Page 255 of The Holy Grail
Malcom had made her promise to personally make sure his coffee machine was carefully packed.
Once the house was empty, she wandered from room to room, her footsteps echoing loudly. She smiled at some of the brightly colored walls, especially the ones in the game room, which had been painted the color of an orange creamsicle, like she’d wanted. She told herself they’d be returning in a few years and put it back together, but it still made her sad.
She took Dawn Corleone and all of her cat things over to Beverly’s house. Malcom’s mom had been kind enough to take the cat in for a few years, and even though Jules knew it was the best option—and temporary—it was still a difficult farewell.
She was going to miss that fucking cat.
The best part of the two weeks was staying at Paige and David’s house, in their guest room. The evenings were full of kid stuff, and with Julian almost a year old, he was like a real person, crawling around, eating soft foods, and sporting a few teeth. Dinners were a little chaotic, followed by a some TV, then fairly regimented bedtime rituals.
Once the kids were asleep, the adults would relax for a bit and then David would go to bed, giving Paige and Jules time to talk, sometimes until close to midnight.
The last thing Jules had to do was meet with the rental agency and hand over copies of the house keys to them. The new tenants—a professional married couple with a baby on the way—had already been vetted and approved, and were due to move in within a few weeks.
On the evening of Jules’ flight to Paris, she said goodbye to Julian, who had no clue what was going on, and to Jacob, who gave her a big hug. It took her by surprise, so much so, that it made her chest tighten at the sweet gesture. She was even more touched when he gave her a small bag of the single Reese’s Peanut Butter cups for her flight.
“Thank you,” she said, putting it in her carry-on bag, along with her Kindle, the picture of her parents, and one of her and Paige when they were eighteen, both looking impossibly young. “These will definitely come in handy on my long flight.”
“You’re welcome,” he said.
It was the hug from David, though, that completely shocked her, as did the words he murmured in her ear as he held her close. “I love you, Jules.”
“I love you, too, David.”
When he pulled back, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Be well, and be safe.”
“I will.”
“And have all the fucking fun you can,” he added, lowering his voice, apparently so only Jules could hear.
It didn’t work.
“Swear jar, Dad!” Jacob yelled. “That’s a Lincoln!”
David stayed home with the boys to give Paige and Jules time alone on the drive to the airport.
Since Paige couldn’t come in to see Jules off at the gate, they had to say their goodbyes in the departure lane outside the terminal, with the smell of car exhaust all around them.
After getting her two suitcases and carry-on bag out of the car, Jules struggled to adopt a stern expression. “Neither one of us is going to cry,” she said, even as her eyes were prickling with tears, and she began sniffling.
“I know,” Paige agreed, her eyes blinking rapidly to try and control the gathering moisture. “Obviously.”
“We’ll text all the time, and talk as often as possible,” Jules promised. “And FaceTime, of course.”
Paige nodded, starting to sniffle as well, and gave her nose a quick swipe. “And we’ll visit as soon as we can. I think the first time it will be just David and me, and then later we can bring the boys.”
Jules knew if she prolonged this much longer, they would both be legitimately ugly crying, because this was the real first separation for them since meeting at the beginning of their freshman year in college.
Truly realizing this for the first time felt like a punch in the face from Muhammad Ali.
She quickly pulled Paige in for a hug and squeezed with all her might. Paige was herperson, her ride-or-die, and was soon going to be thousands of miles—and an entire ocean—away.
“Au revoir,” Paige managed to get out.
“I prefer to sayÀ bientôt,” Jules said, and while her accent wasn’t terrible, it still wasn’t anywhere near as good as Evan’s or Malcom’s, no matter how hard she worked at it. “It’s more of a casual, temporary goodbye, because we’ll see each other soon.”
“À bientôt, then.”
After one last bone-crushing squeeze, Jules let go and grabbed the handles of her suitcases. She was just about to make a clean getaway, when Paige ruined it by saying in a choked voice, “I love you to the mattresses and back.”
