CHAPTER 29 #2
“Yes, except I didn’t have the courage to drop you off then like you’re doing today.”
“Well, we weren’t going to talk for a long time and had broken up. I think it’s a little easier for me.”
“Really?”
“No,” she replied and felt the first of what would inevitably be many tears fall.
Eline wiped it away with her thumb, cupped her cheek after, leaned in, and pressed her forehead to Arlowe’s.
“This time, though, we’re going to be okay. I know you’re still mad. I can’t change that. But just know that you are who I want and that if I felt like any of the other options were better for us and our future, I would’ve stayed.”
Arlowe nodded, unable to say anything.
“I will call you when I get home.”
“Okay,” Arlowe replied.
“Now, kiss me.”
Arlowe pressed her lips to Eline’s and kissed her with everything she had.
She wanted to remember the feel of her lips, the taste of her, how good Eline smelled, and what she sounded like when she gave a small, short moan.
She kissed her, trying to tell Eline that she loved her without saying the actual words yet because Eline had been insistent that they be ready to take the big steps and not force them, so she kept it to herself, planning to tell her the next time they saw one another or when Eline’s visa was approved because she knew that it was true.
Yes, they still had things to learn about each other, but what they felt for one another hadn’t changed since school, and it wouldn’t.
They had the kind of love that was meant to last, so when she pulled out of the kiss and pressed one to Eline’s forehead, she sniffled and tried her best to hide her sadness, wanting to be strong for her right now because she remembered what it had been like to have to be the one getting on the plane and having hours in the air, sitting next to a stranger, to get through.
At least, she’d be going home and could cry in the privacy of her own bedroom.
“I’ll call you,” Eline said.
“Okay,” she replied.
“God, I’ll miss you.”
Eline pressed a quick kiss to her lips, turned around, and walked toward the security line.
Arlowe stood there, watching her not look back, and she understood why.
Soon, Eline was in the security line, and the crowd was too thick for Arlowe to be able to see her still, but she stayed rooted in that spot, staring up at the departures board above her head, until the plane left the airport.
Then, she turned around and slowly walked back to her car, where she got in and started it up, hoping that she could hold back her sobbing until she got home.
When she got there, though, she found Enya, Violet, and Sarai sitting on the sofa, waiting for her.
“Hey,” she greeted without emotion.
“We can go if you want, but we wanted to be here in case you needed to talk,” Sarai said.
“Is it just you, or are your girlfriends here, too?” Arlowe asked, flopping on the other sofa.
“Just us,” Violet replied.
“How are you? I know; stupid question,” Enya said.
“Are you picking up Eline’s car later?”
“Sarai is going to drive me over there. I have the keys. I was going to park it on the street. I hope that’s okay. I forgot to mention it before.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad she’s keeping it. It’ll just be a pretty much daily reminder that my girlfriend is not here.”
“Arlowe, we were talking earlier,” Violet said, leaning forward on the couch.
“Yeah? About me, I take it? Worried my misery is going to affect my work?”
“No, actually,” Sarai replied.
Arlowe looked at her in confusion.
“We think you should book a flight,” Violet stated.
“What are you talking about, Vi?”
“Go to Holland. You can stay there for a few months without needing a visa, right?” Enya asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s close to the amount of time it might take us to get her visa approved, and you two can be together. Maybe it’ll get approved sooner, and then you two can come back together, but if not, you can stay for as long as you can and be with Eline.”
“In case you all forgot, I do have a job here, and there’s a pretty big time difference between here and there, even if I work from Holland.”
“We can deal with it,” Violet replied. “I know things are really busy here, but we’ve talked about hiring people in other parts of the world, right?
We should get used to people working in different time zones.
It would be temporary, and you don’t have to go for the entire time.
You can always go there, come back, and go there again, if you want.
It’s up to you, obviously. We’re just telling you that it’s okay.
We’ll hold down the fort, Arlowe. Mitch and Clay will hold it down, too. ”
“Gabi has offered to step in wherever you need her as well,” Sarai added. “She’s happy to help the engineering team however you need in person since you’ll be over there.”
Arlowe leaned forward, matching Violet’s posture.
“You’re serious? You can’t say this to me if you’re not serious, Vi.”
“Arlowe, you’re lucky – we all own this company.
You don’t have to get someone’s approval, accrue time off, or take a leave of absence.
We can take care of what needs to be done here.
You might have to alter your sleep schedule, which I know hasn’t been as easy recently as it once was for you, but yes, we’re serious. ”
“I could go and be with her?”
“Yes,” Violet said with a laugh.
“We’re so busy here, and we’re finally making so much progress, Vi.
I’m working ten to twelve hours a day most days, sometimes longer, and we’re hanging in there, but if I’m gone even for a few weeks, that could put us so far behind.
Working from there might be possible, but it would be tricky, and I–”
“Arlowe, how many days have you taken off in more than a decade that we’ve been doing this?” Sarai asked.
“None, really,” she said.
“Exactly. Add in all the weekend hours you’ve put in on top of that. I think we can even handle you taking a couple of weeks off completely when you get there, but if you want to work, we’ll figure this out,” Sarai replied.
“I’d have to ask Eline. She’s staying with her parents, and I can’t afford us a hotel or a rental for several months.
I mean, I probably could, but it would be tight, with me paying rent and everything else here.
I don’t know that it would be that long, but I’d have to ask her what’s okay.
I don’t think her idea of starting our relationship off right involves me running into her dad every morning in the kitchen, with me wearing my boxers and her T?shirt after coming out of her childhood bedroom.
And she was so adamant about us not living together right away, too, so–”
“Call her,” Enya suggested.
“She’s on a plane, Enya. I can’t right now.”
“Well, do some thinking and planning and talk to her later when she lands,” Violet said.
“I need to get her stuff over here. I told her I’d move it and clean her apartment for the inspection.
I hired someone for the cleaning part. She doesn’t need to know that.
” Arlowe chuckled, feeling a little lighter now.
“And it’s not like I can leave tomorrow.
I should wrap up some things here before I go.
We’re still doing interviews for her role.
I should do as many of those in person as possible to make it more likely for her visa to get approved. ”
“Just let us know what you decide, okay?” Violet said.
“Thank you all so much,” she replied and breathed, at least a momentary, sigh of relief.