Page 122 of So Much More
“Since you don’t want her to come home, you go to her. Go to the airport, get on a plane, and fly to Arkansas.”
I shake my head. “I can’t leave my family. I can’t let them deal with all this without me.”
“You can, and every last one of them will tell you to go.” She starts walking, faster than before. “We’re going to your apartment, where you’ll call your family, call Leslie’s brother, and pack your bag. Then we’ll get you to the airport, and we’ll pray hard that you’ll be able to catch a direct flight to Little Rock this morning.” She looks at her watch. “It’s only eight-thirty. We’re going to make this happen.”
* * *
When I arrive in Little Rock at noon, I search the gate area for Shannon, hoping he’s here. Miraculously, a direct flight to Little Rock was leaving twenty-five minutes after I arrived at the ticket counter, and I had barely enough time to make a quick stop at a pay phone to leave a message on Shannon’s answering machine letting him know my flight number and arrival time. Considering my first call to him from my place also resulted in me leaving a message on his machine, I’m not certain he knows I’m here.
My heart plummets when I don’t spot him, and I follow the crowd toward baggage claim and the exit, keeping my eyes peeled for a pay phone so I can try calling him yet again.
“Randall!” a voice calls as I’m about to drop my quarter into the slot on a phone.
I hang up the receiver as Shannon lopes toward me. “I’m sorry,” he says, “I only got your messages twenty minutes ago. After I dropped Wendy off at the park, I ran some errands before going back home.”
“No need to be sorry.”
I clap my hand on his shoulder in greeting, but he pulls me into a hug. “I’m sorry about your dad, though,” he says. “I know things weren’t great there, but still, I’m sure it’s not easy.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
When I pull away, I expect an awkward moment, but there’s not one. Shannon starts walking, and I fall into step beside him.
“How do you want to do this?” he says. “I don’t know where she is or when she’ll be home. All I know is they were eating brunch at a diner near the park where I dropped her off, but then they were going to play it by ear. They could be anywhere in the city by now, and I have no idea where Andrea lives, what her phone number is, or what her car looks like.” He gives me a quick glance. “Sorry, man.”
“Again, nothing to be sorry for. I guess we go back to your house and see if we can find Andrea’s number and address in the phone book, or we can call information, but I’m guessing they’re not at her house anyway. So we’ll wait.”
fifty-four
Ican honestly say Emily is my favorite child ever. She reminds me so much of myself when I was little. Not only does she look like me—and her mother—but she’s smart, spunky, and funny. Her goal for the day seems to be entertaining me as much as possible, and she’s succeeding.
“Aunt Wendy,” she says, while grabbing onto my hand and absolutely melting my heart, “come see the giraffes. They’re my favorite!”
After we had brunch, we decided to head to the zoo for a few hours, since Andrea and Emily hold season passes. Emily knows exactly where everything is, and she wants me to see it all.
As we watch the giraffes amble around their enclosure, Andrea says to me, “I’m pretty sure she’s a fan not only of the giraffes but also of her aunt.”
I smile at her. “I think so, too.” I put an arm around my sister. “I can’t believe we’re here and that we’re all getting along so well. This is a dream come true, but I wish you didn’t live so far from me.”
“I know,” she says. “I’m so glad we have more family now—and that it’syou—but I wish we lived closer, too. I’m hoping we can come visit you a couple times a year. It should be easier in the summers when I’m only working part-time.”
“And I’ll come here, too. And we’ll call and write letters and maybe go on trips together sometimes?”
“I’d like that.” My sister smiles. “But it sounds like maybe you’ll soon have another person to include in your travel planning, so don’t get too far ahead of yourself here.”
I feel the blush heating my neck and face. “I hope you’re right, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to see my sister and niece every chance I get, even if there might be another person with me sometimes.”
“I’m looking forward to getting to know Randall better,” she says. “Maybe at the wedding?”
I whip my head toward her. “Don’t jinx it!”
She laughs. “I’m not jinxing anything. But I wasn’t talking aboutyourwedding. Don’t you think your friend and Randall’s brother will get married here in Arkansas, since this is where she’s from?”
“Oh, yeah, I guess you’re right,” I say. “But I don’t know when that will be. I hope you’ll be able to see Randall again before then.”
“Me, too.” She leans around me to speak to her daughter. “Let’s go, kiddo. Time for us to take Aunt Wendy to her friend’s house and then go home and rest for a while. Then we’ll see if your aunt can meet us again later tonight or in the morning before she flies back home to Chicago.” She raises an eyebrow at me.
I squeeze Emily’s hand. “Definitely.”
