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“We can drug them so they sleep through it.”
“It’s seventeen hours. That’s crazy. It’ll be like twenty hours with bathroom stops.”
“Three hours of bathroom stops?” I laugh. “Might as well rent a big old RV with a bathroom.”
“Can we?” She grins huge. “Danny and Chloe can sleep the whole way and?—”
“Jesus, Whit, right now, you look just like Nora—or rather, she looks just like you. Oh, and, hell yes, let’s rent an RV. We’ll get an atlas, and you and Nora can mark off states. By the time she’s in kindergarten, she’ll have been to almost all of them.”
“Wait, what?”
“I learned more while traveling with my parents than sitting in front of the TV. Until Nora has to be enrolled in school, travel with me. She’ll love it, and so will you, Whit.”
“I have to make money and pay our way. I can’t just travel all over the country an?—”
“Whit, your husband’s making a mil a year, and that’s just for the next two years. It’ll be much more. We can afford to do cool shit with Nora before she starts kindergarten. Consider it our honeymoon.”
She frowns, “I don’t care about that kind of money.”
“With all the shit going on, we’re going to make the most of every dollar and every good moment we get.”
21
Us
Pope wanted me to tell Nora we were going, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to watch the way she reacted to him telling her the news. Pope told her that the doctor said Danny and Chloe that they would heal better if they were around smiles and extra love. She, of course, volunteered. When he told her the doctor said that Florida was the best place to heal but they needed another nurse, her stunning brown-and-gold-flecked eyes grew huge as she looked at me. I didn’t make her wait. I couldn’t. I needed to bask in all the love she was, especially right then. She dived on us, hugged us, kissed us.
Then, she stood up, threw her hands in the air, and asked the most important question to her at that moment. “How many stuffies can I take?”
Spoiler alert: she brought them all.
Popa B and Gram brought us to get the RV, which was about ten minutes from the hospital. Nora completely freaked out as we loaded it up with the things we knew we’d need for us and Chloe. Danny’s parents, brought a bag for him. Gram and Popa B promised they’d stay safe and told us they were planning to come to New York for the season opener. To that, Nora freaked out because she was jut finding out we were going to New York.
The house Pope rented had an enclosed pool, and Nora was in it more than half the day. I would have felt awful for Danny and Chloe being unable to use it, but they were enjoying getting to know one another, and when she told him she wasn’t going to be in any kind of relationship, even if it was just physical, until she could love herself first. Danny clearly changed after he almost died because he didn’t even make sexual jokes anymore.
The days we went to Clover Park, Nora was in her glory. I honestly believe she loved watching her daddy play ball more than she would enjoy Disney. We did two days at Disney, and each day, she asked when we could go back to the house and swim … after she got another stuffie, of course. Chloe loved it, and Danny loved that she did.
We received updates on the cases. Spud was charged with murder and is awaiting trial. He’s still yet to talk. Alice decided she no longer wanted to be in witness protection. She has retracted most of what she told the officers and investigators and basically said she was under duress. She and Kal have been spotted meeting up.
Our last weekend in Florida, Marks and York came for a couple of days to visit and drive the RV back for us with Danny and Chloe. She told me that they thought Kal and Alice were fucking. It made me sick to think of what a disgusting human being I allowed in my and Nora’s life and in my bed and even more that there were brief moments where I wondered if I could deal with it to keep her safe.
The night before they were to leave, Pope asked me if I thought Chloe, who was amazing with Nora, would consider working with me on the charity he wanted me to start, thinking it would help her heal, and also nanny for us so we could go on dates on occasion. I fell harder for my husband.
When she said yes to our offer, she was even more excited because her sister, Cecilia, went to vet school in New York and she hadn’t seen her since she left for school last fall.
I knew it hurt Danny a little, but I also think that Pope was doing this for him, too, so that she could grow and heal like she’d said she wanted to and then one day realize he’d love her in a way no man ever had—the right way.
We have now been to his New Jersey house—or I guess our New Jersey house—for three days now. Nora describes it as our fancy, tall house because, yes, it’s very fancy when it’s compared to the house in Walton and even more so than the rental in Florida. There’s a twelve-foot ceiling, so it certainly seems tall.
On day one, we found out his tenants will be moving out in a month. Pope asked if we should rent it out or keep it for guests. I asked him why he would ask a question he’d already answered himself. When we offered it to Chloe, she looked a little scared, and I told her I’d rather she be here with us anyway.
To that, she exhaled, “Thank you.”
For years, I’ve been on a roller coaster of emotions, and even though there’s no exit in sight, right now, I’m finally enjoying the ride.
Tonight, we’re going out to dinner, just the two of us, alone for the first time.
L’Angolo d’Amore is a small family-owned restaurant with outdoor seating that we could see our front porch from.
