He grumbled his agreement and took the arm Emily offered, and they made their way out of the apartment together.
Adair came up to Mr. Smith’s side by the window, and they started talking quietly. Director Links ushered me out of the apartment and into the smaller conference room down the hall. All floors of the Zinnia House had them, as there were a lot of meetings here.
Our conversation was brief.
Yes, I was ready to move forward.
Yes, Dad seemed ready too.
Yes, I would go downstairs and meet with the financial department after this.
Yes, if Mr. Smith was also agreeable, as I knew he would be, we could start moving Dad’s stuff up to the new apartment later today.
No, I didn’t have somewhere else to live yet.
Yes, I would be thinking about the guy with green eyes, gentle hands, baggy clothes, and kind smile for the rest of the day.
I kept the last two to myself.
9
IRELAND
My phone beeped with my new reminder for my midday visit with Dad, and I dismissed it.
I’d already been here for hours, packing his things and playingJengaas I loaded them onto the old-timey brass luggage cart Live Oak had magicked to the apartment during Dad’s nap. After several trips to the third floor with it, the only things left in his old apartment were my duffel bag, the picture frame from Gil, and my toiletry bag—all stuffed into the hallway closet—as well as Dad’s art supplies.
That’d be a trip on its own.
Director Links had told us that Mr. Smith wouldn’t move in until tomorrow, so at least I had one more night with somewhere to sleep.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t Dad’s new apartment and roommate or my lack of either that circled my mind as I worked.
It was the greenhouse. A job.Goodchange.
I nearly smiled as I finished this round of unloadinginto the new apartment and then plopped down onto the cart in the hallway.
For probably the tenth time in the past hour, I pulled out my phone and refreshed my email app, hoping to see an email from Ari regarding next steps. My disappointment was undeniable when no new emails popped up.
Crossing my legs, I got comfortable on the cart and opened a blank text message to Liem. Maybe it was time to make good on accepting, in a small way, his overtures of friendship.
The blank message stared back at me for several long moments, and I huffed out loud.
Oh, fuck it. I was taking this way too seriously.
Hey. Is your aunt feeling better?
The message was marked as delivered moments later, right as my phone buzzed with a notification from my email app.
I straightened with enough force that the cart rolled backward, and I laughed at myself as I righted it. I swiped my thumb on the email notification in the process, opening the new email.
Good afternoon, Team Live Oak
I read the first line and sighed. Dammit. It wasn’t from Ari.
These kinds of emails—the ones that went out to Live Oak staff and contractors—usually sorted themselves into my “work” folder, but for some reason, this one hadn’t. Curious, I leaned back against the brass bars and kept reading.
It is with heavy hearts that we inform you of the sudden passing of?—
