AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, it was. We’d always agreed on our future. Richard had it all worked out. How long we would work in our jobs for, when and where we would vacation. When we would upgrade cars, or houses. When we would retire. Every single second of every year was planned out. I liked that at first, because it made me feel secure and in control.”
“I’m sensing a but.”
“Yeah. Exactly. But. In the last few years, as I got older, I started wanting different things. I was deviating from his map. I started talking about changing things up, making different plans.”
“What sort of plans?”
There was a brief hesitation before she said, “I started really wanting to move back home.”
I could tell there had been more to it than that, but I let it lie. She was already opening up a lot. “That makes sense. Your family are very close.”
“We are. I was missing them a ton. The few visits per year he’d decided on just weren’t cutting it for me anymore.”
“That’s fair.”
“Yeah, well, Richard didn’t think so.”
“Asshole.”
“Ha! I’m starting to see that now. Because he just wouldn’t budge. No matter what I said, how much I argued, how hurt I was, all he would say was,that’s not the plan.Over and over and over, like a recording, as if that settled the matter. Even though it was far from settled for me., I was forced to let it go or I’d go mad.”
She looked so sad and lost that I reached out and took her hand, holding it in mine. “So what happened then?”
“I tried to come to terms with it, tried to convince myself that what we had was so good, it wasn’t worth risking it all over being stubborn. But then I felt all the years ahead closing in on me. Pressing on me so much I could hardly breathe. I felt smothered by our future, crushed under the weight of Richard’s meticulous plans.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. It’s all for the best, for sure, so you don’t have to feel too sorry for me. Anyway, long story short, I gave him an ultimatum, he threw it back in my face, I left.
“And then?”
“At first he couldn’t believe it. He must have thought I was bluffing, but once he realized I wasn’t, he accepted it.”
“And you moved back home.”
“I moved back home,” she repeated, her soft, sweet smile going straight through my heart.
“I bet your parents love having you back.”
“They do,” she replied with a giggle. “I felt like a celebrity when I first moved back. But it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re sick of me now. They haven’t said anything, but I’ve been there for a year. I can’t wait to move into my own place.”
“That sounds amazing.”
The server came with our food and we ate quietly for a while. I liked it. The silence felt very comfortable.
Pushing away her empty plate, Lucy said, “What about you? I only recently found out that you joined the Air Force when you left us.”
Left us.That stung. I pushed aside the memories of my last few months in Esperance. They’d been hell. “Honestly, being an air force pilot is the perfect job for me. All the discipline of the defense forces, with all the fun of flying planes at supersonic speeds. What’s not to love?”
She chuckled at that, making me smile. Until her laughter faded away and she watched me closely. I braced myself because I knew what was coming. Knew she wasn’t going to let me push aside the memories. “Tell me.”
I didn’t even pretend not to know what she meant. Blowing out a breath, I said, “You know Jake and I were pretty wild.”
“Yup,” she said wryly.
“At first, we were young and stupid and it was harmless enough, but then it almost wasn’t. We were a terrible influence on each other, always pushing for the next crazy idea, testing those limits. We couldn’t really do that much damage when we were younger, but when we got old enough to get our hands on alcohol, that all changed.”
“The accident.”
