As they talked, I listened carefully, my mind trying to stay focused on every detail. There was so much to do, so much money involved, and so much riding on this working. The reality thrilled and terrified me simultaneously.
I could not afford to fail.
“Now that we’ve seen the designs and the plans, I want to address the elephant in the room.” I closed my eyes for a split second and opened them again to find everyone looking at me. “How much is this going to cost?” I asked.
“Well,” Marcus paused, letting the suspense stretch for a few seconds longer than necessary, “it will cost approximately $130,000... or less because we can use a lot of the material here at the restaurant and the rest we can buy locally. How does that sound?”
I looked at Jack.
He was already looking at me. He smiled and extended his hand toward Marcus. “That sounds affordable.”
We all laughed, and the tension in the room eased.
Marcus then said, “This all starts tomorrow. We will see you two weeks from now when the renovation is almost done, and the hiring process begins.”
After we said our goodbyes, Jack walked me to my car. He told me to come by his house later with Lucas for dinner, and I accepted. It had been a great day, and he wanted to celebrate.
I thanked him and then drove to the YMCA for a swim.
As I slipped into the water and began moving through the pool, my thoughts drifted just like the gentle waves surrounding me. Swimming usually calmed my mind, but that day my thoughts floated toward Caleb.
I wondered what he was doing at that moment.
I used to share everything with him. Every piece of good news, every minor detail about my day, and sometimes even thethings that did not matter. He had been the one person I turned to without hesitation.
Now, standing in the middle of this new life I was building, I realized there was no one to share this news with.
Does he even miss me? Does he miss Lucas? Does he ever think about the time we spent together?The questions circled my mind endlessly, and none of them had answers.
After my swim, I stopped by the church for a quick visit before heading home. Once inside the house, I called Elle and updated her on everything the doctor had said and everything that had happened at the restaurant. Talking to her felt comforting.
“That’s good. I was so worried,” Elle said. “I was waiting for your call.”
She told me that Donna had stopped calling. Apparently, the two of them had drifted apart since I left. She also mentioned that she had checked in on Patty, who had been upset and worried about me, especially after my sudden disappearance.
Guilt weighed heavily on my chest.
I hated that I had not been able to say goodbye to Patty or explain anything to her. She had been more than a neighbour. She had been like a mother to me. She was the first person Lucas had interacted with regularly when he was younger. And I missed her.
“Why don’t you guys come over this weekend? I know Lucas will be thrilled to see Noah.”
“That sounds great,” Elle said. Then she asked quietly, “Are you still sure you don’t want to tell Caleb about the baby?”
“We’ve talked about this already,” I said with a sigh.
Even saying the words made my heart feel heavy. There were moments when my certainty cracked, when guilt and longing pressed so hard against me that I almost gave in. But then Iremembered everything that had happened, everything that had shattered between us, and I forced myself to stay firm.
“Okay, I’m sorry. Forget I said anything. I’ll see you soon,” Elle said and then hung up.
And soon meant that weekend, when Elle and her family were coming to visit.
Later that afternoon,after picking Lucas up from school, I told him we were going to Jack’s house for dinner and that there was going to be a surprise for him that weekend.
“You think we can take Oreo, Mama? I don’t want to leave him alone,” Lucas asked.
“I’ll check, sweetheart.”
After Jack confirmed it was fine to bring Oreo, we drove to his house. Jack must have heard us pull into the driveway because he came outside to greet us with Max, his Golden Retriever.
