Page 124 of It Couldn't Be You
Maybe I should’ve ruminated for a while or said I’d get back to them, but I took the job right then and there.
As I walked back to my little spot in the city, I decided that if something was on your map, there might be misdirection, U-turns, ridiculous detours, and a lot of questioning your destination, but no matter how long it took, you’d get there. I wanted Gabe to be a destination on my map. If it wasn’t “meant to be,” I would write him in. In big, bold lettersGABRIEL HERNANDEZ.
Because after that meeting, there was no one in the world I wanted to share the news with more than him. To show him that I had claimed this version of me he’d seen for so long. That I gave her a future. So, right there, on the busy street, people all around me, heat coming off the concrete, I called him.
He didn’t answer, of course.
But I left a long, happy, rambling, laughing message as if I knew all along he was going to call me back someday. That I knew, no matter how mad he was or how unclear his mind, he would be happy to hear my news. I knew it in my bones.
At the end I said, “You don’t have to call me back.” Then, like an exhale, I added, “I just wish you would.”
Iflew home the next day, a jumble of excitement and giddiness. The wedding was only two days away.
I landed early. I went to sit at baggage claim, waiting for my bags to arrive. I opened my phone to see that my dad, who was picking me up, had an appointment run late and so he too was now running late. I also saw a message from Katie. She had sent me an address and told me to come see the house she and Terrence were making an offer on. She was panicking.
I told my dad not to come, and after my bags arrived, I had an Uber drive me straight to Katie’s prospective house. It was one of the oldest houses in town. It was downtown but right on the edge of downtown in one of the original neighborhoods. I had ridden my bike by this house thousands of times while growing up.
It was white with a big wraparound front porch, but the yard was thick with overgrown grass. The paint faded and chipped. I walked inside and my first thought was,Well, this would be a project.
“Hey, you,” I said when I found Katie walking through the kitchen, fingering the sink and the cabinets.
“Hi. Oh my gosh, you’re back! How was New York? How was the flight? Terrence and you both called me last night about the job.” She ran over to me and wrapped me up in a big hug.
“Katie, the trip was amazing, and I am thrilled about my job. But, oh my gosh, you’re getting married the day after tomorrow, and we’re standing in what might become your new home.” I pulled back from her hug so I could look at her face.
She looked pale. Nauseous, even. I knew this look. Katie was overwhelmed.
“Come on. Why are you panicking about this house? It’s beautiful.” I looked around the vintage kitchen.
“We were going to wait to take this step. We just got engaged. We’re doing it all so fast, you know? We decided to just move into his apartment for a while and wait on a house until way into the future. We’re literally buying the coffee shop right now. There are a lot of balls in the air. But then this house popped on my radar…and it is the fixer upper of my dreams.” She said everything fast and flowing, like a shaken-up bottle after the top has blown off.
“Do you think you’ll regret not getting it, just because, you know, it’s another ball in the air?”
It was quiet while Katie sorted through her thoughts. She turned her back to me and looked out the window over the sink.
“I think…” she said slowly. “I think I could end up regretting getting it, pushing us before we’re ready. Jumping the gun. I feel off about it.”
I peeked into the falling apart living room. “It would be a project,” I said. “Did you bring me here to talk you out of it?”
“I think so.”
“Miss Bold Moves is going to pass on this one?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I make bold moves when they’re the right moves, my dear,” she countered effortlessly.
We started laughing. Then her phone vibrated from her purse resting on the kitchen counter. She dug it out.
“This is the caterer; I’ll be a minute,” she said, looking at the caller ID. Then she disappeared into another room to take the call.
I stepped out onto the big porch. I sat down on the front steps and closed my eyes for a moment. That’s when I heard a familiar rumble.
I opened my eyes to see a beat up old truck pull up in front of the house. Gabriel. I was so happily surprised I laughed out loud at the sight of him. When did he get back to Texas? Then I tried to bite back my smile. This man had been ignoring me. Was I supposed to be mad? Should I play it cool? Wait, or was he mad? Should I be ready for a confrontation? A thousand thoughts at once, like buzzing bees. And, really, I was just glad to see that truck again.
“You’re hard to track down,” he said, slamming his driver door shut. His voice quieted every buzzing thought.
“Me?” I stood up. “Where have you even been?”
“Here and there.” He shrugged all mystery and cockiness.
