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He turned to Mel. "What do you vote for?"
"I kinda like the last option," she said, a smile on her lips. "Maybe we could get everyone to pass it forward for you."
"And that, right there, is why you and Jude are so perfect for each other," I said. "Because neither of you evolved past elementary school level." That might be too advanced for them at times. Preschool might be more accurate.
They both laughed.
"That's also the reason I get along so well with you," Jude said, "because neither did you. Admit it, you're at least tempted to write a note." He raised an eyebrow at me.
I held my fingers slightly apart. "Maybe a little bit. But I'm not really going to do it."
He looked at me for a moment longer. Cocked his head.
"Maybe I won't do it," I conceded. "What would I say anyway?"
"You can start with, ‘dear Hayley,’ and go from there," Jude said.
"Oh, please," Mel said. "Is he writing a love letter or a job application?"
"Who starts a job application with the word dear?" Jude asked.
"Lots of people," she said. "You just proved you've never had to apply for a job in your life."
"Is it my fault that's accurate?" Jude asked. "I can't help being ridiculously talented. And good looking." He wiggled his eyebrows playfully, making his piercing jerk up and down.
"And crap at writing letters," she said. To me she said, "You should start with, ‘my darling Hayley,’ or something like that."
Jude snorted. "She'd run a mile if she read that. My darling." He made kissy faces at me.
I waved him away. "Stop, you're gonna give me nightmares. If I decide to write her a note, I'll think of what to say. Without any help from either of you. But I appreciate your input. Mostly."
"That's what she said," Jude said, his expression deadpan.
I shook my head at him. "You suck."
"Maybe she did more of that you wouldn't be—" he started.
"Jude!" Mel scolded. "Can we not talk about my brother's sex life?"
"What she said," I agreed. I didn't want to hear about theirs either.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose again. "I'll think of something. It was going to have to be something amazing, because I had a feeling I had one shot at this. Once she decided and we lay the matter to rest, there would be no going back for any of us.
Luckily, I was good under pressure, because there was a lot of it right now, but I wanted her and our baby and our future together. And I wasn't backing away until I had no other choice.
23
Hayley
"Are you feeling okay, dear?"
The woman who sat in the middle seat next to me had introduced herself as Edith, the moment I settled into my seat. She told me her husband passed away a year ago and this was supposed to be their world wide adventure.
"I decided to go by myself because that's what Harvey would have wanted. And," she added with a twinkle in her eye, "it's what I wanted. He was there one day and gone the next, so I decided to grab life by the balls and live it."
"That's awesome," I said. It really was, but I was worried she was going to talk through the entire flight. Once we were in the air, she pulled out a pair of over-sized headphones and started listening to something. It sounded like an audiobook of a football romance to me.
Good to her for living while she could. As for me, I opened my laptop and worked for a while before I got too tired and closed it to have a rest. I put in earbuds and listened to music for a while before I nodded off.
