THE THREE WEEKS’ WORTHof dust on my SUV was the first thing that struck me about how long I’d actually been gone. In Coral Bay, time passed at a different pace for me.
Mid-October air here smelled humid and faintly metallic. The city hum was louder, sharper, less forgiving. Traffic hummed along, predictable. I didn’t stop at the apartment first and drove straight to work.
Even at this late evening hour, the office was full. People greeted me like I hadn’t left. After all, I had met most of them in regular Zoom meetings, the recent one only yesterday. Yet for me, the smiles in person, the claps on the back, the smell of the office and the coffee in the kitchenette, the view from the window—were another reminder that the Sea Glass cabin was almost two thousand miles away.
Work lingo and the usual office motions sprang on me, but my mind was still half on the inn, the workers, the ocean,her.
When I finally opened my front door and flicked on the lights, the apartment smelled stale, but my plants hadsurvived despite themselves, thanks to Nathan. The only mail waiting on the kitchen counter was junk; the rest had reached my inbox.
I opened the windows and moved through rooms that had missed me as little as I had missed them. Technically, it was home, but my chest tightened in a way that reminded me again: I was still somewhere else. The ocean, the breeze, the quiet honeysuckled stillness of Coral Bay lingered under my skin.
A shower and unpacking later, I pinged Nathan.“They’re alive. Thanks, Man!”
“Ohhh, look who’s breathing Texas air again. Welcome home.”
A twist in my gut at that last word. It didn’t feel like home. Maybe in a few days. Even in normal times—non-Ruby-crushing-me times—when people asked where I was from, I always said California. But my current home was Texas, and it still felt ... borrowed.
“You have to meet Hillary. Tomorrow, dinner at mine? Did I tell you she cooks?”
“You hit the jackpot. Can we do it the day after? I have to work late tomorrow.”
“Day after it is. Bring the sunshine.”
I thumbed it up.
Sleep came easier than I’d expected. I was so beat I passed out the minute I hit the bed. I was too tired to change the sheets and too accustomed to dust after weeks in an under-construction inn.
Work was hectic the next day and the day after. I had flashes of clarity when I wanted to get on a plane, or at leasttext Ruby, but most of the time, I submerged myself in busy, forgetful bliss.
“THAT’S FOR YOU, ANDthat’s for Hillary,” I said, handing Nathan a bottle of wine and some fancy artisanal charcuterie pack I’d picked up on the way. His place in Montrose was a walkable distance from mine, in a bustling city center neighborhood full of shops.
Nathan held the door open for me. “You shouldn’t have, but you totally should have.” He chuckled. “Thanks.”
I stepped inside and immediately caught the hum of a few voices. I cocked my head and raised my eyebrows.
“Yeah, surprise,” he said, looking guilty. “Hillary invited two of her friends. She was nervous meeting you, so she brought reinforcement. Her entourage.”
“And in reinforcement, you mean ...?”
“That they’re single, looking, and already one glass in.” He nodded toward the kitchen. “Sorry, man. I’m doing this for love.”
“I thought I’d get one evening before I’m being set up. What if I’m shite?”
“Oh, she knows you’re not. Come on. She’s dying to meet my friend from NASA who’s also a builder.”
“I’m not a builder. What the fuck did you tell her?” I mumbled, trailing behind him, my enthusiasm in freefall.
Less than a month since I’d last seen him, and his apartment already looked like a woman lived there. Nathan sure didn’t waste any time.
“Hey, babe, this is Sebastian. You can call him Seb, like I do, though he’s not a fan of that,” Nathan said, chuckling and setting my gifts on the counter. He wrapped his arms around the waist of the petite brunette tossing what looked like a fancy, gigantic salad.
The two other women and Hillary all sized me up as I approached to shake her hand. “Nice finally meeting you,” I said. “Heard a lot about you.”
“And you. Nathan told me a lot aboutyou,” Hillary said in a local accent. “I met your plants before I met you.” She laughed, shooting Nathan a cheeky look.
Oh, great. They’d probably fucked in my apartment. “Thanks for helping him water them,” I muttered.
Hillary waved a hand. “And these are my friends, Alison and Ruby.”
