Page 111 of The One I Need
I tip her chin up. “So what’s the problem? You go to London for a few weeks. Fix this guy’s mess. Bring me back a Buckingham Palace T-shirt and a British flag to hang up in my classroom. Easy peasy.”
Izzy shakes her head. “It’s not just three weeks. This will take literal months. Two, minimum, because of the launch. Not only do I need to make sure the sexual harassment is dealt with properly and make sure every person who was a part of that is gone, I need to help coordinate the new hires for the London branch. The first round took us almost a year to find who we wanted. Then again, we apparently picked a shitty person, so who knows how long it will take.”
I try to hide my shock, but I don’t think I do a very good job.
“Say something,” Izzy says. “I know you’re freaking out. I’m freaking out. And if we’re going to freak out, we need to do it together.”
“Okay,” I say, trying to gather myself. “Two months…”
“At least.”
I shake my head. “Let’s think positively.”
“Positively, Oliver? Really? I might believe in love now, but that doesn’t mean all of a sudden I think every glass is half full.”
“I’m not saying the glass is half full.”
“Well, then, what are you saying?” Izzy’s voice is getting louder as she stands up to start pacing. “Because from where I’m sitting, you’re trying to be sunshine and rainbows over a situation that fucking sucks.”
“Isn’t that what I do? That’s kind of my role in this relationship.”
“That’s not what I’m saying!” Izzy yells.
“Then what are you saying!”
“I’m saying that for once I want you to say that something fucking sucks when it does. Because if this doesn't, then I don’t know what does.”
“Fine!” I yell back. “It fucking sucks. But what do you want me to do about it? Rewind time so the asshole son doesn’t harass an employee? Maybe I can go a little farther back and not hire Edwin. Oh wait, I can’t.”
“I don’t know!” Izzy yells, falling back down to the couch, sobs immediately coming from her. “I don’t know…”
“Izzy…”
I take two steps to get to her, holding her in my arms and letting her cry. She’s right, this does suck. There is no silver lining. At least, not one that I can see.
“We’re just getting started,” she says between the cries. “I feel like this is being ripped away from us just as we’re getting going. We didn’t even decide who’s taking whose name or where we’re going to live. I don’t even have a drawer at your place yet.”
“I told you, I’ll take yours. And you’re right, we are just getting started. But we’re not getting ripped away,” I say as I rub her back. “Not even an ocean can come between us.”
“Oliver. The ocean will literally be between us.”
I can’t help but laugh. “There she is. Captain Literal checking in for duty.”
“Don’t make me laugh. This isn’t a laughing situation.”
I bring her back to my lap, where indeed I see a few chuckles coming in between the tears.
“Yes, there is going to be an ocean between us. Yes, a few time zones will make things difficult.”
“Do you not remember my moods when I had morning calls with London?” she asks. “I was the worst.”
“Which is why I’ll be the one on the six in the morning side of things while you’re a few coffees in your day.”
“Fine, but two months, Oliver. Two months. And again, that’s the best case scenario. What if two turns into six. Six turns into a year. Next thing we know we’re sending each other random emails when we think of it and we have to be reminded we’re married!”
“Oh no,” I say. “That is not going to happen.”
“How do you know? We’re going to be busy. Life happens, Oliver. I’m going to be cleaning up the clusterfuck that Edwin left. You’re going to be in football mode, and it’s going to be the start of the school year. Next thing we know it’s going to be our anniversary, which neither of us will remember.”
