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“Goodbye, bestia. Maybe I can be good now. Who could beat last night?”
He slapped me on the rear and pulled me in close. “I could.”
Eventually, I closed the door and was alone again. I stood for a second with my back against it, blinking at the bright morning light coming through the windows. What was I going to say to Hank?
I turned on my phone and had several messages and two missed calls from him. How did that man read me so well?
Packing swiftly, I stuck to my plan to leave fast, before I could change my mind. The reality of what I had done was sinking in. I could lose Hank—wouldlose him.
In my car, I sent the message I had been working on since Javier left.
Sally: Hank, I’m really sorry, I screwed up. Please forgive me. It’s over now and I’m in my car about to drive as far as I can today. I didn’t seek it out. I had an encounter with a man. We used protection, I was very careful. I’m sorry. Being alone is hard for me—during this drive I’ve realized how fucked up I am. A hot mess express. Possibly I’m a sex addict. Yeah, Iknow, a pathetic problem. If you were with me, it wouldn’t have happened. I feel horrible. You’re the only one in my heart too. We can’t be together right now and I’m struggling with that reality. I promise to seek out some counseling, or whatever, in Oregon. Please forgive me and keep being my friend. I’ll pull over if you want to yell at me. Please yell at me. Or maybe yell at me in a few days when you’re ready. I’m thinking about you.
I sent it off then put my head down on the steering wheel. Time to get out of here before Hank dumped me and I ran back to Javier to make myself feel better.
There was a new life waiting for me in Oregon. I’d bought a party house—not for raucous blowouts, but barbecues and afternoon hangs. I’d sent a message already to my good friend Amber Brown, who was working on an MBA. We’d been mostly out of touch for years and she seemed clueless about my notoriety.
My phone dinged and I pulled over at a gas station and filled up the tank before I glanced at my phone. I knew with a brick of dread in my stomach what was coming. Putting it off for another five minutes, I went inside the convenience store and bought road snacks, bottled drinks, and iced coffee.
In the Highlander again, I parked myself in an out of the way spot and opened my phone.
Hank: I’m done.
CHAPTER NINE
Idrank my coffee and stared out the window at a green dumpster in front of my car. Hank had broken up our situationship and was done being my friend. I blinked, my nose burning.
Before I could do anything hasty, like go back to Javier and spend a hedonistic week forgetting about my plans, I pointed myself north and kept on driving. It was a grim day. Huge predatory birds, eagles or vultures, perched on fences or swooped past the highway.
Stiff from a long day of driving, I pulled into Klamath Falls, Oregon and stayed at a hotel Josh wouldn’t have been willing to walk inside. I kept to myself. Pizza—my comfort food—was delivered to my room, and I got in a workout in the tiny gym.
Nothing more from Hank. I emailed my lawyer, letting her know that I wasn’t sure Hank would be willing to be my point of contact anymore, and filled her in on my location and plans.
I cried that night. The loneliness was tightening around me like a noose—I wanted to call my mother. After pacingaround the room, I decided to call her the next day, and be very careful.
Early the next morning I was on the road again, trying to muster up some excitement about reaching my goal that day. The landscape changed to evergreen forest as I climbed through the Cascade Mountains, some of the hillsides burned from recent wildfires.
After three and a half hours of driving, I pulled into Eugene, Oregon—home of Nike, the University of Oregon, and a town obsessed with ducks in every artistic rendition imaginable. There was a lot of green. I checked in at my boutique-style hotel, the Inn at the Fifth, right in the middle of the cute downtown area.
My realtor met me at the restaurant I’d picked for lunch. I messaged the potential renters and let them know I was in town and would be at the house that afternoon. The agent who met me with the keys, a glamorous and well-preserved woman somewhere north of forty, caravanned with me up into the hilly area where the house was perched.
She waited for me as I parked in the spacious circular drive. I made a mental note to assign a parking spot to each renter. With four cars, a three-car garage, and two easy parking spots off the drive, we should all fit nicely.
“Here you are, Ms. Jones,” said my agent as I walked up to the big double front doors. “Your new home.”
“Call me Sally.” I worked on unlocking the door.
“And me Zoey. This is a fun house, especially for a young person like you. My teenage son spent an hour trying out your basketball court next to the pool in the backyard. Boys and hoops, they’re all about it.”
I pulled out my new phone and activated the voice note taker. “One,” I said, “new locks. Two, assign parking to renters.”
After I closed my phone, Zoey nodded at me. “Very smart.And here we are on the narrow entryway floor, facing the stairs, between the main level and daylight basement. An interesting addition you only see in custom-builds like this. I know you were concerned with the boxiness of the spaces, but I hope you’ll agree that these nice high ceilings do make a difference. My house is an open concept and I personally wish I had somewhere to get away for quiet. You won’t have that problem here. Each room is compartmentalized, in a sense, flowing into each other but still distinct with privacy possible. Excellent for the renter situation you’re thinking of.”
“It’s unique,” I said, looking over at the strange shoebox-like space next to the entryway where the previous owners had put a grand piano. I took the stairs to the upstairs area. The house was chunky, for lack of a better word. “Too bad I can’t do a thing in that gourmet kitchen.”
“Well, that will keep it pretty. Of course, before we get to the kitchen, we pass through this lovely dining-room space where the previous owners had a long table. Here are your built-in teak wood cabinets. Through the door to the right is your spacious office. And the centerpiece of the home is to the left. Through the wide opening is the family room with a gas fireplace and arched Alaska-yellow-cedar beams in the much higher vaulted ceiling. I love this wall of windows, looking out onto your pool and the green space behind your property.”
She was laying it fairly thick. I’d already bought the place. Still, it was a nice introduction. I stared out at the raised patio off the family room—perfect for an outdoor gas firepit and big comfy chairs.
