Page 88 of Known By You
“Saint,” I said, using both his last name and nickname.
“It’s been so good to see you. Let’s get lunch sometime and I’ll leave James with his daddy,” Sarah, Wilder’s wife, said.
“I’d like that.”
“I want to come, too!” Jo said, slinging an arm around my shoulders.
Sarah laughed. “Of course you’re coming.”
She and Wilder followed the others out. I was peopled out in the best way and ready to get back to my little apartment.
Actually, what I really wanted was to get back to Kenny, but there wouldn’t be any of that… at least not like before.
“You okay?” Jo asked, after we’d said goodbye to Jane and our dad and walked to the car. She’d insisted on driving me up here to get extra time together, and likely because Adam wouldn’t be here. He’d been on a weekend assignment, which was well-timed since she was all the more available to keep me company.
“I am. I’m just…”
What word could describe what I was? Exhausted, but not physically. I was pleasantly worn out after taking a run with Jo this morning, and weirdly sore in unexpected places after spending a half hour throwing plates at the spa yesterday. Or maybe the soreness came from the deep tissue and stress relief massage I’d had after.
I’d been supported and loved by my sister, my new friends, and today, my family. It should’ve made me feel better and on one level, it did.
On the other, it made me feel like my heart was collapsing in on itself. Every wonderful interaction andsupportive thought someone shared became one more privilege I’d be leaving behind when I went back to my old life.
I’d be getting another update tonight on timing for my official return—the office admin would book my tickets and then the final date would be set. I promised myself not to open my work email before breakfast with Kenny, though. I didn’t want to have that looming deadline in my mind while I was with him.
Jo had loaded in, but my dad called to me from the porch. “Lizzy. Have a minute?”
Warmth suffused my chest at his use of the nickname. He hadn’t called me that in years, and now this was twice in a matter of days. Only Jo had kept up using it and it’d always felt like an emblem of the distance between us.
I jogged back toward him and mounted the stairs. “What’s up?
He smiled softly, his gray beard far less pepper than salt these days.
“I just wanted to tell you how wonderful it’s been to have you here. I’m not sure when you go back, and I’d like to be kept in the loop there, if you’re willing, but just wanted to make sure you knew.”
I studied him, wondering if he knew my days were numbered. I should’ve had close to a month left based on the original dates I’d given him, but this comment felt too pointed. Jo knew I was leaving sooner rather than later, but I was sure she hadn’t said a word to him, nor had I.
“Thanks. It has been for me, too. I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Good. Night, Lizzy.”
“Night,” I said, giving him a quick hug before hustling down the steps.
“Don’t be afraid to change if it doesn’t work for you,” he hollered after me, halting my progress before I got to the car.
I slowed, then turned to look at him, but he just waved and stepped inside. He meant the timing of when I went back, of course. He knew it’d shifted and he was encouraging me to stick to my plan if I needed to stay longer.
But as we made our way from their house back downtown under the light of a nearly-full moon, I wondered if maybe it wasn’t that simple.
Maybe it wasn’t just the travel he wanted me to be brave about. Maybe he meant all of it.
Miraculously, I’d slept a few hours last night and was now ready for work. I hadn’t checked my email, so I didn’t have a specific drop-dead date for my return, and I’d managed not to sweat through my clothes while I paced my tiny apartment and tried to imagine what Kenny might say.
Before I landed on anything specific, my alarm trilled, and I held back from bolting out the door.
I didn’t run or even jog. Nope! I stayed calm and walked with measured steps toward Diner, ready for some coffee and maybe some eggs, and maybe to mention to Kenny Carmichael that I was a little bit in love with him.
But alsonotmention that because who did such a thing when they were about to leave? Who?
