Page 32 of The Trouble With Needing
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
We stand and he leads me back out to the waiting area. I make another appointment at the front desk and head back out to the car.
My head is clouded with different ways to approach Corrine when I get home. I feel like I need to do it today in case she needs time to think it over. Plus, I feel like I need to have this conversation before I lose my nerve.
I pull into the driveway and I can see Corrine inside. She’s vacuuming in front of the window and I laugh when I see her shimmy her hips and start singing into the end of the vacuum cleaner.
She’s so cute. I never had a chance of resisting her. I can’t believe now that I was ready to turn her away before she even got in the door.
I take a deep breath and send up a silent prayer as I grab my cane and climb out of the car.
TWELVE
Corrine
I’ve been cleaningthe house ever since Heath left. I didn’t know what to do with myself and I didn’t want to leave since I wasn’t sure when he would be getting home and I didn’t know what condition he would be in.
So, I had grabbed the dusting spray and a rag and got to work. The house was basically spotless since we had just moved in, but it still gave me something to do.
I switch off the vacuum cleaner, singing and dancing along to the song playing from my phone on the coffee table. I hear the front door open and I paste on a smile as I turn to face him.
“Hey, how was the appointment?” I ask carefully.
“It was… good,” he says, sounding surprised, and I relax.
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, we talked about quite a bit.”
I nod, moving to sit down on the couch as he does the same.
“And I need to talk to you about something too.”
“Okay,” I say, wondering what he could have talked about in therapy that he would need to come home and tell me.
“It’s about you working here,” he starts.
“Are you firing me?” I blurt out.
“What!? No! Absolutely not.”
I sag slightly as relief floods through me.
“I want you to stay. Here with me. But not working for me,” he says.
The sentence is all broken up and I can tell that he’s nervous to be opening up to me like this.
“What?” I ask, needing a bit of clarification.
“I want you to stay here with me in Honey Peak, but not as my babysitter. As my girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend.”
“Yeah, listen, I know that you said that you needed me and this job, but the truth is that I need you too. I don’t want you to leave. I need you here with me.”
My eyes start to water as he starts to pick up speed, his speech turning more passionate.
“I can’t offer you much. I have savings, but I’m still trying to figure out what to do next with my life. I don’t know what it will be. I just know that I need you to be part of it. So please, stay.”
