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“I get that.” Archie smiled. “The best thing you could’ve done was leave because it made me realize I don’t have forever to work out all the things that were keeping me from being with you. I’m sorry it took me this long to be the man you deserve.”
I rubbed my hand along the scruff on his face. “You might not have thought you were the man I deserved, but you were always the man I loved.”
• • •
It only took me two weeks to sublet my apartment before I was on a plane to California. Thankfully, my boss had been extremely generous and agreed to let me transfer to our West Coast bureau. I’d still be doing the same job and would only need to report to the Los Angeles office on occasion.
Archie, Roz, and Clancy were waiting for me at the airport when I stepped off the plane.
Clancy held a sign that read: Welcome Home, Noelle.
Tears filled my eyes because it felt like I’d landed home for the first time in my life.
I bent to hug her first. “Thank you, beautiful girl.”
“Daddy told me you’re moving in with us.”
I tugged at one of her braids. “I am. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I like you.”
“That means a lot to me.” I sniffled. “I like you, too.”
When I stood up, Archie’s arms were open and ready to receive me. His warm embrace felt so good. “Welcome home, beautiful,” he said.
“I’m happy to be home.”
Next I turned to hug my dear friend. “Hey, Roz.”
“I couldn’t wait to see you, honey. I had to tag along. I’m sad you’re not gonna be my roommate anymore.” She winked. “But I understand.”
Taking a deep breath, I took a moment to appreciate the three people before me—my people. Ever since my parents had moved down to Florida, I’d lost the sense of family I’d felt when they were in New York. Being an only child had always been a bit lonely, but especially after Mom and Dad moved. So, Archie, Clancy, and Roz were also my family now. I’d gotten to travel the world and live out my career aspirations, but nothing felt better than being here with them.
We quickly fetched my bags from the conveyor belt, and as we walked toward the exit, Clancy turned to her dad.
“Can we go to New York sometime, Daddy?”
“If your mom says it’s okay, I’d love to take you there. Better yet, we could hit Maine—maybe even see if the old house is available to rent—and drive down to New York from there. What do you think, Noelle? Maybe next summer?”
“That sounds like the perfect plan to me. All the places I love with the people I love.”
Roz elbowed me. “You’d better be inviting me to this Maine house. It sounds amazing from the way Nora used to describe it.”
“It was. It’s magical. And you’re totally invited. I said all the people I love.” I wrapped my arm around her. “And that includes you.”
We dropped Roz off, and then Archie, Clancy, and I headed to his house.
Archie showed me to my room—our room. He’d put up the painting of Whaite’s Island that he’d hung for me in my bedroom at his mother’s house. It made me happy that he’d bothered to transfer it here.
“I can’t wait for later,” he whispered in my ear.
God. Me, too.
When we reentered the living area, Archie called to his daughter. “Clancy, why don’t you show Noelle what you were watching earlier?”
She ran to the television and pressed play on a show. I couldn’t believe my eyes: my old pageant video from more than a decade earlier.
“I can’t believe you’re watching that!”
“You can still find it in the Miss America Scholastic pageant archives on their website,” Archie explained. “It’s playing off of my laptop. Clancy mentioned that her friend was in a pageant, and I told her you were in one once, too. So we looked it up.”
Clancy giggled. “I’m Clancy Nora Remington from the great state of California!”
“That was awesome!” I clapped. “I think you’d make a perfect pageant queen.”
“No.” She scrunched her nose. “I want to be an actress. Right, Daddy?”
“You can be whatever you want to be, sweetheart.” He looked over at her proudly before kissing the top of my head.
Archie made a special meal for us that night: penne a la vodka—what else?—for him and me and homemade pizza for Clancy.
After we finished eating, he turned to her and said, “Clancy, why don’t you go finish that project in your room before you come out for some dessert, okay?”
“Okay, Daddy.” Clancy got right up and did as he said.
I watched as she disappeared into her room.
“She’s amazing,” I whispered.
He reached for my hand. “She’s happy you’re here.”
“Really? I worried about that. I hoped she wasn’t just pretending.”
