Chapter 18 #2
“I have never wanted to lie to someone more than I do right now, but that’s the unfortunate news. I have to cancel for tonight. I’m so incredibly sorry.”
I tightened my towel as disappointment washed over me. “You said you had exciting news?”
“I know you understand that I can’t share many details, but suffice to say, I was selected for a very cool mission.
I’ll be gone for a week and will have limited communication.
It’s going to be super intense, but this is what I’ve been training for.
I’m sorry it’s all so last minute. It’s just the way these things work. ”
A mission to space was not where I thought this was going. It was worse, so much worse. I didn’t know what to say.
“You know how passionate I am about my work, and this is an incredible opportunity for my career,” he continued. “But I need you to know that I seriously considered turning it down so I could make it to your family dinner. That’s how much I care about you.”
I closed the toilet seat lid and sat down. “Is your mission going to be dangerous? Should I be worried?”
“Try not to worry,” he said, as if that were a helpful answer.
“But you know I will. How can I not? My history demands it.” I hadn’t worried about Sam that day, and look where that left me.
“Thea, I wish I could guarantee everything will be fine, but that wouldn’t be fair. Not in my line of work. I know that’s not the answer you want.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
“But what I can promise,” he continued, “is that my feelings for you are true. I never expected to fall so hard so fast.”
I didn’t know what to do with that, so I left it there. “Will you at least try to text me as much as you can? Even billionaires who own space companies must get that their employees have lives and people who occasionally need them, right?”
“Yes, of course I’ll text as much as I can.” His voice grew husky. “But before I leave on this long and lonely mission, do I have any chance of getting that boob shot to keep me company?”
“Is this a two-way street?” I hadn’t even had five seconds to fret over my uncharacteristically forward request when my phone buzzed with a text from Max.
“Did you get it?” he asked.
“Oh wow,” I sputtered. “That was fast—and, um, it looks like you really do like me. Unless you have that photo cued up for all the girls?”
“No way. That’s all you, babe. Your turn.”
The closest I’d ever come to sexting was sending Sam a close-up of my puckered mouth adorned with bright-red lipstick.
I was worse than a generational failure; I was basically a granny in disguise.
But Max was leaving and I didn’t want him to forget me.
What if there was some hot female astronaut on his mission?
Nervously, I let my towel drop to the tile floor and raised the camera to the mirror.
Cognizant of Lucy sleeping in the next room, I was careful not to include my face in the frame.
I snapped the photo and pressed send before I could talk myself out of it.
He got three body parts for the price of one.
“Wowzer,” Max growled. “That photo could cause an international space incident.”
“Oh please.” I rolled my eyes at myself in the mirror. “Seriously, I can’t wait to see you when you get back. Please be safe.”
“I will,” he said. “And, Thea?”
“Yes?”
“Love you to Mars.” The pure longing in his voice traveled across the radio waves from his phone to mine.
“And back,” I responded without hesitation.
There was no good way to do it, but I decided telling Rebecca in person was probably best. After breakfast, I brought Lucy with me to the main house to keep Rebecca from blowing her top.
“Hi, Rebecca. Hi, William,” I said. “We’re heading to camp soon, but I have some unfortunate news—”
Rebecca cut me off. “He’s not coming, is he?”
I shook my head. “He was just selected for a special mission.”
“Special mission,” Rebecca echoed flatly.
“He’ll be back in a week. We’ll reschedule.”
“If you say so.” Her lips thinned.
I bristled at her disbelieving tone, and yet at the same time it occurred to me that Max hadn’t actually suggested rescheduling.
Was that because he was preoccupied with the assignment or, worse, worried about not making it back?
On the flip side, Frannie’s concerns last night were still fresh in my mind.
Was he too good to be true? But if I was having any doubts, it seemed like a bad idea to share them with Rebecca right before our move.
So instead, I smiled and said, “I promise you’ll meet him soon.
Besides, is it that big of a deal that I haven’t introduced my new friend to the parents of my late husband after knowing him for only three weeks? ”
“Mommy, what was Daddy late for?” Lucy asked.
I sank down to one knee and smoothed her hair. “Oh, honey, it’s just an expression that means he’s no longer with us.”
“You mean dead?” Lucy said, perplexed. “So ‘late’ means ‘dead’? What about when you were late to pick me up from camp yesterday? Were you dead?”
“Shh, no, honey, of course not. You know how we’ve talked about how the same word can have different meanings at different times?
‘Late’ is one of those words. ‘Late’ can mean dead, but it can also mean not on time.
