Page 84 of After Care

The world seemed to stop moving. The flutter of ancient doves flapping in the hollow room rippled through my ears. The flutter echoed like the beat of a tambourine. I couldn’t have heard her correctly.

“What?”

“I’d like to offer you the position of manager. I’m sure I can match your salary, as I’m sure that’s the biggest issue…” Her words faltered as I focused on her, unblinking, unbreathing.

“I live in Chicago.” Ivy nodded to agree with me.

“You could move?” she questioned, and she had the decency to glance away in hesitation.

“I—”

“With Masie accepting the scholarship at Santa Clara University, and Caleb now in the minor leagues, travelling all the time, I thought you might be willing…interested…available…to move here. Masie would be close by…” she paused watching me as the words softened. “And Tommy’s here, too.”

“Honey,” I sighed. “Please don’t use Tommy in this if he has no idea about the school. Not to mention, your uncle has never implied he wanted me to move here nor has he asked me other than as a joke. I’ve never even seen his home.” My voice rose, and my hand slapped at my thigh, exaggerating my rising frustration. Here I was, thousands of miles from my house, only a few miles from his, and I had no concept of where he lived.

“With his lifestyle, he’s hardly there anyway,” Ivy said, dismissively waving away my concern. “He keeps an apartment in LA.” The words were spoken casually, as if nothing unusual was said in the combination.

“His lifestyle,” I muttered. Her eyes opened wide.

“Oh, Edie, I didn’t mean anything. I just meant he’s so busy, and he’s hardly around. He has a place for when he…” Her voice drifted once again, as if she’d said too much.

“What’s in LA for him? Or should I ask who?”

Ivy’s brow rose as she stepped towards me, her hands reaching for my forearms. “No, no, it’s not what you think. Tommy’s totally in love with you.” While we’d said the words, and he was adamant they meant something deep to him, I still couldn’t process the depth of them. He didn’t say I love you in a pretentious way, but he almost said the phrase too easily, too comfortably. As a woman who hardly heard the words in my marriage, I had trouble accepting their full meaning as anything other than something casually said, like I love pumpkin pie. Skeptical of Ivy’s explanation, I let the conversation pass, but something still lingered in how she said what she said. What was she leaving out? If it wasn’t what I thought, what was it then? However, I wasn’t here to probe her for Tommy’s secrets. I was here to witness hers.

“Anyway, I appreciate your offer. I’m honored and surprised. I mean, why me?” It was a rhetorical question but Ivy seemed prepared to answer.

“I told you in Hawaii, I feel like you were sent to me. Like my mother wanted me to meet you, and I can’t shake the feeling. I like you, Edie, and I feel like I can trust you. I obviously do as you’re the only one who knows about this adventure other than my lawyer, the contractor, and now Masie.” Masie heard all about Ivy’s plans after our campus visit. Masie’s excitement for California was fueled by Ivy’s.

“You’re going to love it here,” Ivy promised Masie. “And I’m right here if you need anything.” The encouraging hug that followed told me Masie was sold. California bound she’d be come August, and it made me feel even more like the empty nester Tommy called me.

“I know it’s a lot to consider,” Ivy’s words broke into my thoughts. “But I don’t want you to tell me no yet. Can you think about it? Just let it simmer a bit?” Her hopeful tone pinched at my heart. My eyes closed a beat, and my shoulders sagged. I had trouble saying no, and it led to most of my issues with David.

“I’ll think about it.”

The squeal that followed rang to the heavens and could have raised the roof off the steeple. A fierce hug enveloped me, and it was hard to remember I was only considering the slim possibility.

+ + +

Something tickled my neck, and I woke with a start. Dark, playful eyes peered down at me as mischievous lips curled.

“Mornin’ darlin’.” I blinked in surprise as the weight of his body covered mine, obstructed by the blanket over me. I slept in a guest room of Ivy and Gage’s, and my head swung to the other side of the bed where Masie was supposed to be. “She fell asleep on the couch in the media room,” Tommy explained with a smile.

“What are you doing here?” My voice croaked in the early morning.

“Took the red eye overnight. I just couldn’t stand the thought that you were here, and I was out there. I had to get to you.” My lips curled, my insides warming at his sweet words.

“I like seeing you first thing in the morning,” I whispered, swallowing after the words escaped. Each time I saw him, I was reminded of how much I missed him.

“We need to rectify that,” he muttered, drawing close to my lips, but only brushing his lightly over mine. “I might keep you out here.” He was teasing me, but I had to admit my heart raced with the possibility. With Ivy’s offer still playing over in my mind, I hated that Tommy was a huge reason I was holding back. I didn’t want to appear as if I was chasing him. For once in my life, I wanted to be the one chased. The possibility of him giving up his lifestyle for Chicago and me was out of the question, though. There was that word again—lifestyle. What was he hiding from me? Was he a player and I’d been played? It was hard to believe that was the reason I hadn’t been to his home as he overpowered me with kisses after taking the red eye back to California to see me. His hand slipped under the blanket, outlining the curves of my body, skimming downward for covered treasure, and all questions about potentially moving disappeared.

An hour later, I met Tommy in the kitchen. The open concept was massive yet welcoming, with light colors of white and gray. It was the perfect beach set-up, with a view of the bright day and the roaring ocean. Masie sat on a stool between Ivy’s girls while Ivy stood on the other side of the island cooking breakfast. Gage watched his wife over the edge of his coffee mug. He was an intense man, but I also sensed he’d never purposely harm Ivy. He smothered her, but he loved her.

“Mommy says you’re going to school here,” Ava said to Masie. The comment brought my attention to my daughter. I didn’t know she’d made a decision, and if she had, I was a bit disappointed she told Ivy before telling me.

“Well, I’m still thinking about it,” Masie answered, sheepishly eyeing me.

“You’ll be here,” Gage interjected, a telling tease in his tone.