Page 58 of Someday Not Soon

“That’s great news, right? What you’ve been wanting?”

“Yeah, it is. There’s something else too.” The look in her eyes is cautious as she searches for the right words. I can feel my pulse in my ears as I wait for her reply. “Since they’re paying with cash, they’re pushing for it to close fast—likereallyfast.”

“How fast exactly?”

“Ten days, give or take. Which means I’ll be back in Washington in two weeks.”

My heart drops as I process her words. Two weeks, and she’ll be gone. The brave smile she’s wearing is barely holding back the weight of the reality between us. It’s everything she’s been working toward, and yet it feels like the ground is shifting beneath us.

“Wow. That’s amazing, but also…really soon,” I manage to say.

“Really soon,” she repeats, her smile faltering for a split second before regaining her composure. “I can’t believe it’s all happening now.”

We both know this should be a moment of celebration, and instead a heaviness settles in.

“I’m happy for you,” I say, forcing a smile as I reach for her hand. “That you’ll finally get closure with the house being sold.”

“Thanks.”

We both become awkward as we know our time together is coming to an end, even if we don’t want it to.

All I feel is emptiness carving out my bones as reality hits me. I’m here, and now she’s the one leaving. But this time, it feels final. Like the door is being cemented shut, and it’s our last chance slipping through the cracks.

For the next two days, the chaos of work is the perfect distraction for what’s going on with Ella. There’s virtually no downtime, barely enough time to even eat a bite of food or use the restroom between patients.

But as soon as I swipe my badge to clock out, the reminder of her leaving hits me straight on. My lips on her body, her mouth on my dick, us talking all night and the comfort of her sleeping next to me in bed—it’s a feeling I never want to lose. But now it feels like an hourglass, the sand slipping through faster than I can catch it. Every grain brings me closer to losing her.

After swiping my badge and heading out of the building, I run into Cliff in the parking lot. Today, he’s starting his shift as I’m ending mine.

“Hey, Judey! How’s it going?” he calls out across the lot, the early morning light catching the salt-and-pepper in his hair.

I take a few long strides over to him and reach out for a handshake. “Doing alright. How about yourself?”

“Who cares about an old man like me? You ready to tell me her name yet? I’ve seen that run before—like you’ve got a woman to rush home to.” Well, he’s sure straight to the point. And amazingly spot on.

“Her name’s Ella,” I confirm.

“Ella. That’s a pretty name. How’s it going with her?”

“Amazing. Better than amazing.”

“Then why the long face?”

I shrug. “She leaves in two weeks.”

His crinkled eyes are full of pity. “Well you’re not going to let her get away, now are you?”

“I don’t know how much choice I have in the matter.”

“Don’t be a damn fool. Of course, you’ve got a choice. If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to make it work.” He sighs like I’m a complete idiot. “Did I ever tell you about the time I met my wife?”

“At that baseball game? When you spilled a beer on her?”

“No, that came after. The first time I ever saw my wife, I was working as a contractor, building houses right outside of town. She was passing through with her family on a road trip—didn’t even live around here. Just some girl from across the state. We hit it off right away, but she was leaving in a few days.”

He spins his keys around his finger, staring off into the distance with his memory. “I could’ve let her go, figured it wasn’t meant to be. But I didn’t. I got her information, and we wrote letters for months. Talked on the phone all the time. Took road trips back and forth when we could. Hell, we even talked about moving across the country for a fresh start for us both. Whatever it took to stay connected, we did it. Eventually, we made it work.”

He looks at me, his gaze sharp again. “The point is, if I had let her leave without trying, I wouldn’t have had the forty damn good years we did together. Don’t let her go without a fight.”

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