” I peeked up. Rebecca’s arms were crossed.
“But also, I wasn’t late yesterday, remember? I was there before camp ended.”
“But you said you were going to pick me up early, so you were late-errr than you said,” she huffed.
This was going off the rails fast. “Honey, why don’t you go check Grandma’s fridge for a piece of fruit to tuck in your lunch box?”
“Lucy,” Rebecca said, “how about if Grandpa takes you to camp today?”
“Yes!” Lucy shouted. “Grandpa, I’ll show you all my artwork.”
“Thank you, William,” I said and patted his back.
“Are you ready, Lucy?” With a tangerine in hand, she gave me a nod.
“Give Grandma kisses.” I was determined to show Rebecca that no matter what she was planning to say to me next, I would never deprive her of her special relationship with her granddaughter.
Lucy tackled her grandma with all the love befitting an innocent child, but the moment William pulled the back door shut, Rebecca spun around to face me. “Do you have any proof that this Max is who he says he is? Have you been to his home or his office? Do you have a photo of him?”
I felt a blush creep up my face thinking about the one photo I did have.
And would not be sharing. “I get you’re disappointed he canceled, but it’s insulting that I have to provide you with evidence of him.
I don’t have a photo, but he gave me this—” I reached for the necklace only to remember I’d taken it off before bed last night.
“Oops.” I blushed. “I left it in the guesthouse. It’s a necklace—a gold chain with a pretty rose quartz pendant. ”
“Has Frannie met him?” Rebecca asked, apparently unimpressed by my description of the necklace.
“No, not yet,” I said. “That’s why I invited her to family dinner.”
“You said I should check Max out for myself, so I googled him.”
“I know I said that, but it’s a little disturbing you actually did it,” I said.
“I didn’t find anything,” she said flatly.
“See? I told you he was legit.”
“No, I mean I didn’t find anything,” she said with a sidelong glance. “He doesn’t seem to exist online at all.”
I waved this off. “Oh, that’s because of his job. He told me I wouldn’t find much. But I saw his LinkedIn and an old NASA photo of him.” Rebecca wasn’t tech savvy. She relied on her assistant, or me, for the most basic online tasks, but come on. How had she missed his LinkedIn profile?
Rebecca picked up her work bag. I could only hope this inquisition was wrapping up. But then she put the bag down on the counter. “I paid thirty-five dollars for one of those internet background checks.”
“Excuse me? Why would you do that? I feel so . . .” I wasn’t sure what the exact word was for how I felt. Offended? Furious? Bewildered? But Rebecca didn’t wait for me to finish.
“Thea, this is a person you’re planning to bring into Lucy’s life. As a parent, you can’t be too careful.”
“I’m always careful,” I protested, at last unearthing the word to encompass all I was feeling—violated. “I never even brought him to the guesthouse. It was your idea to invite him to dinner to meet everyone and see where we live.”
“In case you’re interested,” Rebecca said, “the website didn’t turn up anything. There is no one by the name of Maxwell Q. Smith who lives in the greater LA area.”
“You must have typed his name wrong or filtered the search incorrectly.” How likely was it that the woman who couldn’t download an app on her own could successfully execute an online background check?
“I’m concerned this Max person isn’t who he says he is. I think you need to wake up to the possibility that he’s posing as an astronaut,” Rebecca said.
“What’s this really about, Rebecca? I mean, you’ve made it clear you’re upset that Lucy and I are moving out. But to make up some wacky story that the first guy I’ve had an interest in since Sam is some sort of scammer because he canceled dinner plans with you? That’s a little over the top.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Rebecca said. “Lucy’s well-being—and yours, too, of course—are my only concerns. Until you know for certain who this person is, why would you move to a less secure place? Here we have a gate and cameras.”
Exactly, I thought. “Our new building has a doorman. And double locks. And lots of neighbors within earshot.”
Rebecca pursed her lips. “I have a nine-thirty meeting. I need to get to the office.”
The hurt evident in her eyes made me question the whole way I’d handled this.
After everything they’d done for me, Rebecca and William deserved better.
“Rebecca, I’m really sorry if I upset you by springing all this change on you at once,” I backpedaled.
“Frannie only told me about the apartment opening up in her building the night of my book launch party. I would have talked to you about it, but I didn’t want to upset you on your special trip with Lucy, and I had to act fast or I would have lost the apartment. ”
“I really hope you know what you’re doing, Thea.” Rebecca put on her sunglasses and left.
Did I know what I was doing? Yes. I was moving on with my life. And it was high time that I did.