Page 13 of Otter Heart
Another deep sigh.
“I know. And I’m not looking for guys down here. I actually came here because I realized, out of all my friends back home, the only ones Ireallycared about were down here. And I knew they could help me get it all sorted out.”
“Rowan?”
“Yeah. Him and James.” I took a deep breath. “They’re gonna help me get myself straightened out. It turns out I’m not as nice of a guy as I thought I was.”
“I’m sure you’re fine.”
I shook my head. “No, Mom. I’m not. I’ve been blocking people out and not giving them the attention they deserve. In fact, the more I look at things, the more I realize I’ve been coasting along for a long time without really connecting with anyone. It’s no wonder they all left.” I paused for a moment, glancing out the window toward the clouds on the horizon. “How can you fall in love with someone if they don’t ever let youin?”
“Oh honey…”
We were both silent for a long moment.
“I… I think I understand what you’re saying now,” she said finally. “That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it and I think there are probably better ways to work through this. But I understand. Coming home wouldn’t help because… well because you’re my son. I can’t see any bad in you even if I tried. But your friends might be able to give you more helpful advice.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.Mymother was giving me her approval.
“I still think this was all a bit rushed and thoughtless though.”
And she was back.
“I know, Mom. But I need this. And I’m gonna work through it all.”
“I know you will. And Rowan has a good head on his shoulders. He won’t lead you astray.”
“He’s already been really helpful.”
She blew out a long sigh. “Well. Anything interesting happening down there so far? Tourist season must be gearing up so I bet the beach is packed. I still don’t know why your uncle liked it down there so much. That cabin is tiny.”
“It’s plenty big enough for one or two people,” I smiled, happy to be onto a different subject. “And it’s been pretty quiet. The tourists are definitely trickling in. Oh, and I found a dog the other day.”
“Youfounda dog?”
“Well, she found me I guess.”
“Are… Are you going to keep it?”
“What? God no!”
Mom blew out a sigh of relief. “Oh good. The last thing you need to do right now is jump into a commitment you aren’t ready for.”
“First of all,ouch,” I replied. “And no, I don’t want a dog, anyway. You know me, I’m not much of an animal person.Something about picking up another creature’s poop just makes me squirm.”
“Don’t have any kids then,” she laughed.
“Haha. Very funny.”
“So did you call the pound then?”
“No. She had a collar and an address, so I took her home.” I paused, wondering how much I should share about theextremelyhandsome blind man I’d been so rude to. “Turns out she was some guy’s seeing-eye dog.”
“I bet he was happy to have her back.”
“He was. Although he wasn’t happy to see me.”
“Why’s that?”
