Chapter 16
Eve
“I’m feeling all the feels,”Anjannette said. “I’m thrilled that you’re getting your own
happily-ever-after, but I miss you being here.”
My pole peeps couldn’t Zoom last week so they’re just finding out I’m extending my trip. I could have texted them, but wanted to share all the details. Well not all, just the non-sexy parts.
“It’s not exactly a happily-ever-after just yet,” I said. “We’re just hanging out, seeing where things go.”
“Eve,” Sophie said. “The man asked you to stay, told you he loved you, and wants you to move in with him. I’d say that’s pretty damn close to every HEA I’ve ever written.”
“You guys are doing so much more than hanging out,” Keera said. “He’s obviously crazy about you.”
“It’s all so surreal. I never thought anything like this would ever happen to me.”
“What did Grace say? And your parents?” Anjannette asked.
“Grace is fine with it. She’s happy I’m both writing and dating again. My parents…” I shrugged. “I’m guessing they think I’m having a mid-life crisis.”
“You’re finally living for you instead of everyone else,” Sophie said. “Enjoy.”
“So are you going to stay with Max or your aunt?” Keera asked.
“I’ve split this past week between the two. Max and I have a good thing going right now. I don’t want to mess it up by moving too fast,” I said. “By the time John and I moved in together, we’d been dating almost two years and spent most of our time together, but it was still an adjustment. Since I have the option, I’ll just take this thing with Max one day at a time.”
“Or one night as the case may be.” Anjannette bobbed her eyebrows.
“Okay, enough about me,” I said. “Fill me in on all the studio gossip.”
I really do want to hear about everything that’s happening, but it’s also a way to switch the conversation away from Max and me. As they filled me in, my emotions were like a rollercoaster. It’s nice to keep updated but it hurts my heart too. Part of me wants to be there, living my well-ordered life. But another part of me knows that now that I’ve spread my wings, I won’t be satisfied with the status quo.
“I miss you guys so much.” Their images blurred as I blinked away tears. “I wish you could all come visit.”
“Road trip!” Keera yelled.
“Or maybe just take a plane. Three thousand miles makes for a long road trip.” I turned my attention to Anjannette. “Although Seattle is only a couple hundred miles away so if you’re ever going there with Leo, let me know and I’ll come meet you.” I shook my head. “Now I’m getting ahead of myself. I extended my trip a month, not ten years.”
“For now,” Anjannette said.
“Just relax and enjoy getting to know your hottie handyman better,” Sophie said. “We’re here for you whenever you need us.”
“I love you guys.”
They each said, “I love you too.”
No amount of blinking held off the tears after that.
Max
The music pausedas my phone rang for the tenth time in the past hour. Yes, the tenth.
“That your mother again?”
Since she has her own ringtone now, I didn’t have to look at my caller ID to confirm that it’s definitely her.
“Yep.”
“Are you ever gonna answer?”
“Nope.”
Today we’re replacing the front and back doors on the Weaver cabin. The structure is super crooked, so the job is taking longer than planned. It’s the only thing we’re doing today so at least it’s not putting us behind schedule on anything else.
“You know she’s stubborn.”
“I wonder where she gets that from.”
Pop can be stubborn as hell, which can make him tough to deal with, but it’s also the reason we even know each other. My mother got pregnant with me when she was eighteen and followed her baby daddy to Los Angeles. I’ve never met my father, so that tells you how well that went. Even though that’s true, she didn’t come back to Seaside. Ever.
I only have a relationship with Pop because he’d come pick me up and bring me here for a couple weeks every summer. Through those visits and random phone calls, we got to know each other. Which is why he was the person I reached out to when I needed to get out.
“She’ll just keep callin’.”
I finished adding shims and grabbed the level. It looks pretty good, but I stepped back for Pop to check.
“And I’ll keep ignoring her,” I said. “Eventually I’ll just block her.”
He shook his head and muttered something under his breath.
“Pop, she only wants to try to talk me into doing that reunion show. If I thought it was anything else, I’d answer.”
“Your mother and me aren’t the only ones that are stubborn.”
“Guilty as charged.”
I nailed the door into place and stepped back while Pop opened and closed it a couple times.
“Looks good,” he said. “You don’t even need me anymore.”
Truth be told, I haven’t needed him for things like this for quite a few years, but I didn’t say that. Pop has been making similar comments more often these days. It makes me wonder if he’s getting ready to retire.
Logically I know there will be a day when Pop isn’t around, but it’s not something I like to think about. Like he said last time we had this conversation, he and my mom are all I have. Once he’s gone, my mom will be my only living relative. That’s a pretty depressing thought.
“So Eve is stayin’ longer.”
“Yep, another month.”
“So she was okay with all that?” he asked, gesturing toward my phone.
“I haven’t told her yet.”
His grunt said more than any words could.
“I’ll do it tonight.”
I’ve said that before but always seem to get sidetracked. But I know that I have to tell her. If not tonight, then definitely tomorrow.
My phone buzzed and I walked over to check the text message. Eve’s name on the screen brightened my thoughts. Maybe if our conversation goes well, she”ll stay in my life a lot longer.