“You’re both too bloody stubborn for your own good,” he adds. “Used to be, I couldn’t tear you apart. Now it’s like pulling teeth.” He sighs, and I know he feels partly responsible.
I don’t blame Darcy and Reed for choosing Mum, at least not the way Reed blames me for staying with Dad. But I knew she’d be okay without me, and I didn’t want Dad to be alone.
Reed and I never quite fit the same after that. A bone knocked out of alignment, rubbing enough to ache and itch. Of course, we never talked about it head-on. Always around it. Always in riddles and rhymes.
“If it all goes tits up, expect a phone call,” I joke.
“Ah, yes, well,” he says. Dad stammering is a sure sign he’s not telling me something. “Maybe text me first. I’m seeing someone, and it’ll be awkward if I have to choose between you and them.”
“What?” This is news to me. “When did you start seeing someone? And more importantly, why didn’t you tell me about it?”
Christ, this must be how everyone else felt about Ivy.
“It’s early. I don’t want to jinx it.”
“Since when did you become superstitious?”
“When it counts, I’ll take all the help I can get.” And wow. I haven’t heard Dad talk about anyone like this before. “Now explain this relationship you accidentally fell into.”
Ah, yes. Telling Dad the truth about Ivy wasn’t as difficult as I expected, even though he’s on strict instruction to keep it to himself.
“Oh, so you don’t want to tell me about your girlfriend, but I’m supposed to tell you all about mine?”
“It’s that serious, huh?”
I heave a sigh, running a hand through my hair. “It wasn’t supposed to be, but…”
The image of him begins to tilt, and he catches his phone before bringing it close to his face. The angle makes him look older than I remember, eyebrows gone almost transparently silver now, a rich network of lines framing his eyes. It’s a harsh reminder that time is precious.
He clears his throat. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, as you know, and I never thought of myself as someone who should give love advice, but I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to make sure she wakes up every day knowing how incredible she is, how lucky I am, and do everything I can to make her as happy as she makes me.” He really is head-over-heels for this woman. “And flowers don’t hurt, either.”
Man after my own heart. “I’m two steps ahead of you, there.”
“Good. I’m very much hoping to meet this Ivy when I visit,” he says, but when I ask him for the details, he starts stammering again. “I don’t have the exact dates yet.” Which is odd because he’s usually so particular about it. It’s where Reed gets it from. “But I’ll see you when you get back from the reunion.”
“Just tell me your flight number, and I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
His face disappears from the frame. “No need. It’s, ah, all sorted. Anyway, have to run, but, ah, we’ll talk soon. Love you.”
My phone screen taunts me after he hangs up. Just what I needed.
More secrets.
CHAPTER29
TIME FOR A CHANGE
IVY
I stare up at the ceiling, counting the paint chips, while fireflies swarm worryingly in my belly.
Five weeks since the redundancy (yes, I’m counting).Three whole weeks since I’ve started working again, fulfilling the role of one point five people for a company that will cut me as soon as they need to maximize their portfolio value.
See, I’m enthusiastic! I don’t know what Mom’s talking about.
My weekends have become sacred again, a liminal space where I shed the constraints of Office Ivy and take a look at the chaotic jumble that lies beneath. I thought I’d know myself better by now.
Maybe the inescapable horror of answering Slack calls until the day I die has eroded all the interesting parts away.
