“Agreed. It was like a trip to cause you two to finally stop circling each other and get to the good stuff. And it appears to have worked. Now keep that boat afloat and enjoy the journey.” Gabby raised her eyebrows at me in a suggestive way.
“Jesus, you’re worse than some of the middle school kids that come in here, Gabs.” I shook my head at her.
The vibration from my phone pulled my attention away from my group therapy session. I saw Elle’s name on the lock screen and couldn’t hold back the smile as I reached for it to see the full message.
Elle:Ivy said I’m good to move back. I was wanting to cook you a thank-you dinner tonight. Is that cool? If so, my place or yours?
With just those words, the clench of my gut relaxed for the first time since I talked to Ivy. I probably was overreacting.
Me:That sounds great. How about we stay at my place for tonight? We could decorate the tree?
Elle:That’s right. We didn’t quite get to the decoration part of the evening last night…
Gabby began to laugh and I looked up.
“What?”
Kate gave me a knowing smile. “Not sure what you’re texting, Nate, but you should know that your smile is wide and your face is flushed.”
Ignoring them, I shot off a final text.
Me:We’ll see if we get it decorated tonight. I’m fine with more distractions if you are.
And to think, just a few weeks ago, going home was a lonely endeavor. Now I would be counting the minutes until the end of my shift.
21
Chicken Coops and Houseplants
Elle
I danced around Nate’s kitchen, Taylor Swift’s voice pouring out of his Bluetooth speaker. I’d talked to Sue today, and everything at Smithfield was going better than expected. The author who had caused some hurt with his words had finally spoken up and owned his mistakes. Not sure who had convinced him to have a change of heart, but he’d vowed to spend some time learning from what he’d caused and was the first one to sign up for the anti-racism program that the company was putting together. While I wasn’t thrilled with his original comments and his reaction in the immediate aftermath, Sue had reminded me that the goal we should be looking for was willingness to own our mistakes and learn and grow from them. She was right, and I could only hope he learned and grew from this because Lord knew there were others who needed to do the same.
After talking to Sue, I’d sat at the desk that Nate had set up for me, thinking that maybe I’d get a few more emails done or plan out what I needed to accomplish today. Instead, after sitting and simply staring at the images he’d tacked to the board, my fingers had itched to type. I’d opened the document where I’d started my story and wrote. And wrote. And wrote.
Three thousand words and several hours later, I’d looked up. What the hell was that?
I was both terrified and elated.
I was going to do this. I was going to reach for my dream. My phone vibrated, pulling me out of my desire to lose the rest of my day to writing. Looking down, I smiled at Ava’s name on the screen.
Ava:Thanks for coming out last night. I love having you in town.
Me:You officially on winter break now?
Ava:You bet your ass I am. Tonight’s plans include comfy pj’s, comfort food, and bingeing something on Netflix. But then the next two weeks are mine. I cannot wait.
Deep breaths. I needed to make this real and hold myself accountable.
Me:Need to tell you something.
Ava:Ohh, intrigue. Spill.
Me:Nate has convinced me to try my hand at writing a book.
Ava:…
I watched the dots. And watched the dots. And my anxiety threatened to spiral until I finally saw the text come through.
