“I know you will. It’s the only reason why I considered doing this for you. You’re always good to my stuff, so I’m not worried. Leslie!”
I heard her heels clicking behind us. “What?”
He turned around. “Is everything ready?”
I peered over my shoulder and sat Leslie nodding her head as she ticked off a checklist. “There’s one more box I need to track down, and then we’ll be good.”
Trey smiled at me. “Perfect. We’ll get out of your hair, then, and the three of you can set sail in about ten minutes.”
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. “Again, I really appreciate this. Thank you.”
“You three enjoy yourselves, and we’ll see you around noon on Sunday.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket. “See you then, man.”
Trey and Leslie walked off while they softly bickered about something, and my stomach hit the floor. Of course, I had a text message from Marissa. It was like every time my life started on a good path, she felt it in the ethers and just had to spoil the moment. I peeked around and saw Eva with my daughter as they gazed out toward the ocean, pointing at the fish swimming around the bow of the boat.
So, I slinked off into the lower cabins and tucked myself away to read this damn message.
Marissa: Just wanted to let you know that I snagged another modeling gig in Paris. Kind of like the one I did a couple of years ago, but I’ll be gone longer this time. We need to talk.
I felt my entire body tense as I typed a message back.
Gavin: How long will you be gone this time?
Those three little dots danced around for a while. In fact, almost three entire minutes passed by before only two words popped up on the screen. Two little words that made me see red.
Marissa: Six months.
My hands started trembling as she quickly sent another message on the heels of that one.
Marissa: I thought we could have this conversation on the phone, but I guess I can ask here. I’d like you and Asia to come with me to Paris for those six months. I think she’d love it since she loves traveling, and you could take a break like you always talk about doing.
I decided to call her because I sure as hell wasn’t typing out this conversation with her. And the phone didn’t even get through the first ring before she picked up.
“Is this a good call or a bad one?” she asked.
I drew in a sobering breath, trying to calm my raging anger. “Since when did you think I wanted a break from my career?”
“You talked about it all the time when we were married.”
“Yeah, and then we got divorced, and I realized it was you I needed the break from.”
She scoffed. “Well, ouch.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Asia and I aren’t going to Paris with you. No way.”
“Did you even ask her what she thought about it?”
“She’s seven. She doesn’t have enough forethought to understand what I’d be asking her. And besides, what would she do about school?”
“I mean, you’d be taking time off work, so you could homeschool her.”
I blinked. “So, I leave behind my career that I’ve worked so hard for to homeschool our daughter halfway across the world while you pose for pictures for six months.”
She sighed. “Why the hell do you always have to belittle what I do for a living?”
“I’m not belittling your job; I’m belittling your critical thinking skills.”
