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Milo’s texts kept a smile on my face, but he seemed off. He seemed to be juggling more than normal, and the stress he was under was beginning to seep through his phone calls and texts. We never had a problem communicating before. He was always my person, but I couldn’t shake the feeling something was different. He assured me everything was fine and that I was overthinking things like I normally did. He ended every phone call and every text with a quickI love youbefore we drifted off to sleep, yet I still couldn’t make myself type it or even say it back to him. I knew I loved him. It was just those three little words had more weight than I wanted to admit, and I had a feeling the longer I waited to tell him, the more weight I would feel.
Finally, Friday arrived. Ophelia would be arriving the next day, and I desperately wanted to see Milo. I hadn’t seen his face since he dropped me off, and I missed him. We planned to meet at his place after he dropped Holly off with Hannah, so I arrived at his apartment at seven sharp, a grocery bag full of things to make homemade pizza and ice cream. We had a Marvel movie to watch and some serious catching up to do in our relationship. I couldn’t wait to be in his arms again, feeling every inch of his skin against mine.
He opened the door for me, greeting me with a small smile and a light kiss, then he instantly went back to his kitchen peninsula and focused on his laptop. The bubble of stress was permeating through the room, all centered on Milo. His eyebrows were pinched, and he was hyper-focused on the computer.
I sat the bag on the counter, louder than normal, and cleared my throat. “What’s going on?” I asked.
He heaved a sigh. “Sorry, I just had to finish this email.” He slammed his computer shut and groaned. “I just need this to be over.”
I walked around and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, leaning my chin on his back. “It will be over soon, right? One more meditation before Hannah takes it before a judge?”
“Well, no. That’s changed.” He sat up and turned his body toward me, opening his legs to slip me in between them. “That’s why Richard was calling and texting on our last day in Depoe Bay. Hannah’s lawyer is taking this to trial. I’m just waiting on the trail date.”
I lifted my chin. I was afraid this was going to happen. Hannah was desperate to get this over with before they moved, and he used the wordtrial. I instantly pictured a big courtroom with a jury and people sitting in the background, a CNN new camera following Milo as he made every move on the defendant’s stand.
“Trial?” I parroted.
“Well, before the judge.” He dropped his head on my collarbone. I lifted my hands and ran my fingers through his hair, providing some comfort. “I just have a feeling this isn’t going to end well.”
“Don’t say that,” I whispered.
“No, really…Richard advised me to prepare a statement in my defense.” He looked up at me, his blue eyes full of dread and…fear.He didn't think he was going to win. “He says there’s a good chance I may not win – even though he’s going to try.”
“But she kept information from you and is causing heartache and stress,” I fought, trying to come up with reasons as to how Holly could stay with Milo forever. Sadly, I kept coming up short.
“He’s advised me to look into options.” He pulled away from me and turned back to his computer, opening the silver top slowly. “I’m heading to Seattle on Sunday to…look into options,” he mumbled.
“You’re…” My heart sank. “You’re going to move to Seattle?”
“Well, not right away, but if that's my last option to be with Holly then, yeah.” He opened the browsers on his computer. He was looking at hospital sites and had Zillow a page open. “I’ll have to stay with Clay for a bit.” He chuckled. “At least he’s there and will let me use his guest room.”
“Hold on…” I backed away, closing my eyes and erasing the Zillow browser from my mind. “When did you decide on all of this?”
“I spoke to Richard about it yesterday. With a looming court date, I just thought I’d look around. If worst comes to worst, I gotta have a plan. I looked into some hospitals and thought I could look at homes for us while I’m there. I mean…” He laughed again, obviously not sensing my unease. “We can’tlivewith Clay forever.”
“We? You and Holly?”
Milo’s entire body turned, his fingers still on the mouse pad. “Us. You and me.”
“You and me?”
“Yea, I’m not leaving you, Maddy.”
“But you’re moving to Seattle?”
“I needed to talk to you about it tonight. I’m not…” He trailed off.
“Not what?” I asked, taking a step back from him.
“I just…” Closing his laptop again, he stood from the chair, moving away from me and the kitchen. He scratched the back of his neck and watched his feet. Milo was easy to read. He was easy to talk to, yet here we were, exactly one week after the best night of my life, and he was…. What was he doing? Breaking up with me? Asking me to move to Seattle with him? Was he going to propose?
My heart skipped a beat and fell in my stomach all at the same time. Biting my lip, I waited for him to continue.
“I can’tnothave Holly in my life. Before we left, she said she didn’t want to move to Seattle, but then she said I should go to Seattle. I told her that wasn’t really an option, but in reality, it is. I can find a paramedic job there, and the cost of living is relatively the same as Portland. It’s not the best idea, but it’s feasible.” Milo ran his hand on the top of the laptop, keeping his eyes focused on the kitchen counter. Was he fidgeting? Was he avoiding eye contact here?
“And me?” I asked, a shake in my voice.
“Well.” He stepped toward me and reached his hand out, slowly and gently taking my fingers in his. “I was hoping you would come with us. There are dental offices in Seattle. Clay has a few dentists as clients, and I’m sure he can put in a good word for you. I was talking to him this morning, and he said we could stay with him as long as we needed until we found a place.” He let out a laugh. “He even said he’d keep his girlfriends to a minimum.”
