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He spent Thursday packing and doing some light cleaning. Once the house was vacant, the professionals would come in and finish the job. The movers would take care of all the furniture and big stuff. He just had to box up his clothes, books, kitchen stuff, and personal items. Last weekend, he’d tackled the garage. All of his sporting and fishing equipment, tools, and storage boxes were packed and ready to go.
When he was through for the day, he took Duke to the dog park and gave him some extra one-on-one time. He felt bad about leaving him unattended so much lately, but promised him things would be better after the move. They got burgers on the way home, and after eating one and feeding Duke one, he called Kate.
“So, this is your penultimate night in Jacksonville?” she said.
“If you’re checking to see if I know what that means, yes. It’s our second to last night here.”
“Gold star,” she said, laughing. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
“I’m going to take a load of stuff to New Bern and then come back here for one more night, so I can be here when the movers arrive on Saturday.”
“You sad about leaving? No, Nana, not that one.”
“Nah. It’s just a house. What are you doing?”
“I drew the short straw and am chaperoning my grandmother to make sure she buys a new bra. Apparently, she up and quit wearing one, and my dad says it’s unacceptable.”
“Katie, what about this one?” Her grandma must have been standing nearby because he could hear her clear as day.
“I don’t know, Nana. That’s pretty risqué,” Kate said. “Sorry, Adam. Just a sec.”
“And?” Nana said.
“I’m not sure it will do the job Dad’s wanting. It’s got to keep you covered.”
“But all those are ugly,” Nana complained.
“Who’s going to see it?” Kate asked.
“That’s the real question, right?” Adam heard the coyness in Nana’s voice and imagined Kate rolling her eyes.
“Oh, geez,” Kate said. “Adam, I’ve got a situation here. I’m gonna have to call you back.”
Adam laughed and wished her luck before hanging up.
The next day, he loaded up the Range Rover and got on the freeway—again. He couldn’t wait to get settled in New Bern and ditch this commute. Duke was happy in the backseat, head out the half-open window.
While sorting through the stuff in the garage, he’d found a few boxes that belonged to his mother and had agreed to drop them off at Chuck’s for her. Chuck was apparently in no hurry to schedule movers to get his mother’s things up here, which was fine with Adam. Hopefully, she’d see the lightbeforeall of her belongings were here and she’d fully moved in.
When he pulled into the driveway, there was a car he didn’t recognize. He got out, leashed up Duke, and walked to the door. His mother greeted him with a hug.
“Adam, honey. I have some exciting news. Chuck’s asked me to marry him. I’m engaged.” Her bright smile warmed his heart even as the news she shared did an equally fine job of chilling it. He plastered on a smile and did his best to look excited for her.
“That’s great, Mom. Let’s see the ring.”
“Oh, well, we haven’t gotten the ring yet. Chuck says he wants me to help him pick it out. We might not have time until after the election. Things are so busy until then. But after that, we’ll get everything settled.”
“Hm.” Anger was replacing the skepticism. It seemed more and more like Chuck was just using her for his campaign image, but she was too damn blind to see it. She was so naive but also so happy. He couldn’t say anything but congratulations.
“Chuck’s busy in the living room, but I’ll open the garage door, and you can put the boxes there, okay?”
He nodded and returned to the car. He let Duke off the leash and opened the back. There were only a few boxes, and they weren’t very heavy, but add in the ninety-degree heat, and he was sweating by the time he finished.
“Come inside and get something cold to drink,” his mom said after he’d dropped the last box.
“Sound good,” Adam said, following her to the kitchen.
The living room, which was visible from the kitchen, looked like a makeshift photo studio. A couple of those foil-covered umbrella things and a tripod and camera faced the stone fireplace. Chuck was yukking it up with the photographer, telling him that his right side was his best.
