“I expect we’ll be done before midnight.”
“Midnight? That long?”
“Yeah. That’s how it’s done. Did you not get the schedule? We sent it to Elsie. She said she’d make sure you got it.”
It’s probably at the front desk, along with a note saying she rented a snowmobile to haul the crate. I should have checked.
“She probablydid,” is all I can say.
“Well, the sooner we get back to work, the sooner we’ll finish.”
He’s right about that, and we’re ready to be done. Ash and I take our places in the camp while Alan and his crew set up the next shot.
***
It’s 10:50 p.m. and we’re finally finished—more than an hour early, thank goodness. This has been the longest day of my life. At least they fed us.
Back in my room, I take a shower and get ready for bed. As soon as we got back to the lodge, Ash took off to find Rhonda. I kind of wish I could go find Maddie. She was great today, and I would love to spend more time with her, but I’m not a fuckboy like Ash.
That reminds me, I still need to talk to him about managing expectations with Rhonda. I promised Maddie I would. I’ll do it first thing in the morning.
CHAPTER 16
Maddie
Sunday morning and nothing to do.
Greatest Sunday ever!
Usually, I’m stressed about all I have to get done before my week starts again on Monday. That means being up early—making patterns for dresses from my design sketches, selecting the right fabrics, cutting, stitching, and sewing like a madwoman until about 10 a.m. That’s when I do the grocery shopping for the week. I’m a digital coupon queen, not because I enjoy it like a lot of women, but because it’s the only way to feed our family. Typically, I’m back around noon, about the time my brothers are getting up. While I tend to Mom, making sure she’s taken care of, the boys make a huge mess in the kitchen. And do they clean up after themselves? Hell no. They can’t be bothered to wash a single dish.
As soon as they’re done eating, Josh and Keegan fill a cooler with beer and head out to the gravel pits for some bass fishing.
Funny how they never bring home any fish. Funny how they never have any money to help with the bills but always have enough for beer. Funny how Dad never hasenough to help with the bills but always has enough for poker. Funny how they expect me to pay for everything. They know I’ll do it for Mom, so they have nothing to worry about. Must be nice.
By the time I get the dishes done and everything put away in the kitchen, Dad typically wanders in. He’ll say a few words to Mom, like, “You look like you’re doing better today.” She never looks better, but I think it eases his conscience for what comes next. He always tells me, “I have some errands to run. I’ll grab coffee and a doughnut while I’m out. Call me if you need anything.” At least he doesn’t leave a mess.
I won’t see Dad until who knows when. He’s usually still at the poker tables when I go to bed. I might not see him again until Wednesday or Thursday.
After he leaves, I spend the rest of my Sundays sewing, doing Mom’s laundry, making dinner for Mom, planning her meals for the week, doing more sewing, organizing Mom’s meds, and doing more sewing until I can’t keep my eyes open any longer, which is sometime between eleven and midnight. That’s my life. It sucks, but as long as I’m doing it for Mom, I can deal with it.
In sharp contrast, this is the third day in a row that I’ve been able to sleep in til noon. I feel like a completely different person.
I check my phone. Nothing from Rhonda, but I missed a long message from Riggs that was sent a little over an hour ago.
Riggs:Had to head back to LA,but Ash and I talked and he said he’s falling for Rhonda and wants to get to know her better. Based on how well things went this weekend he said he could see it turning into something long term. Interesting, since he’s constantly telling me that relationships are impossible with the way we’re always traveling. He said he’s never met anyone like her, and he can’t bring himself to walk away. When I pressed him for his plan, he didn’t have one. He said he and Rhondawill have to figure it out. For what it’s worth, Ash has never been interested in a relationship, so this is new territory for him. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, I’m always here to help. And I hope your mother is doing well. I hope you’re doing okay. I know how rough that road can be, so call or text anytime. I mean that. Wish I could have said goodbye in person, but I had to leave in a hurry. Ash will catch up with me in LA on Monday or Tuesday. If any issues come up with my brother, don’t hesitate to let me know and I’ll do what I can. BTW, you were a huge help with the kids yesterday. Thanks!
I set my phone down, not sure how I feel about this. It’s so final which means I’ll never see him again. I knew this was how it was going to end, so I’m not surprised, just a little disappointed.
I think we could have been good friends. Maybe. We didn’t have enough time to find out. I guess it doesn’t matter now. What does matter is Ash thinks he can be a one-woman man. I have a feeling I’ll be picking up the pieces when that ends the way I expect it to.
While it’s clearly a good thing that Riggs and I didn’t end up in the same boat, I kind of wish he and I could have had breakfast, or something, one last time before he left. I would have liked toat least say goodbye in person.
Now that I know he’s gone, I kind of miss him. Maybe I’ll text him every once in a while. And why not? It would be a pretty good arrangement if you think about it. I’ll never actually see him, so it’ll be safe. Although I will miss looking at him. Riggs takes the term eye-candy to a whole new level. Perhaps I’ll become a fan of his YouTube channel. I wonder if he’s shirtless in any of the videos. It should be easy to find out—I’ll just look for the ones with the most views.
Now that I know Ash stayed behind, I don’t bother texting Rhonda. She’ll text me when she wants to.
I get up and look out the window. There are tons of people on the slopes, and it looks nice out. That gives me an idea. I grab my phone and text the boys.
