“It’s okay, Ash. Really. We knew this might happen and…it is what it is. It’s going to be okay. Really.” After a shaky sigh, she asks, “Where will you be heading to next?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
That’s a lie. I actually know, but I don’t want to tell her. My boss sent me my potential itinerary for the next three months and I’m pretty much going to be sent all over the country—San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Kansas City, Chicago, and Boston. In my heart, I know Olivia is going to make the move, but I’m also a realist and know it’s going to take some time. And I want to keep myself busy while I wait. I’m about to say more when another call beeps in. “Hey, um…can I call you back? My dad’s beeping in.”
“You know what? It’s late, so let’s just plan on talking tomorrow,” she assures me. “Go and talk to your dad.”
“Okay, but…” I sigh. “Have a good night, Liv. Sweet dreams.”
“Mmm…sweet dreams, Ash.”
We hang up and I know I have to change my tone immediately for my dad. “Hey, Dad!” I say jovially. “Isn’t this a bit late for you?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, well…your mother and I had dinner with the Andersons, and I am way too full to go to bed yet. Your mother’s already upstairs, curled up with a good book, so I decided to take a chance and call you. I know we missed out on our cookout with your grandparents, but I wanted to see how you’re doing.”
“Sorry about that. We left the beach later than originally planned, and I had a lot to do before leaving for Dallas.”
“So the beach was good, huh? Where exactly did you go?”
“Cape Breeze. It’s a super small town that’s not touristy at all. But one of our friends has a house there—well, her family does—and we stayed there.”
“How nice! Did you do anything fun?”
I tell him about all the surfing, fishing, and jet skiing I did, and realize I never mentioned Olivia.
Until now.
“And…I met someone.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, so…funny story…” And then I tell him about meeting Olivia on the plane, seeing her at Matt’s funeral, and ultimately spending my vacation with her.
“Sebastian…wow! What a whirlwind! But she lives all the way in Denver?”
“Seattle, actually, but she’s moving back to North Carolina.”
I’m expecting him to be pleased, but he’s suspiciously silent.
“Dad?”
“Oh, sorry. I had to just take a minute before I said anything.”
“Because…?”
“Because…that’s a tremendous step for someone you just met.”
“Well, it’s not like she’s moving in with me. She’s just moving back to her hometown.”
“So her family’s still here?”
“Um…no. Her parents live in Arizona now and her brother’s in Maryland.”
“I see.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and mentally count to ten before I say anything. “Olivia doesn’t have a great relationship with her family. They don’t approve of her career and don’t sound very warm and fuzzy. But her friends are all there and they’re her family. She’s been living this nomadic lifestyle—which she claims is for book research—but I have a feeling it’s more about not having a place to call home anymore because of her folks. It broke my heart to hear her talk about it because I couldn’t imagine you and Mom ever treating me like that.”
“Why are they against her being an author? Is she successful at it?”
