Page 44 of Emergency Exit
“No problem! Ha! I went back into the kitchen, and now I’ve remembered. I’m going to Palm Springs with Carol for Thanksgiving. Do you think I need my passport?”
Ash felt simultaneously relieved that his mother had made Thanksgiving plans because he’d been dreading badgering Rowan and Forest into letting her come and mad that she’d known she wouldn’t be invited.
“No, Mom, just your driver’s license. Why would you need your passport?”
“In case we go to Mexico.”
“Um… well, if you’re going to go to Mexico, then yes. But if you’re not planning on going to Mexico, then no.”
“My passport is expired. And if I order a new one now, it might come in time. But it might not.”
“Well, then, you should probably not go to Mexico.” He knew that these were the kind of conversations that drove Rowan nuts.
“Well, you’re probably right, but I worry that Carol will want to go, and then we can’t.”
“You could get it expedited,” said Ash.
“That’s a good point.”
“You let me know if you need help filling out the forms,” said Ash, knowing she probably wouldn’t.
“That’s what I wanted to know. I’ll talk to Carol.”
Carol was seventy-two and was bat-shit crazy as far as Ash could tell, but he considered her his mom’s extrovert service human. Rose had a lot of anxiety about basic life activities, and Carol made sure she made it out into the world and talked to people.
“OK,” said Ash. “Well, you let me know.” From his own experience with ADHD, he knew that sometimes he just needed to hear the decision out loud so he could know what he’d decided, and he suspected his mother was the same. He also thought sometimes she just wanted reassurance.
“Thanks!” she said cheerfully. “I’ll text you later.”
Ash hung up with a sigh and went out to the lobby. It looked better, but still not great. It felt like his life. But at least there was a chance to save Bob.
14
Harper
November
Harper watched in mute confusion as, one after the other, all of Ash’s dates for the next week dropped off her calendar. He couldn’t at least text her and say he was canceling? She had to find out from her calendar?
She felt like she was being punished, and Harper wasn’t sure how she was the one who had done something wrong. This was just like with Cooper. She hadn’t told him to propose. She hadn’t even wanted him to propose.
Shehadwanted to kiss Ash.
But she was getting punished for breaking the deal.
Which wasn’t fair. He’d kissed her!
And then he hadn’t even had the decency to call or text her. Her text about his brother still had three dots saying he was replying. Apparently, it was an epically long message because it had yet to come through, and it had been over a week.
The work Halloween party had been fun, but she’d missed the steady stream of kids that had come to Cooper’s townhouse. Cooper always complained, but Harper had loved all the kids in their brightly-colored costumes. She’d been hoping to weasel her way into passing out candy at Ash’s condo. And what about…
All the plans that weren’t going to happen.
With a sinking feeling, Harper realized that for an entire week, she’d been lonely. Ash had made Seattle fun and moving to a new town an adventure. A week without him was depressing.
Harper closed her calendar with determination. She didn’t need him. She could…
Harper looked around the office. Do more work?
