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“Shane, next time warn me if you’re going to give me heart palpitations on a call while I’m walking in broad daylight. I miss you so much and calling me while only wearing a towel just seems cruel.” She acts like she’s scolding me but has a little smile across her face.
I take a moment to look at her on the screen. As busy as New York is, she takes the chaos of the city with stride. She doesn’t seem bothered by the crowds or the congestion of cars. I smile and I can’t help but take in this incredible woman that blossomed from that teen in Nebraska.
We continue our little banter while also updating one another on how things have been going so far. It’s the end of the first week of November, and I’ve been gone for a week already. Boston took a bit longer than I had originally planned, but a lot of good work came from my time there so I can’t focus too much on anything aside from that. I’ll be in California for a few days, especially now that my mom is not in town, and I don’t need to accommodate her schedule to see her.
That’s remained a source of turmoil for me. My mother doesn't answer my calls and only communicates via text. She’s been pretty short with her responses, answering with single words where possible. I told her we would catch up after Thanksgiving, which is how long she is planning on being with her sister, my aunt, up in Seattle.
Becca seems to be walking toward a lot of sounds with kids talking in the background, and I ask what her plans are for the rest of the day. She informs me she has an event at the school for the twins that she is running late for due to a delivery taking longer than she expected. Right when she sees someone, she gets quiet.
Then I see the phone get pulled out of her hands and I see a face I haven’t seen in quite some time. Elody stares back at me, eyes narrowed and focused on me. I can tell she has a lot of questions swirling through that head of hers. I give her my best smile in hopes of dissipating her anger, but she just seems to fume more.
Becca still has her headphones in, and I hear her warn her best friend, “It’s okay, Ellie. We’re fine. We’re older now. No need to glare at him. If you have something to say, just say it.”
Ellie hasn’t stopped staring at me through the screen. How it has taken this long for us to see one another, I have no idea. I know the two of them remain thick as thieves, but Becca said Ellie was quite upset with me for multiple reasons and was giving Becs and me space to reacquaint ourselves before digging her claws into me. Ellie is one of the happiest, sweetest people I have ever met so I know with a little communication, we can put our differences aside.
Elody seems to snap out of it, looks toward Becs, and simply says, “It’s fine. Shane and I will catch up soon, and I will bring my binder of questions with me.” She then directs her stare back at me, this time adding a pointed finger, “And explain you will, Shane Philips.”
Geez, she’s kind of like a mama bear protecting her young when it comes to Becca. Although she's coming off as protective, it's hard to take Ellie seriously. I mean, I saw her pick her nose in preschool. How does one really forget such things?
At this point, I’m in a shirt and pants, although unbuttoned but not revealing anything to Ellie. I put my hands up as if I have nothing to hide, and Ellie’s gone from the screen. I see the two of them hug, and I catch something about seeing her in the classroom.
Becca’s gaze shifts back to me when Elody leaves, and I ask, “Is Ellie’s teaching at the high school? I thought you said she was an elementary school teacher?”
Becs looks confused and then realizes why I am asking these questions.
“Oh no, Ellie’s a kindergarten teacher at a school down the street. Her youngest go to school there, but my kids are at this high school with Tyler, Ellie’s oldest. She just swung by to see my kiddos before she has to run back to her classroom. Luckily she has an aid that can stay with her students for moments like this.”
Becs smiles at me, and I long to have her in my arms even more after seeing her in her element. When I get back to her, we will discuss how we can introduce myself to the kids and find a way to blend as well as we can as this new unit.
Becca’s attention is being pulled in multiple directions so we decide to talk later. Due to the time difference, being in California will be a little more challenging, as will London, as she will be winding down while I will be just starting my afternoons and evenings. We’ll find a way to make it work to keep ourselves connected, however, I am counting the days until I get to see her again, in person.
I finish getting ready and head to a meeting at the new SoFi arena, where I have a contract my security team will be managing. This is our biggest account on the West Coast, and their needs are extensive due to hosting not only sporting events but also concerts and any other events they choose to add to the calendar. My day flies by and soon I can feel the weight of the day catching up to me. I long for my bed and a pillow. Unfortunately, I’m hours away from getting to lay my head down.
The remainder of the evening goes by quickly, though torturously, due to the exhaustion mounting with each minute that passes. Becs and I text the rest of the day, as it’s her night to have the twins with her. They have a good number of after-school activities, so she shuffles them around quite a bit in the short time they have when school ends until bedtime.
I finally get home and decide to take another shower. The unexpected heatwave California is experiencing threw me off and my suits did not help in any way. Once I’m showered, I cannot keep my eyes open another second and I fall onto my mattress, finding little energy to pull the covers back and lay in the bed properly. I start to doze, and the first face that graces my dreams has dark hair, olive skin, and bright blue-green eyes.
* * *
I’m in London, after a week in California, and the rain and cold feel like whiplash to the warmth of the California sun. I’ve been working non-stop here, and I’ve finished a day early, and I am already on my way to the airport. I want to surprise Becs with my unexpected change in plans, but I have to see where I’ll be able to find her once I land in New York.
While my driver maneuvers through traffic, I decide to call Becca to see how she’s doing even though it is incredibly early for her. She mentioned heading to the office early today to get some charting done before her day kicks off with back-to-back patients. She picks up on the second ring. “Your ears must be ringing. I was just talking about you to my coworker, Natasha.” I smile and my need to be with her feels like a hit I need to take. I’m so close yet too far away from her.
“Hey, baby. I miss you so much. What are your plans for the day?” I hear her shuffling things around in her office.
“I have patients throughout the day and as long as no one goes into labor while I’m at the office, I’ll do my consultations and have the night off. However, I got a text from Elody early this morning saying that she needs a girl’s night. We are heading to a local spot to grab some drinks. I can only hope the music is good because I feel like all the hits today are just spin-offs of something we listened to in the nineties.”
I can envision her eye roll because I have learned Becca’s love for nineties hip-hop has not wavered. She has adopted a love for some more recent music, but her heart really soars when she listens to those old tunes and belts her heart out to the lyrics.
“That sounds like fun. Is Elody okay?” I know that being fully responsible for her kids since Beau passed has been hard on her from what Becs has mentioned.
“Yeah, apparently some parent has been rude and she needs a little break from the day-to-day,” she sighs. I can hear the pain Becca carries for her friend. Beau’s death was hard on everyone, and they feel the weight of his absence in all their movements. My heart hurts for them and selfishly for myself. I let a good friendship go because of fear. And I never got a chance to tell him how much he meant to me.
I put my plan in motion once she mentions the location that’s walking distance from their homes. I hang up with Becca and check my flight to ensure everything is still on time. The rest of my drive to the airport is smooth, and I take a moment to relax my shoulders, releasing some tension I had been holding since I said goodbye to Becs, leaning my head back on the headrest, and closing my eyes. I can’t wait to hold my girl.
ChapterNineteen
SHANE
