Page 54 of The Hometown Dilemma
I thought about how I’d been around Colm and Vanessa, trying to make the best impression, trying to say the things I thought they wanted to hear, trying to come across as the ambitious, up and coming professional designer I desperately wanted to be.
Then I thought about the banter and fun I had at Dempsey’s, with the students from the university, with Wade’s dad and his friends, how easy it was to chat and come home feeling like I’d been out with friends.
I stared up at the ceiling.
Which version was therealme?
If I moved back to New York and took the job at The Green Consultancy, there was every possibility I’d lose Wade. He wouldn’t come with me; his whole life was in Abbott Ridge.
But if I stayed in Abbott Ridge and didn’t pursue my design dreams, would I end up resenting Wade as a result?
The whole dilemma was rapidly becoming a fucked-up mess and I didn’t have the first clue as to what to do about it.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Wade
The charred,blackened burned out shell of the bar kind of reflected how I felt right now. Fatigue weighed down my body. After getting the call from Mom, I’d grabbed my stuff from our room and headed straight for the airport. The first flight back to Raleigh hadn’t been until the early hours of the morning. I’d spent a restless night at JFK, moving between seat and sofa, trying to get any sort of shut eye possible, which wasn’t much.
“Oh, Wade.” Mom’s hand gripped my arm, and I pulled her into my chest while she racked with silent sobs. “What are we going to do?”
Sucking in my lips, I shook my head, even though she couldn’t see me, unable to drag my gaze away from the devastation in front of me. It at least took my attention from Jaime and our car crash of a night.
Apparently, faulty electrical in the jukebox had started the fire shortly after the bar had closed. Nearby neighbors had called 911 within minutes, before the fire could really take hold. If I believed in God, I would have thanked him for making sure there was no one in the building at the time. The firefighters had then been able to dampen the flames to stop it spreading and causing any structural damage. But it was still a fucked-up mess.
Like so many other things.
Jaime had called and messaged, but I hadn’t been able to reply. As far as I knew, she remained in New York, with her new-slash-old boss and her new fancy job. Given how we’d ended last night, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn she would be heading back to the city permanently.
“Thank you for coming back so quickly,” said Mom.
“I wasn’t about to leave you and Dad to deal with this on your own.” I gave her a huge squeeze, before letting her go. “Where is he?”
She raised a small smile. “He couldn’t bear to see it like this. And I can’t say I blame him. We’ve spent a lot of years getting this place to where it was, and now you’ve taken it on. I feel like we’ve let you down letting this happen.”
“Hey, faulty electrical could happen to anyone. It’s certainly not your fault.” Seriously, how could she even think this had anything to do with them?
The lead firefighter who had been on hand throughout the whole night came over to us.
“Folks, we’ve got everything under control. You’re safe to go back into the building and clean up.” He gestured towards the bar. “If you need any help, I can recommend a company.”
“Thanks.” I nodded, taking the proffered business card. “We might have to do that.”
And then, the Abbott Ridge fire department was gone as if nothing had ever happened.
I took a deep inhale. “Do you want to go inside?”
Mom hesitated. “I don’t want to but feel like I should. We should go in together.”
“Of course, I wasn’t about to let you do this on your own.”
Carefully, we stepped our way through the door, the scent of burning wood, smoke, and ash invading my nostrils. Grateful for it happening after hours, when there weren’t any people in there, it suddenly brought everything home to me.
There’s no way I could leave Abbott Ridge, even if Jaime asked me to go to New York with her.
My business was here.
My home was here.
