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“Today.”
"Let me look at the weather forecast." There was silence. "I can get you tomorrow morning. I'm afraid that there's still a winter weather advisory right now, and I'd probably get frozen to the runway."
"That's fine." I was quiet. "I'll see you at 8 AM tomorrow, then."
"I'll be there."
I pulled up my laptop, and I connected to the hotel's complimentary Wi-Fi. I tooled around on Facebook, seeing everything I missed. I saw the blurry, dark shots of my friends at bars. I saw them eating brunch, stealing bacon from each other's plates. I ached for the time that I had missed with them, the fun that I had not shared.
I sent out my resume to the local school district, both the public and private one. Private paid less, but it had fewer children and maybe a better quality of life. I didn't know what Dad would do with my trust fund, since I was definitely not letting him see his grandchildren before he died, but I would find a way.
I put away my laptop, closed my curtains, and stared at my ceiling. I thought that it had been a mistake, but really it had revealed to me who I was at my core. I didn't know if I would call myself spoiled, but I had gotten used to modern amenities that didn't exist everywhere. I could not live in
a godforsaken cold state.
Going Home
Amelia
When the jet came to pick me up the next morning, I was over my little pity party.
"Hello, Captain Harris."
"Hello, Miss Amelia. Enjoy your stay here in the heartland?"
I put a little smile on. "Yes, of course." He knew that something was pushing me back home early, and it wasn't deep enjoyment of my vacation. But he didn't call me out on it, and I wasn't going to say anything. Captain Harris wasn’t one for a lot of conversation.
I buckled in. I watched as Madison fell away under us. The flight home was quiet. I had nobody to talk to. It was just me, alone. I thought that I had made the right decision, but all of the regret twisting in my lower gut made me wonder…Had I really done the right thing?
Captain Harris landed at Ronald Reagan, and I didn't have to take my own suitcases. He helped me get them out of the aircraft, and I got into my own limo to go to my own house.
I called a real estate agent, and I had her find me an apartment to rent that was already available. It was nearby. I called a moving company, and they promised me express service. A truck would be there that night. I doubled their normal fee for them to work during non-business hours. I packed up my room when I got home. After a few minutes of hunting. I found a bunch of collapsible boxes in a closet downstairs. I did not enlist the housekeeper's help. I just packed everything up on my own.
I got a phone call around mid-afternoon from one of the schools where I had applied to work. After a quick phone interview, they promised to check my references. I would start next week, working part-time at first with the option of moving to a full-time position at one point.
When Dad got home from work, he saw me sitting in a huge pile of white boxes near the entrance as well as some of my furniture.
"What's going on, Meli? Are you donating a bunch of stuff to GoodWill or something?"
"No, Daddy." I took a deep breath. "I'm going to move out."
His jaw dropped. "What?"
"I'm a grown woman, Dad. You knew that you would lose your little girl eventually. You wanted me to get married. It's not like I would have stayed with you after that."
He rubbed his chin. "I didn't think of that."
I shook my head. "It's time for me to get out of the nest. I am old enough to be on my own."
"I might not fund it, you know, if you're an independent woman."
My expression did not even flicker. "Daddy, I have my own savings. I am going to get a job at a school teaching Spanish or something. I do have a degree. I don't really use it, but it’s high time for me to try something new.”
"You don't have to do this. You can live with me."
"Daddy, it's time for me to move out and be on my own. You know that Mommy would not have wanted me to stay forever. I have to become my own person, you know. I can't stay a little girl forever."
He cleared his throat and tried to blink the tears out of his eyes. I hugged him. "Oh, Daddy. I promise to come home for Sunday lunch, okay? We'll go to church together, just like we always have. It's time for me to find my own way and live in my own apartment. I need to be my own person.“
