It's time to stop avoiding this and face it. The meeting won't just be about deciding. It'll be a chance for everyone to speak honestly. Each person should share their thoughts, and then we’ll discuss our options as a group. We'll look for goals we can realistically reach, such as creating a schedule that works for all our needs or finding a shorter tour.
To conclude with a clear action plan, we’ll designate Andrew to communicate the meeting's outcome to the label. We aim to finalize our decision within forty-eight hours and will call another meeting if needed. Our final plan will require approval by a majority vote, ensuring the executives understand who will negotiate terms. Rhea will be invited to the meeting to guarantee her perspective is part of our decision-making process.
We’re about to find out if the brotherhood we've reestablished can survive when we choose health over wealth and stability over success. Everyone's voice matters in this collective journey, and it's crucial that we uphold our band's commitment to emotional openness as we navigate this challenge together.
Time to discover what kind of man I've truly become in recovery.
This meeting will be hard. The conversation with Marcus tomorrow will be even harder, but for the first time since this all began, I feel clear about what matters most. Determination floods me as the room goes quiet, but not empty. Duke curls closer to me, and I pull him into a hug, feeling honest warmth and connection. In that moment, relief mixes with worry and hope. My sobriety, relationships, and life are the things that truly matter to me. Everything else is just noise.
Twenty-Nine
RHEA
This morning feels off. My world is suspended, about to change in ways I can’t yet grasp. My emotions are turbulent. The aroma of coffee and pastries, along with the sound of the espresso machine, normally soothes me, but unease lingers.
Gray's words from last night spin in my head, stirring fear and excitement about what's ahead. The decision before me looms large, and I feel both torn and compelled, caught between doubt and curiosity for a future unknown.
“Come with us. Be our tour assistant again. We can do this together.”
The offer weighs heavily in my chest. My choice is between eight months on the road with Case in Point or staying with everything I've created here in Dogwood Hollow. It's choosing between the stability I fought for after chaos and risking it all for adventure and being with the man I love. I'm afraid to abandon my hard-won peace, yet I worry that I’ll miss new experiences with him. Each path calls. But one comforts, while the other promises new discoveries.
Which future do I choose?
“You're going to wear a hole in that countertop if you keep scrubbing it like that,” Emma observes, appearing beside me with her usual morning energy. “Want to talk about whatever's making you anxious?”
“Gray asked me to come on tour with them,” I say without preamble, setting down the rag I've been using to clean the same spot for the past five minutes.
Emma goes completely still. “The big tour? The eight-month tour?”
“That's the one.”
She's quiet for a long moment, busying herself with checking the pastry display while I can practically hear the gears turning in her head. Emma has become more than my employer over these months. She's also become my closest friend and the sister I never had. The thought of leaving her makes my throat tight.
“What did you tell him?” she asks after a beat.
“That I needed time to think. But Emma, this feels like one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. I'm unsure of what to think right now. This place, this life, it's everything I never knew I wanted. It's safe, beautiful, and mine. But Gray...” Why am I so torn?
“But Gray is the love of your life, and you're terrified of being separated for eight months.” She hits the nail on the head.
“Exactly.” I slump against the counter, tracing the wooden grain with the rag. My mind is anything but calm, replaying Gray's words and feeling the weight of the peace I've finally found. The cafe, once my sanctuary, now blurs with my uncertainty. The thought of giving up my apartment, my bookshelves, and my routine fills me with apprehension. Yet, I worry that staying may prevent me from achieving the dreams and experiences I've yet to imagine. The decision presses down on me. One path may lead to adventure, while the other offers security. Which is worth more?
“Maybe, you don't have to choose.”
Before I can ask what she means, the bell chimes, and Mrs. Patterson shuffles in for her morning coffee and wisdom dispensation. She takes one look at my face and settles onto her usual stool with the air of someone preparing for a serious conversation. “You look like someone ran over your favorite book. What's got you so twisted up, honey?”
“Life decisions,” I say vaguely, but Mrs. Patterson has known me long enough now to see through diplomatic non-answers.
“The kind that involves a certain handsome musician?”
Emma and I exchange glances. The village gossip network moves faster than fiber optic internet.
“Gray's been offered a major tour for eight months, which means eight months on the road. He asked me to come with them.” I confess, since there’s no reason to hide it from her, as she is an integral member of the Dogwood Hollow Grapevine Coalition.
“And you're torn between following your heart and staying in your comfort zone,” Mrs. Patterson says with the kind of matter-of-fact wisdom that comes from over six decades of watching people make life choices. “Honey, let me tell you something. I've been married for fifty-two years, raised four children, and buried two parents and a sister. You know what I regret most?”
“What?”
“The chances I didn't take because I was too scared to leave what felt safe.” She accepts her black coffee with a grateful nod. “My Harold wanted to move to California when we were young. He had a job offer, and we could’ve had adventures and seen the world. But I was too comfortable here, too afraid of the unknown. So, we stayed.”
