students.”
Why aren’t they saying anything? Brandon looks like he’s about ready to interrupt, but stays quiet. Maybe I should have sent this over our group chat so I don’t have to watch them process this. I rub my hand on the back of my neck and give a little laugh so I don’t start rambling.
“Apparently, they liked it and I was offered the position.”
I wait for them to respond.
And wait.
The silence is only broken by Samson meowing at a bird from his cat tree, pulling my attention to the bustling neighborhood outside the window.
Finally, Brandon, whose eyes are huge, says, “And?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you accept?” He sounds intense, which I hope is a good sign because he’s usually so easy to read.
“Yeah.”
“Which school?” Graham asks.
Something feels so strange right now. I thought they’d be happy for me.
“The high school in Honey Cove.”
“So you’ll be moving to Honey Cove, right?” James is always the one who wants the more practical details, so I’m not surprised with his question.
I nod in response.
“You’ll be five to fifteen minutes away then. When does it start?”
“The first Monday in March.”
Brandon makes a choked sound and slams a hand down on Graham’s knee.
“When do you move?” James seems to be the only one speaking now and Graham peeks at Brandon who looks slightly crazed.
“Late-February. It’ll give my school time to find my replacement and, in theory, I’ll find something else in Maine for next school year.” I pause, feeling a little unsure of what to think. “To stay.”
Suddenly, everything turns into utter chaos as Brandon leaps from the couch cheering, pulling Graham up with him. James tries to ask me more questions, but the coffee table gets bumped and the phone falls over only to be picked up by Brandon who is still jumping.
Relief washes over me. They want this as much as I do.
“Wait, did you know something already?”
“Aunt Mae dropped a hint a few days ago that we might see more of you soon, so we’ve been dying for details and if it was really happening. But she wouldn’t say anything else,” Graham admits with a huge smile on his face, setting the phone back on the coffee table. “Your mom must have said something to her.”
That makes sense. They do talk regularly and I’ve been open with my parents about this prospect.
“How are your folks feeling?” he asks, his shaggy hair falling in his face.
My heart gives a little squeeze. They’re the hardest to leave. I have buddies here, for sure, but I’ve always felt it was hard to connect with people here. “They’re supportive of the move and know I’ve been, well, not unhappy or anything like that, but not grounded here, I suppose. My mom is excited that it’s near you all and not a random small town and I think my dad has officially given up any hope that I’ll take over the floral shop one day. But he already wrote up a tentative schedule for the shop so he can drive the U-Haul to Maine with me.”
“Give us the official dates and we can take off work to help you move in.” I’m half-surprised that James hasn’t whipped out his phone to check his calendar. “Do you have a place in mind?”
“I’ll let you know, but it’ll likely be the first for moving in. There are a few apartments I already inquired about right on the boardwalk.” If I’m lucky enough to get into one of those, I’ll have a killer view of the cove itself, which I’m hoping for.
“Oh my god, we’re going to have so many cousins' nights,” Brandon almost yells, barely keeping his excitement in check.
A huge smile spreads across my face. These guys, who have always been there for me, will finally be in my life more than a couple times each year.
“I can’t wait.”