Chapter 42
Forty-Two
Text Ed
Kenny ripped the daily to-do list from the pink Post-it pad and stuck it under the appropriate date in her new planner.
She unplugged the percolator, tossed her Swell bottle in her black Longchamp bag, and popped in her earbuds so she could listen to the Network Editorial Call on the commute to the office.
She was passing Amsterdam Books when she felt the phone vibrate in her bag.
The morning was bitter and blustery, and she was bundled up for her walk; the last thing she wanted to do was take off her mittens and expose her hands to the cold while she dug around for her phone.
But she did. She reverted to the life of being available to the world on demand, the minute she turned on her phone while taxing on the tarmac at JFK four months ago.
She dug around the deep bag for a few seconds and when her numb fingers couldn’t locate the phone, she stepped inside the bookstore whose front door welcome sign hadn’t even been flipped to “Open.” She took off her left mitten and found the phone with the hand that still had some feeling in it.
Text from Hailey: I’m rly worried abt Uncle Johnny. Can u pls call me?
Kenny’s stomach dropped. Seeing the name “Hailey” startled her.
She had a busy day and few weeks ahead. She couldn’t get sidetracked by going down any rabbit holes or games of “let’s catch up” that Hailey would inevitably propose.
On the other hand, Kenny could easily nip that in the bud with a simple, “Sorry, wrong text!” response.
Given the formality of the message compared to Haileys’s usual text speak, Kenny thought whatever the situation was, it must’ve be serious and warranted a reply.
Text to Hailey: Hey Hailey! I hope everything is okay with your uncle. I think you have the wrong number. This is Kenny from NYC.
Text from Hailey: No, I’m hoping to talk 2 u. Uncle Johnny hasn’t been the same since you left w/o a goodbye. And Mr. C dropped dead of a heart attack soon after that. Pls call me.
Kenny fell back against the wall of books she was standing next to, and her bag slid down her arm and clanked!
to the ground. The message was short but so much information was packed into it that Kenny’s brain didn’t know where to begin processing.
The news of Mr. Cunningham’s death was heartbreaking.
Although Kenny didn’t know the man, personally, she knew the impact he had on so many people and the void his death would leave in the community.
Before Kenny could analyze what she thought the other part of that message could mean, her phone lit up again.
Text from Hailey: J.P. is my uncle. I call him Uncle Johnny.
Kenny’s legs nearly gave out, and her lean sank to a squat, until she found herself completely seated on the dusty floor of the bookstore.
When she peeled her eyes up from her phone, she realized she was in the children’s section and was eye level with the Clifford the Big Red Dog series.
She burst into a fit of laughter and whimpers.
None of it and all of it suddenly made sense.
All but her trembling fingers regained composure, and Kenny picked up the phone to call Hailey.
“Oh, Kenny! I’m so happy you called! I’ve thought about reaching out to you for a long time.
Uncle Johnny would kill me if he knew I was doing this, but I can’t stand to see him so sad.
I hope everything is okay with you, and I don’t know what caused you to leave, but he was devastated when you did.
He regretted and second guessed everything he did or didn’t do,” Hailey launched into one of her signature dialogues.
“He even bought a plane ticket to go to New York and track you down. He had to know where things went wrong and if you two could work past whatever it was. But then Mr. C abruptly passed away, which, of course, tore him apart. And, Kenny, Mr. C left J.P. everything. Aside from mourning the loss, Uncle Johnny’s overwhelmed.
I went down to the funeral and then, again, over winter break.
I’m back at WVU now until graduation. I’m worried about him.
He cared for you, Kenny. He really cared for you.
Do you think maybe you could talk to him?
” Hailey vented without taking a breath.
Kenny was speechless. The thoughts in her head swirled like flakes in a shaken snow globe. But this time, instead of falling into a scene of chaos like they usually did, they seemed to fall into a place they had been longing to land.
“Hailey? Can I be honest with you?” Kenny asked sheepishly, embarrassed by what she was about to admit and how juvenile it could sound.
“Of course!” Hailey welcomed.
“I thought you and J.P. were a couple,” Kenny said softly.
“What!” Hailey laughed, “I know I live in West Virginia but don’t believe everything you hear about us Mountaineers, Kenny!”
“Oh my God, Hailey. I can’t believe how badly I screwed things up.
I fell fast and hard for your uncle and it terrified me.
Before I met you for drinks at the Beach Club that day, I saw the two of you at Pelican Pointe.
I heard you talking about a relationship and moving down there permanently.
I saw he had his arm around you. That afternoon, you were so excited about the long-awaited commitment between you and your boyfriend.
You were wearing the new OHHIO visor that I assumed was J.P.
’s and you were talking about your date at Charlie’s.
J.P. and I were supposed to go to Charlie’s that week, too.
I concocted this whole story in my head.
My version of the story was too much for me to handle or face, so I left. I feel like such an idiot.”
“Ouch! You thought Uncle Johnny was a liar and a cheat? And me? You probably had a few different scenarios playing out about me, right? That’s a terrible story,” Hailey said sympathetically.
It perplexed Kenny that Hailey could be so nonchalant, understanding even, about the scenario that she construed and involved unflattering portrayals of her and her uncle; but she was relived Hailey viewed it has as reality TV soap opera and was able to move past it without thinking twice.
“I like my view of the story better. Uncle Johnny is the closest thing I have to a dad. He’s been alone for a long time and deserves a great girl.
From the little bit I knew about you and the conversations we had, I was hoping the two of you would run into each other.
When I came down for Employee Appreciation Weekend, I told him I had someone I wanted him to meet.
He told me he wasn’t interested; that he had met a woman and was taking her on a date that week.
But I tried to get him to come with Matt—that’s my boyfriend—to meet us at the Beach Club for drinks, anyway.
I had a feeling about the two of you. Earlier that day, I asked Uncle Johnny to come over to Pelican Pointe because I wanted to talk to him about the job offer and getting into a relationship with Matt.
Lastly, Uncle Johnny did give me the visor, he said it was too small for his head; and I think Mr. Cunningham recommended Charlie’s to everyone,” Hailey chuckled.
“I am at a complete loss for words, Hailey,” Kenny said as she stumbled to her feet, noticing droves of mothers, nannies, and au pairs parking their snow covered UPPAbaby and Bugaboo strollers on the other side of the glass windows, ready to storm the door for story time.
“It wasn’t until a few weeks after you left that I made the connection.
He told me he was flying to New York for the weekend, but I could tell in his voice it was for more than the work trip he tried to pass it off as.
After I forced him to share a few details, a light bulb went off!
What are the odds that the girl my uncle had fallen in love with was the same girl I wanted to set him up with? ” Hailey’s enthusiasm grew.
Kenny lost her breath but caught her body on a wobbly bookshelf when she heard the word love.