“I’m not sure. She brought it up but didn’t tell me any specifics. It sounds like she’s getting overwhelmed and all the tasks she insisted on doing herself are beginning to be too much for her now.
“It doesn’t make a difference anyway,” Andy commented.
Samira looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “And what do you mean by that?”
“You’ve only been working from home one day a week. Even if she makes it impossible for you to work from home on Fridays, it doesn’t have to change anything. It’s a couple hours, not a couple days. We can make it work. If I have to come here Friday nights I will…if you’ll have me, anyway.”
Samira stayed silent as she continued to eat. Andy knew to leave her to her thoughts when she got that way. He turned his attention back to his food and waited for her to break the silence. He hated how close he had come to begging, but he had to convince her. Even if their relationship wasn’t meant to last forever, he couldn’t stand the thought of losing her when he needed her most. She had given him the confidence he needed to be true to himself.
“You really haven’t talked to your mom about everything yet? Don’t you think she’ll notice you’re never around when she shows up at your dad’s shanty?” Samira asked after several minutes.
“I’m sure she will. That’s why I’m here.”
She waited for him to elaborate.
“I realize how fragile everything is right now. I know she’s waiting for me to start the conversation with her. No matter how many times I practice my presentation, I know it won’t go smoothly. Our family is a family of watermen. She’s going to be heartbroken when I tell her I don’t want to carry on the tradition. That’s what’s kept me from having this conversation sooner. I can’t stand the thought of disappointing her.”
“The biggest piece of advice I have for you is to make sure you have that conversation as if it could be your last. You really never know when it is the last. Trust me. I know the regrets that can haunt you,” Samira said softly.
“That’s exactly why I’m here. I don’t want any regrets with my mother, but I already have too many regrets with you. I can’t handle both. I understand you have your hands full at work. Ifmy mother stops speaking to me, I really need to know that I’ll at least have you.”
Samira pushed her half-eaten container of food to the other side of the island. “You know I’m not going anywhere. No matter what happens, we are in a much better place than we were.”
Andy noticed she didn’t quite answer the way he had hoped. He didn’t dwell on it. He would find a way to make things work. Watching her walk away again wasn’t an option.
Samira stood to clear the takeout containers. He enjoyed watching the way she moved around her kitchen. Before he could offer to help, she had everything cleared and was spraying the surface of the island with all-purpose cleaner.
“Will you stay the night?” Samira asked as she wiped down the kitchen island. “I like having you in my space.”
Andy smirked. “I like being in your space.”
She laughed. “Don’t you start. You have a long drive tomorrow, and it’s getting late.”
Andy took her hand and led the way to her bedroom. “I know what it might look like, but that really wasn’t my plan when I drove here. I didn’t even have a plan when I got into my truck, but before I knew it, I was heading this way.”
Samira stayed quiet as they made their way back to her bedroom. Andy stripped his jeans off and climbed into the bed beside her. She relaxed against him when he turned toward her and pulled her closer. He was glad his truck had led him to her. She was exactly what he needed when he was feeling restless.
Chapter 15
Andy left early so he could avoid hitting traffic on his way back to the island, and Samira found herself unable to go back to sleep. What he said about losing his mother kept echoing in her head. For years she had felt hurt that he didn’t choose her over everyone else and fight to keep her. She thought him choosing her was all she could ever ask for. But now that it was close to becoming reality, it felt wrong.
After two hours of tossing and turning she gave up on sleep and decided she might as well head to the office a little early to get a head start. If Andrea wasn’t there yet she could always get ahead on her regular tasks so she would be available to take on whatever additional things Andrea needed her to add to her workload. She took a shower and used all the makeup tricks she knew to try to appear well rested.
“Good morning,” Andrea called out from behind the front desk when Samira walked through the doors.
“Oh. I didn’t expect you to be here this early. Good morning.”
“I could say the same for you,” Andrea said as she studied her over the top of her reading glasses. “Things didn’t go well last night?”
Samira made her way over to the desk so they could keep their voices down. “Last night was fine. More than fine actually.”
Andrea playfully waggled her eyebrows. “I see. Then why are you here so early? Shouldn’t you be tired?”
Samira had to laugh. She was tired. She wasn’t sure if it was from the evening’s activities, the early morning, or the things weighing on her mind. She shrugged.
“You said you wanted me to take on more responsibility. Figured I had better get started early if I plan on being down home Thursday night as usual.”
“Sounds good. Let’s go to my office and get to work. We’ll see how fast you pick everything up and go from there.
