11. Changes #3
Ellie wipes under one eye with the heel of her hand. “I can handle worms.”
“We’ll find out.”
The day does not give Annie and me another chance. By the time I lock the clinic, the private conversation Annie and I almost had has been buried under work, fatherhood, town gossip, fishing gear, and a town hall none of us wants to ignore.
On the drive home, Ellie asks, “You’re not mad?”
“Not mad.”
“You’re nervous.”
“I’m a father. It’s a chronic condition.”
“But you trust Annie.”
I look at the road. “Yes.”
“Me too.” The simple way she says it, like there was never a question really. That gets to me tonight.
We get home and make dinner. Ellie finishes her homework and then has a marathon text session with Erin. I speak to Rhea, and she confirms she’s happy to be Annie’s backup.
Things finally calm down and Ellie heads to bed. I settle out on the porch and wait for the guys. Group video call tonight about the wedding.
My phone lights up. STONE. HERC. ADMIRAL.
I answer. “This better not be a call about anyone getting cold feet.”
Herc answers, “Not a prayer, brother, not a prayer.”
Admiral cuts in. “Herc is pretending not to panic about the wedding.”
“I am not panicking,” Herc says.
Stone laughs. “We know, Herc. If anyone is panicking right now, it’s probably Bella.”
We all start laughing.
Herc breaks in. “Yeah, very funny assholes.”
“Herc, we are very, almost positively sure she will make it down that aisle.” I add.
“I hate all of you.”
That sounds like home.
We discuss the timing for departures. Stone and Admiral are coming in on Thursday. Eli’s coming too. It’s a long flight, we could use the extra set of hands in the cockpit, and hell, it’s Fiji. Will be good to see him.
Herc’s wedding is another great opportunity for this motley crew to get together and see each other in the flesh. These guys are my family. They know the version of me that existed long before girlfriends, weddings, children, deaths, and upheaval.
With them, I am Doc before I’m anything else.
We are each other’s tether to reality. Nothing escapes this brotherhood. And we wouldn’t have it any other way. But Annie. I’m just omitting her for right now. This time is for Herc and Bella.
Herc says, “You and Ellie get in on Friday?”
“About that, slight change in plans,” I say. “I get on Friday. Ellie is staying here.”
Stone speaks first. “Everything all right?”
“Yes. She asked to stay.”
Herc’s voice loses his teasing edge. “Because of the wedding?”
“Because she’s settling here. School, friends, fishing plans. She doesn’t want to be the sad teen at a wedding full of people who knew her mom.”
Silence moves through the group.
Admiral says, “Didn’t realize we were making her feel that way.”
“Admiral, she’s a teenager. No one makes them feel any way. It depends on which direction the wind’s blowing.”
“Doesn’t make it easy to hear though,” Herc says.
“Yeah, was a gut punch for me too.” I sigh.
Stone’s voice is quieter now. “I know you’ve got someone for her, but would it be better for you if Sara and Max stayed behind with her.”
“Thanks, Stone. I appreciate the offer, but she’s staying with a friend.”
I’m not about to chum the waters with the fact the friend is Annie. These guys will smell that drop of blood and not let it go for eons.
Admiral leans back in his chair laughing. “Oh, c’mon, Doc. We all just want to see him try and tell Sara she’s not going to Fiji.”
“Everyone settle down. I want Stone alive and well at the wedding.” I snark.
Herc clears his throat. “Well, tell Ellie she better provide fish pictures and that we’ll miss her.”
“You can tell her yourself, I plan on calling her a lot, and of course we have to gang up on her.”
“Absolutely.” They all chime in.
The call moves on. Travel. Times. And joking about the past.
Near the end, Admiral says, “Anything else happening in your new world, Doc?”
I know he’s opening the door for more info. But not right now Admiral. I lean back against the counter. “The town's buzzing about an old, beloved building on the waterfront. Been abandoned for years I guess. But, there’s talk of a developer circling it. Town hall meeting tomorrow.”
“You moved to a postcard and found civic combat,” Herc says.
“It’s probably nothing.”
Herc says, “You think it might be real trouble?”
“Too early to tell.
Stone slips in. “Brother, I love hearing this.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, your world has gone from frantic, trying to balance the hospital schedule, Ellie, and lawyers to worrying about an old building. I just like hearing the change in your voice.”
I hate when he’s right.
Admiral cuts in. “Send the developer name when you have it.”
“Thanks. As soon as we know anything, I will.”
“Wedding first,” Herc says. “Small-town trouble after cake.”
“I will leave the civic unrest stateside.”
“Thank you.”
The call ends, and I sit with my eyes closed, listening to the night and letting memories settle around me. Ellie laughs upstairs. The sound moves through the house, light and real.
I moved us here thinking we could simplify our lives.
Friendship. Fatherhood. Grief. Clinic.
Annie.
Simple?
Hardly.