Page 141 of Sharkbait
“Okay, but moving doesn’t have to mean leaving.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Come with me,” I say.
“Come with you where?”
“To Hawaii. Come with me.”
She turns to look at me.
“Are you serious?”
“Never been more serious in my life.” I peek up at my rearview and make a quick decision. I veer off an exit at the very last second, causing the guy in the truck behind us to honk and shout profanities at me through his window.
“What the hell are you doing, James?” Louise shouts and grips the passenger door.
“I can’t have this conversation while I’m driving.” I turn toward the entrance for Valley Forge National Park but immediately pull off on the side of the road. “I’m sorry. You okay?”
“This isn’t a parking spot,” she huffs. “You can’t just stop here.”
I shut off the engine.
“Well, I just did.”
She shakes her head, silent.
“Can we have a conversation about this?” I ask. “A real conversation?”
She only shrugs, but she doesn’t try to shut me down.
I suppose that’s something.
I unbuckle my seat belt and turn to face her as much as I can.
“Yes, I have to leave. But I have absolutely no desire to leave you. Let me rephrase because that doesn’t begin to capture what I’m going through over here.”
I take her hand.
She lets me.
“Every time I even think about being thousands of miles away from you, I lose my damn mind. I want to throw a fucking hissy fit and scream at the universe about how screwed up it is. That after seven years, I meet the woman of my dreams basically five minutes after I promised my daughter I’d move across the country. It’s maddening. It’s frustrating.”
“But you want to go.”
“I want to be with my daughter. And I want to be with you.” I pause. “Both things can be true.”
She closes her eyes and leans back into the car seat.
“You said we have no plan,” I say softly. “And you’re right. But this seed of an idea planted in my brain the night of the arts festival, and it’s been growing ever since.” I reach over and cup her cheek. “Louise.”
She opens her eyes and focuses on me.
“What if you were a part of The Highs and Lows with me?”
“Your excursion company? You’re running scuba diving adventures and hiking mountains, James. Just because I’ve ridden a few waterslides with you doesn’t mean I’m ready to plunge sixty feet into the ocean for fun. And I don’t even own a pair of hiking boots.”
“So we’ll get you some. I’m creating experiences for people, Cold Brew. And I’m just getting started with this thing. It can be whatever we want it to be.”
