And while my heart broke for the things that could never be between us, I still hoped Gavin took the interview.
If anything, so he could continue chasing his dreams like he should have been in the first place.
19
Gavin
“I’m serious; I’ll make it work. I’ll be there for the interview,” I said.
My agent nodded. “Wonderful, I’ll let them know. And I’ll send you confirmation of your plane tickets as soon as I have them.”
“All right. Gotta go, but we’ll talk soon.”
He pointed at me. “I want to hear from you the second you’re on land. Don’t go dying on me or anything.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Trust me. You’ll get your paycheck. I promise.”
I hung up the video call without giving him a chance to rebut. I hated the way he talked with me sometimes, but he always had a point. And more often than not, he was right. I had taken a serious hiatus from my career because of this bullshit. If I stayed away much longer, I wouldn’t be nearly as relevant.
As my agent always barked at me, if I wasn’t willing to put in the work, someone else behind me was.
But, I still wanted to focus on the rest of the weekend. So, I quickly got changed into my bathing suit and headed up the stairs. I looked around for Eva and my daughter, wondering where the hell they had gotten off to. However, when I heard giggling and splashing around, all I had to do was look over the edge of the boat.
“Hey there!” I called out.
Asia looked up at me and waved. “Look, Daddy! Eva and I are playing dunks. Watch!”
She lunged at Eva, and the woman playfully screamed before she went under the water. Asia giggled with delight and swam around, flailing her arms dramatically as she shouted, “I win again!” The sight warmed my heart, but it also hung a question heavily in my mind.
Could I really jet off to Hollywood and leave my daughter in round-the-clock care with her? I mean, it was one thing to be gone daily. But, it was another thing not to step foot back into the house for two damn weeks. Did I trust Eva enough to take care of my daughter like that? There was so much I had to prepare if that was really the case. I had to call the doctors and get her on Asia’s HIPAA forms. I had to contact Asia’s school and let them know that someone else would be picking her up and dropping her off for a while because she’d start before I’d get back home from this damned thing.
Then, a thought occurred to me.
Most of my projects were in Hollywood. Most of my friends were in Hollywood. Hell, my fucking agent was in Hollywood, yet I lived in Florida, of all places. So, what if I moved? It wasn’t completely unheard of, and there were tons of homes always popping up on the market around that area. I could buy a house outright, pay the property taxes upfront for a few years, and ensure Asia a stable environment for the next five or so years until I got my career back up and running.
But, could I really uproot her away from all of this?
To Asia, Key Biscayne was home. All of her friends were here. Her mother still lived in this area, despite the issues we were currently having. And if I moved to Hollywood, what about Eva? Would she come with us and keep helping?
Could I really uproot both of them for something selfish like my career?
Water splashed against my face before my daughter started laughing. It pulled me out of my trance long enough to hear her yell, “Jump in, Daddy!” So, I did. I let myself forget about my worries for a split second, and I stood on the ledge of the boat before jumping in. I curled my knees up to my chest, listened as my daughter shrieked with joy, and then the cool water of the ocean wrapped around me as I tore into the crystal-clear waves that sloshed against our own little private island.
And when I came back up for air, I found Eva swimming toward me.
“You have to come to see what I found. Asia!”
My daughter turned around. “Yeah?”
“Come see what I found! Hurry!”
We all swam for the shoreline, and I saw what Eva was talking about. There were hundreds of little holes that had popped up everywhere, and every time the waves lapped against the shoreline, these little, tiny crabs popped their heads out in order to enjoy it. Asia giggled and clapped her hands as she bent down and looked into the teeny, tiny little holes. Eva leaned against me, her fingers playing with mine as I stole a soft kiss against the top of her head while no one was looking. And I watched my daughter dig around in the sand for the little crabs, committing the sight to memory. Because I knew in the blink of an eye, she’d be a teenager and want nothing to do with me.
“This was a great catch,” I said.
Eva giggled. “I knew she’d like them. The waves carried me to shore, and I stepped on one. That’s how I found them.”
I peered down at her. “You okay? Do I need to take a look at your foot?”
