I was at a loss again and I fumbled for the taxicab door, ungraceful-like and murmured my address to the driver. As the cab took off, I chanced a glance at Gael. He looked at me and my breath caught with his intense gaze as he stood on the sidewalk. I was locked in his trance and he in mine until the cab turned and broke it for us.
Taking a deep steadying breath, I closed my eyes and thought back on the image of Gael on the sidewalk staring at me.
Whatever had happened in that moment had been strong and unexplainable, unlike anything I had felt before. I hoped he was right in saying we would see each other again … soon.
MY CELL PHONE woke me up the following morning. With one eye open, I saw Amelia’s name flash across the screen. She had texted late last night that their plane had been delayed.
“Hello?” My voice was groggy and heavy with sleep as I tried to clear my throat.
“What the hell, Ashlin? Why did you not tell me about your Aunt Leelyn?” Amelia’s voice came through loud and clear from the other end of the line. Obviously, she had a jump on the morning and had already had her cup of coffee. Amelia had always been an early bird.
I sat up. “I didn’t want to ruin your honeymoon. There wasn’t anything you could do and I knew you would fly back early. How was the honeymoon?”
“It was wonderful, but we’ll catch up on that later. I would have come back in a heartbeat. Are you okay? Do you need me to come to Savannah? Are you still in Savannah? Harris didn’t give me any details when he called. Was Harris good to you through the ordeal? I’ll crack his nuts and roast them over an open fire if he pulled that asshat business routine.” Amelia was feisty and, on more than one occasion, had wanted to set Harris straight.
I needed a cup of coffee to continue this conversation. Amelia’s questions were coming at me from every direction. I should have known Harris would try something like this. Pissed me off that he involved a friend of mine. He couldn’t even take the time to attend her wedding!
Trudging downstairs, I answered Amelia. “I’m doing okay, and there’s no need to come to Savannah. You just got back from your honeymoon. And Harris had his sweet supportive moments but then turned into a complete asshole, so I ended up breaking up with him after the funeral.”
The line went silent, so I continued on. I’m sure Ameli
a never thought the day would come. “It was time, actually way past overdue, for Harris and me to go our separate ways. I had planned on breaking it off with him the night Aunt Leelyn died, but I had to focus on the funeral. When he turned back into his jackass self after the funeral, I ended it.”
“I know that was a hard step, but I’m proud of you, Ashlin. Harris changed, or the real version of him emerged. I hate being the friend who is glad you dumped him, but I am. How are you doing?”
I could sense the conviction in Amelia’s voice as she spoke. Making it to the coffee machine, I turned it on and waited for it to heat up.
“I know. I’m doing okay with everything … considering. I spent the first few days bawling my eyes out. When I started going through Aunt Leelyn’s stuff, it seemed to be therapeutic. All the memories comforted me. I know she loved me and I loved her. I’ll still have sad days and miss her, but I have to keep moving forward.”
The fresh cuts to my heart stung thinking about all that had happened and the loss. I took a deep breath. “What did Harris tell you?”
Amelia snorted. “He was being a slimy bastard. Called all nice and cordial. The asshole. Anyway, he called your best friend to let me know the news. Thought maybe you could use a pick me up and some additional support. Said he would fly me down there to help you out and get you back home sooner so he could be with you.”
I rolled my eyes at the absurd picture Harris had painted to Amelia. “Well, that’s not the case. For now, I’m going to stay here until I figure out my next move.”
“What do you need me to do?” Amelia had been my best friend through college. We had been roommates in the dorms and bonded instantly.
Thinking for a second, I remembered all my to-do’s. “Would you mind getting some more of my clothes and shipping them down here? Nothing that Harris has bought, just my stuff. I’ll let him know you’ll be stopping by, if you’re okay with it. Or rather, I’ll let his secretary know, since that’s who I was directed to during business hours the last time I tried to call him at work.”
There were some cupboards opening on the other end of the line before Amelia spoke. “Fucking bastard. Of course, I don’t mind. And I’ll even leave that bastard’s nuts intact when I go.”
I chuckled. “Thank you, Amelia. I appreciate it. I’ll copy you on the e-mail to his secretary.”
“You’re welcome. Please let me know if you need me to come down. I’ll wait to hear back on when I can go get your things. I love you, Ashlin. I’m here for you if you need anything. I need to go get Steven up. I promise to call you back and fill you in on the honeymoon later.”
It warmed my heart that I did still have someone left who meant the world to me. “I love you, too. I know you’re always there for me. Take care of that new husband of yours. Talk to you in a bit.”
“Bye, sweetie.”
With that, I hung up the phone and kept making my coffee, having abandoned it while talking with Amelia. It was strange Harris acted like we were still together—though not surprising. Walking over to my laptop, I opened up my e-mail to inform Harris’ secretary, Lucinda, that Amelia would be picking up some of my things.
I hit send and not a moment later, I received a text from Harris.
Harris: Call me.
Me: I’m working, Harris. We’ve said everything we needed to say.
My phone rung right as I was about to start working. My hopes of brushing Harris off were not going to work today. I needed to go ahead and bite the bullet. There were still several things I needed to get from his place.