Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81375 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“That’s why I told you to take some time,” I urge. “Luca’s going to get a hotel, and he’s not leaving here for a while. Nothing is going to be decided in an hour.” I silently plead with my parents to just try to understand.
It’s a big ask.
Luca and I don’t even fully understand what this is. You can’t and shouldn’t expect a lifetime to be delivered to you in a few days. Going slow isn’t just for people who are overwhelmed and need time to process. It’s also so that every little moment can be celebrated, enjoyed, and treasured.
“Your mother—” Dad protests. His throat works hard. “This will break her heart.”
“I’m right here,” Mom responds wryly. She jabs Dad in the ribs gently, but it’s me she focuses on. “My heart is still intact.” She’s worn the same watch for years. And now, she glances at it. “The pie’s going to be a bit yet. You both must be starved and exhausted. Why don’t we continue this tomorrow?”
Red creeps up Dad’s neck, but after a moment of silent communication with Mom, he nods tightly.
“Can I take your bags back to the house with us?” Mom asks carefully.
She’s trying to tell me that I can take my time. I can have these moments. My life is my own, and my choices are my own. As much as they’d like to protect me, they can’t do life for me. Now, I can see all my mom’s urgings over the years for what they were. She wasn’t trying to decide my future. She was working tirelessly to equip me to live my life on my own terms.
“Yes.” My throat is almost too thick to squeeze out the word, but I force out a few more past the giant lump. “I’ll be back there later.”
Dad’s mouth presses into a thin line in the same way it often does when he’s experimenting with a new pie and the taste test doesn’t come out the way he thought it would. He doesn’t argue with my mom, though. He just nods tightly.
I can’t read that unspoken language my parents have, but after working beside my dad for years, I’ve become good at reading his tells. It’s how I know he’s putting on a tough front, but inside, he’s falling apart and hurting. He doesn’t want to lose me. I’ve layered emotion on top of emotion in an effort to be honest, and it’s a lot.
I just hope things will look better at breakfast tomorrow, even if sleep won’t come for any of us.
“If you’re craving pizza, the new place that opened up last month is excellent. We ordered from there a few nights ago,” Mom offers in an effort to break the tension and dispel some of the lingering sadness.
Immediately, I get visions of the twenty-eight incher from New York that blew my mind and probably would have broken the internet if I cared to ever make posts, which I don’t. But it was almost good enough to break my ghostly status over.
Pro tip: use the socials as a silent bystander, where no one ever knows you’re there. They’re way more fun that way.
It’s weird thinking about my parents getting food from somewhere. They never do that. Luca and I share a look. That’s all it takes to make me burst out laughing. “Thanks, you guys. I’ll see you later.”
“How much later?” Dad huffs.
I don’t know what time it is now. Maybe eight? Now that my mom mentioned food, I realize just how starved I am. Luca’s probably hungry too. The nerves did us in, but now that the first evening is somewhat over, and the anxiety is dissipating, it leaves room for the stomach to feel nothing short of painfully empty.
“I’ll text when I’m on my way.” I kiss Mom’s cheek and then Dad’s. They give me the family group hug.
To their credit, at least they don’t give Luca a hairy eyeball as we head out the back door.
The bakery is nowhere near downtown. The location would have been better situated in the heart of everything with a whole bunch of foot traffic, but that wasn’t how it went down when my great-grandfather bought this place. He was looking for budget real estate. He believed that if something is good, people will drive out of their way for it.
That just means there’s a whole jumble of mismatched stores around us. Most of them are closed by this time. A few streets over, there’s a small residential section that’s extremely out of place. Two doors down is a vet’s office, a small independent grocery store, and a convenience station with gas pumps that have more than likely been rotting there since the forties. I love this area. I grew up here. It’s completely my vibe.
“Uh, should we call for a car or food first? I can order it and then get a taxi, and we could pick it up along the way.” This morning, Luca booked a hotel for himself. It’s on the other side of the city, but this is Marietta. We could probably walk there, and it would only take us a few hours.