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“She’s going to contact Sah. They’ll come together. Benji is out…for now.”
“It’s unpleasant, being grateful to you and annoyed at you at the same time.”
He just grinned then asked, “Shall I call Theo?”
Before I could answer, my phone rang again.
Noel and I both looked at it.
But it was Noel who again slipped it from my hand, took the call and hit speaker.
“You got both of us, beautiful,” he announced to Kara.
“Excellent,” Kara’s voice came from the speaker. “I’ve got a few minutes between patients, and this is a time saver. I’m officially changing my vote. I’m ghosting Bea. She called last night and unleashed the verbal hounds. Don’t worry. She won’t care about the ghosting since I ended the call by telling her to go fuck herself.”
Noel and I stared at each other.
He looked like he was trying not to laugh.
I felt sick.
“And, not quite an aside, but it has to be an aside for now since I have to call Bernice too and I have five minutes before I have to hit an exam room, but you’re up for Cock and Snacktails next, Wyn. And during them, you’ll be telling us all about Remy being at your house late on a Tuesday night,” she continued.
Translation: Bea had heard Remy’s voice over my phone and had called Kara to bitch about me…and Remy.
That whooshing started to happen in my head again.
“No can do, sister,” Noel spoke for me. “Seeing as she, Remy and the kids are heading to NOLA to bid adieu to a dying Colette.”
“The witch is almost dead?” Kara breathed in what sounded like excitement.
“Thank God I’m not a child and you’re not my doctor because I fear you lack empathy,” Noel drawled.
Kara ignored him and asked, “Wyn, you’re going with them?”
“Yes, because his mother is dying, and Remy and I are talking things through.”
“Ah-ha!” she crowed like a mad scientist who just made a breakthrough. “I totally knew you’d get back together. Now I’m going to be late for my patient because I also I have to call Reed. He’s going to be so excited. He’ll probably break out the purple box.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake.
“What’s the purple box?” Noel asked.
“Our sex box,” Kara answered.
“New rule!” Noel cried. “No phoning between patients when you don’t have time to get detailed in all the things.”
I broke into their repartee.
“You need to make your calls, and I need to contact my youngest son to share he can’t bring his boyfriend to a family meeting that will include him learning his grandmother is dying and we need to go to New Orleans to say goodbye. I also might need to get some work done. And Noel does too. So we’re saying goodbye now.”
“Wyn?” Kara called.
“Yes, honey?”
“I’m really happy you and Remy are talking.”
“I think she got that with the sex box,” Noel remarked.
I shot him a look and then said into the phone, “I am too.”
“Really?” she asked.
There was a wealth of feeling in my one-word response.
“Really.”
“Awesome,” she whispered. “Later, my lovelies.”
Then she was gone.
The instant she was, Noel asked, “Do you know what’s in this purple box?”
I looked at him, and it wasn’t only to avoid his question (because, yes, I did know), that I said, “I love you.”
He shrugged. “I’m lovable. And I love you too because you’re fabulous. And as you know, I don’t do mushy. So I’m going back to work now.”
With that, he strolled out of my office.
I watched him go.
And then I called Yves.
After I sorted things with my youngest, I was able to get fifteen minutes of work done before my phone buzzed.
It was a text from Remy.
I’ll hit AJ’s on the way home. Come over when you want. Lisa’s couriering over a key. The security code is 21209. See you tonight. Love you.
Twenty-one was Manon’s birthday (October).
Twenty was Yves’s (January)
Nine was Sabre’s (August).
That got me.
Remy was couriering over a key.
That got me more.
And even more was Remy hitting AJ’s, which he used to do a lot.
What got me most was the last.
I touched the phone to my forehead and took a second, pushing into the back of my mind the vision of Remy shouldering his life with me in the form of literal baggage and walking out of our home. Then remembering the Remy of last night who bought me Frasher’s, and we ate it using our daughter’s napkins.
Then I texted back, Should be done around five. So I’ll be at yours at 5:30. Too early?
I got back, I’ll aim to be there then too.
It was hanging.
Just hanging.
And I couldn’t leave it hanging.
Because this was Remy.
And my hold might have slipped along the way.
But from our first date, he’d been mine.
So I didn’t leave it hanging.
And that meant I texted back, See you then. Love you too.
He didn’t reply.
But that felt so right, even though I gave myself five minutes, I fretted about it for maybe one.
