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“Let’s eat!”

***

They would head back to Las Vegas on Friday, New Year’s Day, explaining to Charlie that their flight left early Sunday morning.

“I’ve got to work Monday, and since I’m giving them notice, I’d better not be late,” Wendy said, laughing.

“It’s been a pleasure having you here,” Charlie said, hugging them both.

The doorbell rang and they opened the door to Clare.

“I wanted to make sure you knew how happy I am for you both,” she said.

“Come in, Clare. You don’t have to stand out in the cold,” Charlie said.

“Thank you again, so much, for the ring.” Wendy held her hand out to Clare.

“They did a good job sizing it,” she said. “It looks like it was made for you.”

“Maybe it was,” Charlie said, a little choked up.

Clare patted his hand. “Maybe it was.”

“Okay, we need to get on the road. It’s a five-hour ride, but on a holiday, who knows.”

“Call us when you get there,” Charlie said, helping them get all their belongings out to the car.

Sadie was going to stay with Charlie since Oliver and Wendy were coming back soon. She’d work her time out, pack up the apartment, and they’d take two weeks to drive across the country.

They were going to live with Charlie for now, until they got settled.

On the Monday after Christmas, Aisling had taken Wendy to human resources at the hospital where she worked, and she was hired on the spot, starting day to be determined. She had to get a California nursing license first.

On January 22, Oliver would officially begin grad school.

When Charlie heard the program he’d been accepted into, he was moved and humbled. “Why would you do that? I didn’t think you were that interested in the fire service.”

“Pop, give me a break. It’s always beeneither or. I chose football because they offered me a chance of a lifetime. Now I can do what it seems I was born to do. Fight fires. I’ll need a job, you know. Do you have any openings?”

“We always do. Are you ready to do a sixteen-week course? You’ll have to have CPR certification, too.”

“I’ll do whatever I have to do,” Oliver replied.

Standing under the portico, Oliver was suddenly moved to tears. He reached for his mother and then his dad, pulling them into a huddle. Somehow, he got Wendy in the circle, too.

“It’s okay, son,” Clare said, kissing his cheek. “Everything is going to be okay. One day at a time, okay?”

Charlie winked at Wendy. He had a feeling they were at the tip of a wild journey, which they would undertake together.

They kissed Sadie, much of Oliver’s angst directed at leaving her behind, but he knew it was kinder than dragging her back on a plane and then having to turn around and travel cross-country.

They got into the car for the five-hour ride, and when they pulled out of the driveway, Oliver was overcome again.

“Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“It’s okay to be sad,” she said. “This is not what you expected.”

“It’s not, but I’m so glad it turned out this way.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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