Haydn:You always see the good in people. Are you at least getting closure?
Pia:I’m working with a therapist. At some point I have to reach out to Keane. We haven’t spoken since that day. I heard from Constantine that Rowan picked him up the same day, and they left for Seattle.
Haydn:He did. Your brother and Rowan . . . they almost got in a fight, I had to come between them. There’s some kind of resentment between them that . . . it was weird if you ask me.
Pia: They used to be very close friends. After the accident they fell apart.
Haydn:I shouldn’t care about Keane, but I keep waiting for someone to announce that he’s alive.
Pia:Right? It’s so weird that he’s not back in the spotlight.
Haydn:How will you be resolving your feelings for him?
Pia:I think this is something we should talk about in person, not over text.
Haydn:Again, go out with me.
Pia:Or even discuss it during a date.
Haydn:Okay, so why don’t we meet for coffee first and then have a date later?
Pia:I . . .
Haydn:If you’re not ready, it’s okay. Just know I’m not giving up on us. Even if it takes years, I’ll still be waiting for you.
Pia:I do love you.
Haydn:I know.
Pia:I just want to make sure that I’m with you for the right reasons and that I’m not hiding things—from you or myself.
Haydn:I understand why you’re doing this. I said it then, and I’ll say it again: take your time. When you’re ready, I want us to be fully involved in each other’s lives. No more keeping me on the sidelines. If you’re not ready for that, I’ll wait.
Pia:It felt like if I saved him, maybe we could save our baby. Which sounds crazy, but after so many weeks in therapy, it seems like the loss of our baby is the part I haven’t been able to get over. I didn’t grieve her the way I should—it hurt so much.
Haydn:Grief can be many things. The loss will never go away, it’ll just morph into love. A love that you’ll carry with you forever. She’s inside of you, in your heart. Maybe you need to see it from a different perspective.
Pia:You sound like my therapist.
Haydn:Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading a lot more about grief and discussing it with my team.
Pia:You are discussing my life with the entire Orcas organization?
Haydn::laughing: emoji
Pia:I’m serious here.
Haydn:Obviously not. I have a team of counselors helping me through my own shit and we’ve talked about losing people. Even the grief you’ve been dealing with.
Pia:That’s . . . different and not what I expected. Very mature.
Haydn:I’m almost forty. The least I could do is start acting my age. One day I’ll retire and we’ll be raising a family. I want them to have someone to look up to, not a guy who can’t understand their mother—or himself.
Pia:You’re just turning thirty-nine early next year.
Haydn:That’s almost forty.
Pia:You say potato, I say you’re not that old. But thank you.
