Chapter 58 Owen
T he apartment is quiet.
Too quiet now that Poppy left so she can get ready for drinks with Andi. My cat even sat at the door for fifteen minutes after she left, clearly hoping she’d be right back.
“Hey, thanks for picking up,” I say, switching to speakerphone so I don’t upset Samson who is curled up on my lap getting a pet.
“Any time,” Brandon says. “What’s going on?”
A slightly dramatic sigh escapes me as I look out at the cove from my window. “Okay, you know how the plan has been to stay in Honey Cove?”
“Yeah, you already filled things out to keep your position, right?”
“I did.”
Samson gives me a little growl and I realize I stopped petting him for a moment. “Sorry, bud,” I whisper to him and resume.
“I feel like there’s a ‘but’ coming. Did something happen where your info didn’t get submitted or something and you have to apply differently?”
“Sorry, Samson distracted me,” I explain. “No, all of that is good. I still have to wait to hear their decision.”
I groan. God, this is hard. Once I tell him, it’s going to be that much more real.
But it’s time to get over the first hurdle and open up to someone about it.
“Poppy got a killer job offer in Toronto.” The words spill out of me and even though I needed to say them, I don’t feel any better.
“Toronto?”
“Yes.”
“As in, Canada?”
“That very one.”
“You sure it’s not a new bar or something that’s going to open?”
“What?”
“Sorry,” he says. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around this and I was hoping I was mistaken somehow.”
“You and me, both.”
“Damn,” he says softly.
“I know.”
“What’s she thinking?”
“That might be the hardest part for me because I have no idea.” I run my hand down my face, somehow forgetting that I’ve been petting my longhair and sputter as I keep fur from getting into my mouth.
“You okay over there?”
“Samson,” I say in explanation for the sounds he just heard.
“It sounded like you ate something that turned out to be rotten.”
“No, just got fur all over my face.”
“I wish I had some response to that, but I’m so lost.” He laughs and that makes things feel a little less heavy inside me. “So, Poppy?”
“I’m guessing Andi is going to get all the details when they meet up, but don’t tell her so she can hear it from Poppy.”
“Of course.”
One more sigh before I dive in and tell him the details I know.
My cousin whistles long and low when I finish.
“And Poppy is calling the owner today to learn more?” he asks.
“She did.”
“What’d she learn?”
“Ah, I’m not sure. She looked a little overwhelmed and said she had a lot to process. Then she asked if we could watch something for a bit, so that’s what we did.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, right? She can’t make a decision without having the actual details.”
I definitely appreciate that he’s trying to help me feel better, that’s for sure.
“Is it weird that she didn’t ask me to be in the room during the conversation?” I ask.
“Did you offer to be there?”
My mouth opens and nothing comes out for a moment. “I guess I didn’t.”
My cat shifts so he can start kneading my stomach and purring loudly as I scratch his back as I continue. “The whole thing seemed to come out of left field for both of us and I suppose I didn’t want my weird energy messing things up.”
“Messing things up for her?”
“Or messing us up, too. I don’t know, I’m really getting in my head for some reason.”
“Look, Owen, it’s not ‘for some reason’ that you’re in your head,” he says, calm but sure. “You chose this place and this life. The decision to leave New York City wasn’t some whim. It had been building for a while, hadn’t it?”
“It took a bit for everything to come together with the job, but no, it wasn’t a whim. Once I talked to my parents, it started to feel possible and that was amazing.”
“So now, your girlfriend was offered what could be a dream job in a big city. And the only reason you stayed in New York as long as you did, was because your parents live there. Toronto wouldn’t have that, so you’d be moving for Poppy.”
“Damn, you summarized that better than I could have.”
“You’re an English teacher, you literally work with words, so you would have gotten there.” He pauses for a moment. “You just need to give yourself, and her, some time. This isn’t something she applied for or sought out, so she’s just as surprised as you. Plus, there’s a lot at stake with talking to you about it.”
“What do you mean?” My hands stop as Samson walks in a complete circle before curling up in a ball again.
“I’m guessing that she’s feeling additional pressure talking to you about it because it really affects your relationship, but she’ll be seeing my wife tonight, and they can talk without it feeling as big.”
“When did you get so wise?” I ask him.
“When I married Andi,” he says, laughing.
“Fair enough.”
“You’re going to be okay. It’s all new and you’ll both process it.”
“Thanks, Brandon. I needed to hear that.”
“No problem, really,” he says. “We just got you here and you know we want you to stay. But it has to be right for you. I’ve seen you two together and know this isn’t a fling. So whatever you decide, we’re still here for you, okay?”
My throat tightens a little at his words. “Okay.”
“We’ll see you soon?”
“Of course, thanks, again.”
“Alright, sounds good, bye.”
Hanging up, I feel so different. Not like I have everything figured out, but a little more settled.