Page 85 of Second Chance with Seth

“Hi,” I say.

“Hello.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Sorry I didn’t answer. I was busy.”

“That’s okay. You don’t need to apologize.”

“You arrived safely, then?”

“Yes. I’m at the office.”

There’s a brief silence. “I should probably let you get on,” she says.

“You don’t have to.”

“Yes, I do. You’ve got things to do. I might not know what they are, but the sooner you do them, the sooner you can come back.”

I can’t deny that. “Okay, but I’ll call you this evening. When would be a good time?”

“After eight,” she says. “I’ll have put River to bed, and hopefully eaten something myself by then.”

“Okay. I’ll call you then. I love you,” I say, waiting and hoping she’ll say it back, but she doesn’t, and I just say, “Goodbye,” and so does she, both of us hanging up at the same time.

That wasn’t the kind of call I’d hoped it would be, but I can’t blame Everly for that. She wasn’t expecting me to leave her… and she doesn’t really understand why I’m here. She doesn’t get that this is about making things better for both of us… for all of us. But she will.

I get up and walk out of my office, going along the hall to Aiden’s door. It’s closed, but I knock, and when he says, “Come in,” I enter and return the smile that greets me.

“You’re back!” He states the obvious.

“Yeah.”

“How did it go?”

“Really well. But there’s something I need to discuss with you.”

“Oh? Should I be scared?”

I close the office door and approach his desk. “That depends on your perspective…”

Chapter Fifteen

Everly

I can’t say it’s been the worst week of my life, because it hasn’t. That would be the week after Seth left me the last time, when I drifted around the apartment, not knowing what to do or how to feel. Admittedly, I’ve felt fairly similar this week, but at least I haven’t had to deal with a stoney silence. Seth has phoned me every day, several times a day, starting with that call I got when he arrived in Concord. We kept it brief, because we were both busy, and I was in the coffee shop at the time and didn’t want to cry in front of half the town. I got the impression he had things to do, too… although I had no idea what they were. All I knew was, the sooner he got them done, the sooner he could come back.

I’ve been waiting for him to come home ever since, although, like I say, he hasn’t been silent this time.

He called me later that evening and I sat on the couch, trying to keep it together, when he told me he missed me.

“You don’t have to,” I said. “You could come back. Concord isn’t that far away.”

“I know.”

“Then why don’t you drive over here?”

“Because if I did, I’d never be able to leave again.”

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