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I call Margret.
“Hi, Trent,” she answers.
“Hey, Margret. Any chance Payton is there today?”
“No, I’m sorry. She doesn’t normally volunteer on Fridays.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“Everything okay?” she asks.
I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like no, it’s not.
“Did you upset the poor girl?” Margret takes Payton’s side in an instant, but I don’t mind. Payton is lovable like that. She has that effect on people. “Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
In the background, I hear my mother’s voice say, “Put him on speaker.”
Jeez. Now what?
“Trent Aldridge.”
“Hi, Mom.”
“What did you do to Payton?”
“What? Nothing.” I groan over the line.
“Then why does it sound like something is wrong.”
“She’s just not here. It’s nothing.”
“Or maybe she left. You were an ass when you first moved her into your house. Anyone with eyes can tell she loves you.”
“Mom. I appreciate the dating advice, but that’s not why I’m calling. I did nothing but care for her. I’m calling because I wanted to check to see if she was there.”
I hang up quickly and try Payton’s line once more. But again, she doesn’t answer.
Not speaking to her makes me realize how I feel.
There is no right moment to tell someone you love them because every moment is right. Love is something you grasp when it’s there. People don’t realize it’s a blessing. That if it’s taken for granted, it might not be there to appreciate later. Seize every moment. Tell people you love them when you feel it. Life is too short for anything else.
Payton has changed me. I see it now.
Opening my desk, I see it.
The letter.
The letter I received months ago and never read. I had thrown it into my drawer, hoping to never see it again.
When I was first handed the envelope, I knew there was no way I would ever read it.
For so long, I have hated my father. There was just no point in reading anything he had to say to me.
But now, after letting Payton in, after getting to know her, something has changed inside me.
