Page 33 of The Making of Marnie Jones

Picking up her fork, she scooped up some rice and put it in her mouth. Then tried the chicken. The food was delicious, but her mind was already on the next few days.

When the bill came, she let him pay. Not that she trusted him more than before—more that she had bigger worries on her mind. Goodbyes were perfunctory before she headed back to her house.

Travel arrangements proved surprisingly easy thanks to the internet.

Loriana was thrilled Marnie was finally taking some of her accumulated vacation time.

She hadn’t given specifics to her boss—simply hinted something had come up requiring her presence. Loriana was clearly dying for more information, but Marnie simply wasn’t up to elucidating. She left her boss with unanswered questions, knowing the older woman would press for details upon her return.

Packing was a foreign concept. She’d never taken a trip. Fortunately she had the suitcases from when she moved from Toronto. Having no idea how long she was going to be gone, or what she’d be doing, she tried to be practical. Since most of her work wardrobe was casual, it’d have to suffice. She neither owned fancy clothes, nor had any use for them. She lived a simple life and preferred it that way. She did her regular sweep of doors and windows to ensure she locked everything.

The lamps were on timers, and air-conditioning on automatic, so preparing the house took little time. In a plastic bag, she tossed a few food items close to expiring. She double- then triple-bagged it and put the bag in her garbage can in the garage. It’d smell if she was gone more than a few days, but nothing she could do about that. How many days would she be gone? At least two or three, but she’d told Loriana at least a week to be on the safe side.

Finally, since stalling was no longer an option, she steeled herself and made the call.

“McGrath.” Clipped.

“Hello Jake, it's Marnie.”

“Hello.” His voice softened.

Her heart stuttered. So much emotion suffused into one word. “I've made the arrangements.” She consulted her notes. “I fly out of Abbotsford tomorrow at six in the evening on WestJet and arrive in Toronto a few minutes after two. I’ll take my car to the airport.”

“I can drive you.”

“I know you can, but I'm driving.” She took a deep breath, her palms gone clammy. “There are still several seats left on the flight.”

“You checked?”

“It seemed the polite thing to do.”

“Well, thank you. I'll call and change my ticket right away.” Now he took a deep breath, and a long silence ensued.

Say something.

Please.

Finally, he cleared his throat. “I can't thank you enough.”

An icy dread washed over her again. “No expectations, Jake. Olivia has to want this.”

“Yeah.” His frustration came through loud and clear. “I won't push either of you, like I promised.”

There was an awkward silence.

“Well, I—” She faltered when he spoke.

“You—”

Another silence.

“You can trust me. You may not believe me, but I'll spend the next few days proving it to you.”

Good luck.She wisely kept the comment to herself. “I can't promise, Jake, but I'll try to stay open to the possibility.”

“That's all I ask. Good night, Marnie.”

“Good night, Jake.”

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