Her laugh was faint. “We get points for trying.”
“Let’s at least do lunch before the flight. And then you can drop me off at the airport.” Were there any other ways I could stretch out my time with her? Reverse the clock altogether?
“Right. It’s a date.” Her smile wavered. “Our first one.”
My month was coming to an end, and I hadn’t taken my wife out on a date. We’d been to places. We’d been together the whole time. But there’d been no official outing as a couple to enjoy being a couple.
“Yeah. A date.” One date with Autumn would never be enough, but if this trip had taught me anything, it was that I couldn’t have it all.
I stared at my phone sitting on the table. Autumn was working. I had the whole day to myself, but my laptop was closed. After a morning of answering emails, scheduling my flight, and arranging a time with Harold, my concentration was shot.
Except when I’d finished work, my mind had turned to Dad. Had he gotten all dug out? Should I tell him I was leaving? Did he care?
I hit Dad’s number on the phone. I put it on speaker, but I kept my ass in the chair.
He answered with a “Giddy.”
“Don’t call me Giddy.” Why did he always sound so happy to hear from me? “Did you get the snow cleared okay?”
“Oh, yeah. Tenor came by with his tractor. Got me unburied lickety-split.”
My normal resentment toward the Baileys wasn’t there. “Good. That’s good.”
“How about the newlyweds? Did you get dug out?”
My heart twisted. It’d be a relief when I no longer had to lie. Dancing around the truth was exhausting. “Yeah, we got the place cleaned out yesterday.”
“Good.”
The line went quiet. I could let the awkward silence stretch, or I could cut the idle chitchat. “I’m leaving tomorrow. So this is your last chance to reconsider.”
“You’re leaving already?”
“Something came up at work.” Another waltz around what was really going on. “I have an important meeting on Wednesday.”
“Oh.” Disappointment rang in that one word. “Do you and Autumn want to come over for dinner tonight?”
“We can’t tonight.” I had no good reason not to,other than I should talk to Autumn first. But I wasn’t going to see him again.
He’d offered dinner before, and I’d never taken him up on it. He also hadn’t pestered. After the way our last visit had gone, it was probably for the best.
“Well,” Dad continued, sounding deep in thought, “maybe when you get back.”
“I’m not coming back.” The finality made me stand up and start pacing. “I’ve gotta figure out how this is all going to go with my job. My bosses don’t like me being away.”
“And Autumn? Is she going to move?”
No. She wouldn’t. I stopped at the sink and stared out the window at her backyard, blanketed in white. “We’ll have to see. She doesn’t want to.”
“No, I can’t imagine she does.” If disheartened had a sound, it was Dad’s tone right now. “But I respect that you’re not pressuring her to change her life. That makes me glad.”
He’d be disappointed if he saw through this marriage. Another round of silence fell and a tiny spark of guilt flared in my gut. An entire month and nothing had changed between us.
An entire month and it had gone by in a blink because of Autumn.
Fuck. Enough of this. I didn’t owe him an apology or an explanation. “See ya when I see ya, Hank.”
His chuckle was dry and lined with regret. “You said the same thing when you moved away.”
