Page 19 of Pour Timing

And then, something settles inside me. For the first time, I know I’m not alone in feeling this. And I know my gut instinct has been right all along.

“You agree with me, don’t you?”

I hear him inhale heavily before letting it out. “I do.” He laughs. “Well, I guess it’sI don'tnow, huh?”

I laugh too. “Thanks for breaking the tension.”

“I know you haven't been happy. I know my work schedule is not what we thought it’d be, and I’d be lying if I said it will get better. It won’t.”

“I know, Patrick. Your dad has big plans for you and I was just a sidekick to make you look good.”

“No, that wasn’t?—”

“It was. And that's okay. Your dad and your grandfather are leaving you a wonderful family legacy but it's not my legacy. And you deserve to find someone who wants that.”

He lets out a long sigh. “You're an amazing woman, Kylie, and it’s why I fell for you to begin with. And if we were still back there, at a time where it was simple, things would be different.”

“I don't know that they would be, Patrick. You still won't watch football with me.”

He laughs again. “You get really aggressive when you watch those games.”

“It’s the only way to watch.”

Silence falls across the line, and even though I feel a bit sad I feel so much more relief. “Thank you, Patrick, for not making this awful.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.”

“Do you want me to pack up your stuff? There isn’t much here.”

“You don’t have to. I can come get it when you aren’t there, if seeing me will be weird.”

“Why don’t you call me when you get back in town and we’ll figure it out.”

“Okay. Goodbye, Kylie.”

“Goodbye, Patrick.”

I end the call, hold my phone, and lean back in the chair. The last few rays of the sun disappear and I exhale. This feels good. This feels right.

Me: Can you come over?

Sadie: Everything ok?

Me: Perfect.

Sadie: Be there in ten.

* * *

“So he didn't even fight for you?” my sister angrily asks, and I wave off her temper.

“He didn’t fight for me when we were together. I didn’t expect him to put up a fight now.”

“I guess it’s better this way, right?”

“Absolutely. It didn’t have to be volatile because nothing about us was. We just didn’t work together.”

We sit in silence, gazing at the moon that has finally made its appearance.

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