Page 99 of The Crush Next Door

Common Sense

The following few days were an absolute roller coaster. My mom arrived the next morning, and their reunion made me a blubbering mess. My grandparents and I left them alone for a while because my mom was so highly emotional. Understandably so.

For three years, she hadn't dated anyone or seen any other man. I didn't know why. Maybe she hadn't been asked. Or maybe she always said no. It was something she never brought up to me, and I certainly wasn't going to ask.

But when she saw my dad, she flipped out and became an absolute wreck—three years of grief erupting out of her. I kind of felt sorry for my dad. All he did was smile, though. He knew how to handle her best.

Ryan arrived in the afternoon, catching the first flight he could out of Denver. And again, we all cried our eyes out, seeing father and son grasping each other in a big bear hug.

The whole thing was just unbelievable. I kept feeling like I was in some kind of dream and would wake to find out it was all a figment of my imagination.

But it was real! And I had to keep reminding myself of that.

My poor dad. We just stared at him a lot, probably all of us afraid he'd disappear if we took our eyes off him. But he took it in stride, teasing us, taking care of us all, checking in with each of us individually, always making sure I wasn't still holding onto that guilt, asking me more about that Josh guy.

It was also really strange. In some ways, he was my same old dad. But with three years gone, he had missed so much in our lives. And during that time, he'd been through a life-changing experience that had definitely altered him, making him somewhat of a stranger.

So we took the next days, the next week really, to reacquaint ourselves with each other, the six of us hanging out at my grandparents' house, eating, sleeping, talking all the freaking time about everything that had happened during his absence.

The most amazing part was the pride my dad had for his family. He beamed at me constantly, so proud of me for some reason. I didn't understand it really. What had I done to be proud of exactly?

When I asked him why, he gave me his easy laugh before explaining all the things I'd done that made him happy—paying my own way in life, going for my dreams, surviving the trauma of "losing" him, and most importantly, he thought I had a good heart.

I didn't see that as anything special, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I'd soak up that parental pride with glee, especially because of the pressure I sometimes felt from my mother.

Thank God my dad was back, for many reasons, but also to balance out my mom.

One of the best parts was our evenings together. We'd all settle in and watch baseball just like old times, Josh joining us for the fun, my grandma cooking up a storm. Already, the gaunt look around my dad's eyes and cheeks was disappearing. My grandma was on a mission.

And then, the craziest thing happened. The cruise line we had traveled on put out a press release explaining my father's story, and it was picked up by the LA Times. Then practically every other publication and news station in the world wanted to talk to my dad.

And suddenly, my dad was super busy trying to keep up with everything, hiring a lawyer and publicist, navigating a possible book and movie deal, all while visiting the doctor to check his health and make sure he didn't have mercury poisoning, a common result from illegal gold mining.

Through it all, he spoke about the horrors of human trafficking, some of the terrible things he had witnessed, especially regarding women and children. He was contacted by human rights organizations to speak out, exactly the type of thing he had hoped for in order to make something of his experience and help people who needed it the most.

I couldn't have been prouder. My dad was a hero.

And before I knew it, we were all attempting to find a new normal for our lives. My brother went back to Denver, not wanting to lose his position, my father encouraging him to follow his dreams. My mom quit her job in Palm Springs and moved back to LA, my parents finding a condo to buy near my grandparents.

I returned to my apartment, my job, and hanging out with my neighbor—an awesome, amazing guy named Josh who had been by my side the last ten days, supporting me through the craziness, always with a smile.

My life had completely changed, and I felt like a different person, a crushing weight I'd been carrying for three years suddenly lifted off me. After so much family time, it was incredibly strange to be back in my place alone, and I didn't really know what to do with myself.

Josh's friend James texted me asking what my big plans were for Josh's birthday in two days.

Oh, shit. I had completely forgotten about that. Kind of ironic that after I had teased James about his lack of planning, here I was the one who'd dropped the ball. But it was hopefully understandable due to the circumstances. At least I thought so.

And it wasn't too late. Luckily, my plans were easy to throw together at the last minute, and Josh's friends were a big help.

So Saturday afternoon, I loaded up my trunk with the supplies I had, including huge subs, bags of chips, a cooler full of water, and a ton of cupcakes that I'd spent all morning baking. Oh, boy, I hoped I had enough food.

James said we had a large crowd coming. Apparently, all of Josh's friends wanted to join this party. And Anaya and Dr. Hot would meet us there, thank goodness, because I would need their help if I was going to pull this off today.

Josh didn't know anything, only that his friends and I had a surprise for him and he needed to keep the day and evening open. I told him to wear basically what he'd wear to the gym, and he gave me a cross look as he came down the stairs to meet me.

"You have no clue, do you?" I asked.

"No," he grumbled.

---