The conversation was just the pick-me-up she needed to shake off the last of the weirdness she felt over what’d happened last night. It wasn’t like she really knew Reuben, but there was something about his warmth of character that made him feel almost fatherly.
It occurred to her how much she missed that feeling. And to the extent she didn’t have it as much anymore, it was her own fault. She knew that.
Her parents had never once blamed her for Dylan’s death. Well, not out loud. But she feared that they did, down deep. And she knew for a fact that Dylan’s fiancé, Abby, blamed her.
Rather than chance seeing it in their eyes or hearing it in their voices, she’d made herself a scarce during the past two years. Oh, she called and emailed and texted from time to time. And she’d gone home for Thanksgiving and Christmas even though those had been brutal in highlighting how many empty chairs her parents had around their table these days. But all of that represented the bare minimum compared to how much she’d once visited and talked to them.
But today was not the day for such thoughts.
Today was the day for fresh starts and knocking ‘em dead.
Nine hours later and she wasn’t sure how much of the latter she’d had a chance to do, but it’d only taken this one day to prove that she’d made the right decision—in coming to DC, in shifting the focus of her career, and in taking this job.
Even though a lot of the day had been spent in completing forms and watching training films and in ten-second introductions with about a hundred people, just being in the Gazette’s offices had been thrilling. The low buzz of the news room. The occasional bursts of frenetic energy in the hallways. The framed newspapers that hung everywhere showing off the headlines of some of the biggest stories that the Gazette had broken.
Just the whole vibe of becoming part of a century-old tradition at this paper. It all thrilled her.
As did the hope that she might make her own mark by helping shed light on the world in which they all lived. The good and the bad and the beautiful and the painful of it.
It sounded almost Pollyannaish to think she could make a difference, but that’s how it was for most people interested in reporting the news. At least that she’d ever met. All the way back to J school, she’d been surrounded by people who, for the most part, possessed a real purity of cause and purpose.
It had been such a good, energizing day that she felt like she nearly floated home, despite how crowded the metro had been and that she’d just barely missed one bus and the next one had been packed as tight as a can of sardines.
Reuben’s stoop was empty as she made her way up Farragut Place. As was her house.
“Billy?” she called up the stairs. Nothing.
Will you be home for dinner? She shot off the text then went upstairs to change out of her work clothes.
Wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts, she dropped onto her bed, popped open her laptop, and posted the obligatory first-day-of-work update on Facebook. Then she went to Ryan’s page to see if he’d posted any pictures from his deployment lately, but there was nothing new.
So Shayna opened up her email, because she was dying to tell someone about her day.
Hey Ryan! Just finished my first day of work at the Gazette. It was mostly personnel and orientation stuff, but I can already tell that I’m going to like it here. Which means I owe you a couple of big thank yous, first for encouraging me to take the chance to move to DC by myself. And second for twisting Billy’s arm to get him to let me stay here. His place is nice and he’s cool, so I think this will work out fine until I can find some roommates and/or a place of my own. Except you might have warned the poor guy that I’m a slob!
Her fingers froze on the keyboard as a dozen other comments flitted through her mind.
Like, Billy’s still as lickable as I remember, so thanks a bunch!
Or, He’s already seen me naked but you don’t have to shoot him because it was totally an accident and I’m pretty sure he only sees me as your “kid sister”!
Or, Did you tell him that Dylan’s death was my fault?
Yeah. No. None of that was happening.
So instead Shayna wrote: Anyway, just wanted to share how excited I am after today. Wish you were here so I could tell you over a couple of burgers and steal all your fries. Shoot me a message when you can and TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, YA SHITNUBBIN! ;) xx Shayna
She hit the Send button with a snicker, because insults were pretty much a Curtis family tradition. She couldn’t wait to see what Ryan would send back, though she knew it would probably be a couple of days before her brother saw the message. He wrote as often as he could, but it wasn’t like he was free to sit around online all day. So Shayna cherished every update and note he was able to send.
After all that, she’d hoped to have heard back from Billy, but he still hadn’t answered her text. The thought of eating dinner alone tonight felt like a total bummer, but it wasn’t like she knew a lot of people here yet.
Except there was someone she knew at least a little…
Which gave her a possibly great idea.
She rushed down to the kitchen, decided to make some barbecue chicken breasts, baked beans, and a salad of diced tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions in balsamic vinaigrette. The first step was to season the chicken, so she whipped up a quick marinade, put it and the chicken in a sealed bag in the fridge, and then she made sure to clean up after herself. When she had that much done, Shayna grabbed her keys and headed down the street.
Her belly did a little flip as she let herself into Reuben’s yard through the metal gate and approached his door. Even if he wasn’t interested in joining her, surely he wouldn’t mind the invitation. Right?