“Yes, you are.”
I ran my hand along Philippe’s back. “I have more news. Jasper and I are moving to Washington State.” I told her briefly about my morning. Then, “Oh, I guess you need to rescind our offer on the place near here. Sorry about that.”
“Guess what,” Erica said. “I didn’t submit it.”
My eyes widened. “You bitch.”
“I know.”
“You’re a terrible real estate agent.”
She ignored me. “So a bed-and-breakfast in Washington State?”
“In the middle of wine country.”
“I’m so coming to visit!” Erica exclaimed.
“I’ll have a room waiting. Thanks for being my best friend, Erica. Don’t ever let me forget how good you are to me and how much you mean to me.”
We both choked up and said at the same time, “I’m going to miss you.” We laughed at the timing and said two more words simultaneously, “Me, too.”
As I wiped my tears, Erica asked, “What are you going to call your new place?”
I looked up in the air for an answer, and it was waiting for me. “Épiphanie. The French spelling with an accent over the E. To always remember this day. To remember what it’s like to wake up from a nightmare and realize you still have plenty of life left to live.”
Erica said triumphantly, “You do! You have so much more life to live, and I couldn’t love you any more than I do. I’m so proud of you.”
Though I knew I’d spend a long time healing, that day was the day I first tasted the greatness of surrendering to life. It’s the first day I connected with my elusive higher consciousness. It had taken me this entire year of trying to make my husband see me to realize that what needed to happen was that I needed to see myself.
EPILOGUE
FAMILY FORWARD
You’re probably hoping that I’d torn Rory apart as I set my terms in the divorce. That I’d taken all his money. All the furniture. His dignity. Sorry to disappoint you, but I did my best to be civil. We hadn’t completed the divorce yet. We had to live separately for six months before we could sit for our final hearing. We were close, but not quite there. We’d done everything else though.
Rory would stay in Burlington and start up his law practice again. He’d found an apartment downtown. We sold the house. It was too big for him anyway. As far as the divorce terms were concerned, I won full custody of Jasper, and I took half of Rory’s, well,ourmoney. I could have taken more, but I didn’t want to start my new life from a place of greed.
The day I told Rory I wanted a divorce, I put in an offer on the house I loved on Red Mountain. Sight unseen. I paid too much, but I didn’t want others to see the listing and jump into a bidding war with me. I didn’t mind paying the full asking price. According to the realtor Erica had helped me find, property on Red Mountain was going up quickly, so it was a seller’s market. Not buyingthis house would have been spitting in the face of destiny. I didn’t buy the adjacent piece of property like I’d wanted. I needed to build the inn first and see how much money would be left over. If it was meant to be, I’d eventually get it.
Everyone warned me that building something always cost twice as much and took twice as long as projected. I hoped that wouldn’t be the case. This realtor had already recommended a contractor she really liked and trusted. Hopefully, he would take care of me.
On a beautiful spring day in Burlington, Jasper, Philippe, and I climbed into the car to drive west. We still hadn’t seen our new house on Red Mountain, but it already felt like our forever home. The best part of that day was to see Jasper every bit as excited as I was. We were leaving all the pain and sadness behind.
The movers had left the day before and would beat us there. Jasper and I planned on taking our time driving. We wanted to see Little Big Horn, Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the largest ball of twine on earth—and all the other required stops on a road trip west.
We were traveling light, only two suitcases, a cooler, and a bag of snacks in the back. I’d set up the middle seats with layers of blankets for Philippe, and I’d spent a fortune buying him toys, baked goods, and vegetarian bones.
I started the car, shifted into reverse, and looked at my son. “We’ve had some good times in Burlington.”
He put his hand on top of mine. “I’m ready for better times.”
With a promising vision of what was ahead, I said, “Today is one of the most exciting days of my life, Jasper. I couldn’t be more thrilled about the journey ahead, and I would only be doing it with you by my side. There are good things ahead. I just know it.”
“Bring ‘em on.” He held up crossed fingers. “Red Mountain better be cool. I’m trusting you.”
“I’m trusting me too. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll keep going. Nothing will stop us now.”
“You’re a cool mom. I’ll miss my friends, but I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
