Leaning back against my bedhead I feel a lot happier. Going to see my family this weekend will be like a much-needed warm hug. Alice is right, I don’t want to be sitting around waiting for Luke to contact me.
Instead, I will have my family around me keeping me from dwelling on stupid man problems.
Friday doesn’t roll around soon enough, especially when there's still no further contact from Luke. It’s upsetting me. It's nearly been a week. I need Mom’s comfort food served up with a large dose of family love. According to my sister, she has been baking up a storm. Making all my favorite things.
It’s around 9pm when I arrive in Orlando, and I quickly pick Dad out in the waiting crowd. I welcome my dad’s hug. He is a big cuddly bear of a man, and there is nothing more comforting than being engulfed by one of his hugs. It's good to be home.
More family hugs greet me as I arrive at my parents’ house, where Mom and Alice are waiting for me. I’ll see Tom and the girls tomorrow as it's too late for them tonight.
It's a shame Chloe, my little sister, who's away at college, wasn't able to get home this weekend too.
Mom is soon fussing around me, saying I’m too thin and I look tired. I expect she's right. It's been a long week. I’ve been upset about Luke, and I’ve not had a full night’s sleep since Monday.
I brush off Mom’s concern with the excuse of work being busy and me being a bit tired after the flight. Alice rescues me with the suggestion I should go straight to bed. Telling Mom she'll take me up to my room to make sure I have everything I need.
In my room and safely out of Mom’s hearing, Alice sits me down on my bed, asking, “Come on then tell me what’s happened.”
“Nothing. He still hasn’t called,” I say flatly, tears filling my eyes. Tears I feel like I've been holding back for days and can only now let fall. Damn Luke for making me cry again.
Alice wraps me in a hug. “Oh, sweetie, don’t be upset. You’re here now, and we’ll sort this out together. You need to get some rest, and in the morning, we'll devise a cunning plan.”
When my tears subside, I sniffle. “Thanks.” Alice is a great plan maker, so I have faith she will help me think of one this time.
Whether it was Alice’s words, being at home in my old bedroom, or releasing the flood of pent up tears but I end up getting a decent night’s sleep and the next morning I’m feeling much better. The smell of coffee and fresh-baked blueberry muffins as I walk into the kitchen also seems to have restored my appetite.
Kissing Mom and Dad on the cheek, I take my place at the table with them.
“Y’all look better already.” Mom beams at me.
“Thanks, I feel it. I definitely needed this weekend visit home.”
Little does Mom know how true those words are.
Alice, Tom, and the kids pile in through the kitchen door shortly after and chaos ensues. I’m excited to see my cute little nieces and it appears they are excited to see me too. Kids are such a great fun distraction.
It’s much later in the day before I get a chance to sit down alone with Alice to discuss a plan. We've walked the couple of blocks from my parents’ house down to the beach, leaving the girls at home with their father and grandparents.
“I don’t know how you do it. Your girls are high on energy. It’s exhausting.” I'm in awe of my sister’s stamina after only half a day spent with my nieces Tilly and Izzy.
Alice laughs. “Some days I ask myself the same question.” Then more seriously, she asks, “You seem to be happier today. Does it mean you’ve heard from Luke?”
“No, still nothing. But you said last night we could work on a plan.”
I know it’s asking a lot, but I'm pinning my hopes on Alice having a plan.
“Okay. First step in the plan, we need to find out where Luke is? Do you know any of his friends you could ask?”
“I could call his executive assistant, Bec. I’ve met her and his best friend Blake, who is also his business partner.” Damn why didn't I think to do this earlier, I guess I just kept hoping Luke would call with a simple explanation. But now a week later and he'll need more than a simple explanation to be forgiven.
Alice gets more animated as she warms to the plan. “Great. On Monday, if you still haven’t heard from him, call his assistant and ask when she expects him back. She is bound to know where he is and what he's doing.”
I like the plan. It’s nice and simple. I get on well with Bec, so it will be easy calling her. I’m sure she'll be able to help me. I knew Alice would come up with a good idea. Now with a plan in place, I feel like I can relax a little and enjoy my weekend with my family.
Tonight on my flying visit home, I’m catching up for dinner with Madison my BFF from high school. We don’t get to see each other often these days but our friendship remains strong, and we do still chat or text frequently. I’ve kept her up to date on developments with Luke over the last few weeks and while I’ll run my plan by her, I don’t want it to be the focus of our night. I need a night off from all things Luke and Madison with her madness will be the perfect distraction.
I may even be able to stop my frequent phone checking, which seems to have become a compulsion on a regular ten-minute cycle.
Chapter 25
