Page 87 of It Couldn't Be You
“Of course,” I crossed my arms. “I missed him, too. We just…you know, lost touch.” I looked down at my feet. “He was there, and I was here.”
“Here withJordan,”she said. And there was something about how she emphasized Jordan’s name.
“Well, I mean, that’s…” I wanted to minimize it, but it felt like a lie. “Our dynamic duo has always been… Boyfriends just don’t get…”
She grinned at me like we were in on a joke together.
Katie walked into the kitchen singing, “Good morning!” the same way she did on work mornings, and we both broke away from our conversation.
“Good morning to you, too,” I said. “How’s our birthday girl this morning?”
She walked straight past me, proceeding to pull a powdery blue Yeti from the cupboard and fill it with coffee. “Does my birthday last into the weekend? I don’t get just one day?”
“Didn’t we used to claim birthday weeks?” I reminisced.
“Well, if they have cake at this cook off, I’ll get some then,” Katie said.
“This chili cooks off sounds fun,” Linda said. “Do you two get to vote?”
“Sadly, no, we’re not judges. But we do get to try all the different chili.” I clapped my hands excitedly. “I’m so excited. I was researching a little the past few days, and it’s a really big deal. It’s all supposed to be such good food and music that people come from all over.”
“Enjoy the chili for me,” Linda said while Katie finished gathering her purse and coat.
Katie kissed her mom on the cheek and said, “We will, Mama.”
It was a couple hour drive to Austin, so as we buckled up, I told myself to wait a bit before I brought up the fight from last night. I pulled away from her house, and as I got onto the road, I saw her check her phone. I glanced down at the screen for just a second.
Katie shook her head in disbelief. “Emma, are you trying to snoop on my messages?”
“Not at all. Well, not really. I saw you open your phone, and I wasa littlecurious if you were texting Terrence,” I said. “Last night was just intense, at least the bit I saw before I left. I’ve been curious. How you’re doing?”
“It was just intense because Terrence and I have been going back and forth for weeks about our future—his future. It’s like we’ve been simmering for weeks before we hit a boiling point last night,” she said. “But we’re okay. We talked it out last night.”
“Is it okay if I ask what the back and forth has been? You haven’t let on much.” I tried not to sound hurt about my lack of inclusion.
“I’ve kind of told you. I’ve said how we’re trying to figure out what our long-term living situation is going to be. He got his short-term rental here, but it’s been killer on him to be bouncing between three places. We keep fighting because he wants me to tell him what I want him to do, but I want him to decide what’s best for him and his work.”
“Plus, maybe you want him towantto move to Sweet River?”
“Sure. I know he wants to be with me. But I can tell he’s torn because we’ve been moving so quickly. We keep talking about our future with a marriage and kids, and we just met months ago. It doesn’tfeelquick, though. It feels natural—right.” She sounded so achingly earnest.
“Okay, so you’re having these long talks, but you’re not asking him to move here?” I toyed with the air conditioner vent.
“Basically. Last night when he was griping about how awful things are, then didn’t deny it was my fault…I just snapped. I know it was dramatic, but I did have some tequila in me… And like I said, we were at a boiling point.”
“Now it all makes sense.” I nodded. “Leave it to the two dorks to get you guys fighting.”
“Of course. You can always count on Ricky and Victor. Little instigators,” Katie tapped the steering wheel. “Though, honestly, I’m kind of grateful. You guys ran off, then we laughed about you guys running off, and once the tension was abated…we started really talking. Defenses down. I started crying and said, I don’t want to be anywhere but Texas, but I also don’t want anyone but him. I asked him, what does he want?”
“What did he say?”
“He said he just wants me. He said it’s scary and complicated, but he wants to be with me. He wants the kids. He wants the Texas sunsets. He wants to come get coffee at my coffee shop someday. He wants all of it.”
“Of course, he does.”
“You know what else he said, Emma? It’s cheesy, but I know you’ll appreciate it. He said, ‘If you’re in Texas, I can be in Texas.’”
I remembered him in the coffee shop when they first met, saying,“If you’re free, I can be free.”
