Rio
“DON’T MAKE THE SAMEmistake I did at first with Angelo. At first, at second, at third—I lost count before I let myself take what I wanted and what he offered,” June said, standing next to me as we unboxed a new line of organic dental care products.
“You were afraid of your age gap.”
“I was scared that me being so much older would hold him back from going after everything he wanted.” She folded an empty carton and tossed it into the bin.
I sighed. “At least his dream was on this continent.”
“I’m just saying ...” She paused and we looked at each other.
I set down a stack of toothpaste boxes. “I’ve looked up flights,” I said quietly. “I want to go, be with him, support him. I just can’t help wondering what if ... what if standing in the middle of everything he worked so hard to get back, he discovers I’m not what he wants anymore?”
June looked at me for a long beat. “You ever think maybe you’re the one he wants thiswith? The reason it’ll all mean something more?”
The question hit me square in the heart. Because I trusted Owen, trusted his love—God, I did—but fear never cared about facts. And I should know that.
She held up a tube. “In the meantime, can I interest you in a botanical Himalayan charcoal whitening toothpaste?”
I let out a soft laugh and bumped her side with mine. “Only if it cures existential dread.”
Later that afternoon, Walter was the epitome of cantankerous—even by his usual standards.
“Traffic is a bear today. We have to leave fifteen minutes earlier if I want to have a lane to myself at the pool. And I want a lane to myself!” he declared the moment I stepped through the door.
“Listening to Chopper Marge again, are we? Traffic might be bad on the 101, but not inside Blueshore. We’ll get to the pool on time, I promise. And since when do you guys get your own lanes?” I dropped my bag on the counter and headed to the fridge for a cold soda.
“It’s a new suggestion someone brought to Finn, and he agreed to try it.”
“That ‘someone’ wouldn’t happen to be named Walter, would it?” I asked with a wink.
“Don’t be cheeky, Rio. Respect your elders.”
“I thought I was.”
He harrumphed under his breath.
“Okay, let me grab my charger, and we’ll go,” I said.
We were there first. Walter claimed his lane as soon as the children’s class climbed out of the pool, standing guard in the water before the rest of his class even arrived.
“I’ll wait outside,” I told Finn, who was high-fiving the kids as they passed him on their way out.
The days were getting shorter, the early evening sky burning deep orange.
I pulled out my phone and checked my messages. A new one from Ruby reminded me about our planned night out. Another, from Owen, was one I’d already read but found myself rereading now.
It contained only four words, but the weight of their meaning settled in my chest.
His messaging app status was off. I checked the time. Two a.m. London time.
Beneath his message, was my response.“I know.”
There was more—so much more—but I didn’t trust the distance for the rest of it. Some things needed to be said with your eyes, not just your thumbs.
After replying to Ruby, my mom called, and we fell into our usual quick update—a conversation that mostly revolved around my job, hers, Chloe and Emma’s latest shenanigans, Mom’s pottery and crocheting classes, her friends, her online Duran Duran fan club (California chapter), and, of course, her steady stream of unsolicited suggestions.
From food to dating, to new products, to shops Ihadto check out, her advice was endless, always wrapped in the same optimism she swore never steered her wrong. I knew she thought she was empowering me, but sometimes it felt like the complete opposite.
