He nodded.
“Ruth Ann would want you to take care of yourself now that she can’t.” She stood and extended a hand to Wendell. “I haven’t found a lead on Marisol yet. But I will. And the two of us together are going to clean your house.”
He eyeballed her hand but didn’t move. “I don’t care about a little bit of clutter. There’s only me to see it.”
“Except that I’m standing right here, seeing it.”
“What’s the point of working so hard every day to make the house tidy? It gets messy again a few minutes later.”
“The point? The point is that neatness helps you find things when you need them. And it’s better mentally and physically to live in a tidy environment.” She waggled her fingers. “Come on. You can work alongside me for an hour today, an hour tomorrow, an hour the day after that, and so on. I’m not going to push you to exhaustion but I’m also not going to do this all by myself.”
Finally, Wendell took hold of Remy’s hand, and she pulled him to his feet.
When Remy’s phone alarm went off, signaling dinnertime, she mounted a search and eventually located her phone in Wendell’s kitchen drawer.
Several text messages had come in from an unknown number that clearly belonged to Jeremiah. He was putting his new cell phone to good use. She created a contact for him and in the name field inputHigh Maintenance Duke.
The gist of his messages: He wanted her to join him and Jude for dinner at his house. Or a restaurant. Whatever she’d prefer.
It worried her, how much she wanted to say yes. Separation from him felt uncomfortable and impossible to ignore, as if she were suddenly missing a limb. She’d like to have her limb back.
She’d been telling herself, as the day had worn on toward evening, that she was simply undergoing an adjustment. Every time she came to the mainland, she had to adapt to the people, the buildings, the bustling pace. In the same way, it was normal to enter a brief transition period while she adjusted to living without Jeremiah. She’d do well to remember that life without him was her regular, beneficial setting. He’d no longer be present to grate on her nerves all day!
Also, what was her end game here? She was beginning to detect flirtation between them. Maybe? But there was no chance of the two of them . . . dating. It felt ludicrous even to broach that possibility in her mind. Were Jeremiah to date someone, it would be a supermodel. And she wasn’t looking for a relationship.Certainlynot with a man like him. If she was ever to date someone again, Jeremiah was the opposite of the kind of man she’d consider. His life was too big, too rich, too famous, too complicated. He was smooth and untrustworthy. When she thought about a future potential boyfriend—which she almost never did because the creation of her sculptures took up almost all the space in her mind and heart—she imagined someone understated, patient, kind.
If she missed Jeremiah—which shedid notbecause that would be so, so stupid—it would pass.
And, very soon, she’d stop thinking about him 24/7.
Remy
I’m enjoying a well-deserved break from you. So, no thank you to dinner. But please tell Jude that we need to set aside time soon to decide on a wedding venue.
Jeremiah
I’ll kick Jude out, if he’s what’s keeping you away.
Remy
On the contrary. Jude was the only thing that tempted me to say yes to dinner. Also, since you don’t appear to have a sensitive bone in your body, let me inform you that it would be shockingly rude to kick your brother out. Jude’s generously dedicating his weekend to helping you reclaim your life.
Jeremiah
As far as you know, he might be pretending to help me just so he can steal things from my house when I’m not looking.
Remy laughed. She tucked her phone in her pocket and went back to sorting piles of junk.
Her phone buzzed.
Jeremiah
When can I see you?
Remy
Maybe tomorrow. I have my hands full here. Wendell’s house is less organized than a landfill. Making it livable is going to be a huge project.
Jeremiah
