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“I’m so sorry to hear that,” was all I ended up saying.
“It’s alright. I’ll figure something out.”
I felt terrible. Even if it wasn’t my doing, I hated that Helen was going through that. I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure how.
“Alright, well this just got sad. I’m going inside now. Nice to meet you, Helen.” Although it came after an insult, Candace sounded like she actually meant it.
“You too, Candace,” Helen said.
After Candace was inside, I thanked Helen for trying to connect with my daughter. It meant a lot that she cared enough to come this evening.
“I debated ignoring the invitation.” My heart sank at her words. “But,” she continued, “I’m glad I came.”
I walked Helen home, stopping at her front door.
“I really am sorry about your job,” I told her.
“Thank you. It’s probably for the best. My heart was never in it anyway. I just have to figure out what to do now.”
“Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”
“Thanks. Hey, let me know if you need me to take Candace out for some girl talk. I’m sure hearing about her boyfriend and all that other stuff isn’t the easiest for a dad. You know, if she’d ever even consider going. I’m not sure she likes me very much.”
“I don’t know about that. You got more out of her in an hour than I have in over a week.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’ve been trying to get her to talk about her boyfriend and her mother, but it’s been difficult to say the least.”
“Do you think she was serious about Amber taking her to a bar?”
“I’m not sure. I mean I knew Amber was bad at raising kids. She’s mostly been in it for the money, but I didn’t think she wasthatbad. Candace doesn’t like talking about her much, so maybe she was just trying to make a scene in front of you. But I’ll be looking into it for sure.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Thanks. I’ll need it.” I almost leaned in to kiss her on the cheek out of habit, but I stopped myself.
“I appreciate it,” she said, opening her front door. I peered past her and noticed several packed boxes and bags in the foyer.
“Are you leaving?” I exclaimed before I could stop myself. My brow furrowed and my breathing increased. We had just gotten back on speaking terms and now she was leaving?
“Um.” She fumbled with her words as she looked at the overflowing cardboard boxes. I could tell an internal debate was going on in her head.
“Look, if it’s because of me—”
“It’s not.”
“You can’t go,” I pleaded with my palms up.
“I thought you’d be happy. You can finally purchase the house.” Helen crossed her arms, but she didn’t look angered. She looked like she was waiting for something. Was she waiting for a reason to stay? I could give her a hell of a reason to stay.
“I don’t want the house. I want my funny, enraging, beautiful, fiery, sexy neighbor. I didn’t realize how lonely I was up here until you came along and changed everything.”
Helen paused, her breathing uneven and her face flushed. “You knew I was never planning on staying for long. I should have left a couple days ago actually.”
“But I thought I’d have longer than this.”
“It’s not like you won’t ever see me. I can come visit up here and you can visit me in San Francisco.”
