After that, the weekend was a sex blur. I ate a few things, but mostly I rolled around naked with Rob. Sunday morning when he took me back to the airport, I cried. Though I said he didn’t have to, he parked his truck and walked me all the way to the security gate.
“I’ll be back soon,” I promised.
“How long?”
At this point, I couldn’t be sure. “A month? Two at the most.”
He kissed me, hard. “If you’re not back in six weeks, I’m coming to get you.”
“Deal. Let’s see how I perform under pressure.”
We did a long, extravagant airport kiss—to the point that people around us were staring when I finally pulled back. It was so hard to walk away from him and go through the security line; I turned and turned, until Rob was out of sight, and I was on the other side of the walls.
Oh, my God, so dramatic, it’s a few weeks, not forever.
Since I didn’t have an international plan, I’d shut my phone off before landing in Toronto and when I switched it on as I landed, I had messages from Nadia and Avery, demanding to know how it went. As we taxied, I sent back to Avery, Rob, and an emoticon heart. She could take it however she wanted; I’d be home in a few hours. To Nadia, I wrote a proper response since she’d helped me find him.
Nadia: OMG, so happy for you both. Sisters forever??
I laughed, startling the old man next to me, then tapped out, We’re back together, not getting married. But who knows?
Once I retrieved my car from the lot, I drove back to Sharon, which seemed better and brighter than I remembered. It was late afternoon, and I had so much to do that I had no idea where to start. Mom, I thought. So I swung by the house to tell her my news in person.
She and Stuart were watching Antiques Roadshow when I knocked. I hugged both of them and said, “I hope I didn’t come at a bad time.”
“Of course not. What’s up?” That was Stuart.
Mom made a pot of coffee as I explained that I was moving to Toronto to be with Rob. “But...what about school?” she asked, clearly worried.
“I have a plan.” Understandable that she’d be concerned, given my history of running off whenever things got bad.
Crap, I’m more like my dad than I’d care to admit. But it’s not like that this time.
I outlined my idea about continuing with school in Canada. Since they were online classes, it shouldn’t prove to be a problem, provided she was willing to let me keep using their Nebraska address. “If not, it’s okay. I’ll pay the out-of-state tuition rates once I—”
“No, that part’s fine.” She seemed bemused, focused on the mug in her hands.
“What’s wrong?”
“You’ve thought it through. So this isn’t a wild hair— And you’re really going. I will miss you so much, Lauren.”
“Me, too,” Stuart added.
I stayed a little longer, after I was sure I had their blessing, but soon, I headed off to talk to Avery. In a way, this conversation would be harder than the one with my mom. She had Stuart now and a happy life that didn’t revolve around me. Part of me felt like I was abandoning my friend when she needed me most.
Happy greeted me at the front door, shivering with excitement. She didn’t like it when I was gone, maybe worried that I’d vanish like Rob. Imagining the dog’s reaction when I reunited them put a smile on my face. I knelt to rub her belly, whispering, “It won’t be long now, honey.”
Avery was in the kitchen, making a grilled cheese when I got home. “From your cryptic text, I take it things went well?”
“You could say that.” I took a deep breath, bracing. “I’m relocating, probably in the next month or so.” When she didn’t reply, I went on, “You can ask Jill to move in. I know she’d love that, and you were talking about how you’d like to be closer—”
“I filed.”
“What?” At first I didn’t even know what she meant.
“After you left on Friday, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I told you to go for it—to be fearless. Yet I’m letting a pervert get away with what he did, because I don’t want people to talk about me? Or because I might lose some money? Bullshit. Half the town already hates me, so what does it matter? I’m not selling my soul for that trust fund. Fuck my dad and fuck my family. I went to the sheriff’s office and told them everything. It took hours. I repeated the story to, like, four people, and it got easier every single time. I was eleven years old and I didn’t seduce him. It wasn’t because I was so pretty he couldn’t help it. I didn’t do this, and I shouldn’t be paying for it all by myself.”
“Oh, my God, Avery. I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have gone with you.”
“This was something I had to do on my own. You’ve helped me so much, but you couldn’t carry me all the way where I needed to be.”
“Can I hug you?”
“You have two arms,” she said in that snarky tone that made everyone think she was a bitch, but really meant she was hurting.
She had been for so long. Dropping my backpack, I hurried into the kitchen and squeezed her close. “Are you all right?”
“Closer to it than I have been in a long time. I have no plans to stop seeing Dr. Reid, and it doesn’t matter if my family never talks to me again.”
“They don’t deserve you,” I snapped.
She pulled away, turning back to the stove. “Agreed. I’m way too good for those assholes. Want a grilled cheese?”
“Sure. Airport food is overpriced.”
At the kitchen table, we hammered out a plan, confirmed with a quick call. Jillian would be moving in at the end of the month, after I completed my notice, and just before I left for Toronto. I had a brainstorm as I devoured the last of my sandwich, now cold and gluey.
“We should have one last girls’ night, invite Krista to sleep over. Jillian, too, obviously.”
“What do you mean, last? Do you think you’re irreplaceable? The three of us will continue to rock out, long after you’re gone.”
“I’m glad. You’re amazing, and I want so much for you to be happy.”
“Shut up. Stop making me feel things.”
I hugged her, determined to make the most of the time we had left. Exciting as my new life promised to be, I’d miss aspects of the old one. We watched movies until late, and the next day, I went to work to hand in my notice. The office ladies didn’t say much, just processed the paperwork. In the evenings, I busted ass on assignments and Skyped with Rob, sometimes at the same time. At the end of my two weeks, Davies called me into his office for an exit interview. From the tone of his questions, he was wondering if his behavior had something to do with my departure. I answered noncommittally, amusing myself by making him sweat. On my last day, they threw a party for me with cupcakes and Kool-Aid.