Rose:Can we keep one open for her?
Wilder:I would, but that would mean keeping staff on. How close is she with Wesley? Close enough to crash on his couch?
Rose:No. Maybe I can get her a room at the Inn.
Wilder:I’m sorry. I’ll cover it if you can get her a room there.
My stomach sinks. First my mother agrees to take me in with pity, now I’ve become a burden to my best friend. Well, that’s not going to work. I read on.
Wilder:By the way, Dallas decided to stay through the weekend, but I’ll be home Friday.
Rose:Oh. Then she can stay in his room through the weekend.
Wilder:Or you can book her a hotel, drop off Ellie with Ginger andwecan finally have a night alone.
Rose didn’t reply but I saw the conflict in her expression.
Maybe I can sleep in the airport for two nights. If Tom Hanks’s character inThe Terminalcan get away with it, I sure can.
I meet them outside. “Hey, good news, my mother’s photoshoot got canceled so I’m going to head back Friday.”
Rose frowns. “Oh. Are you sure? We can find you something here.”
I shake my head as I climb into the golf cart. I’m not a good liar, but I do need to up my game when it comes to Rose so I give her a playful brush-off and a wink. “Don’t be silly. Besides, I’m not sure how long I can put up with all this peace and quiet.”
Rose laughs. “Give it a few days, you might just fall in love with it all.” She pulls on the lever and turns the wheel, pulling us out of the gravel driveway and down the hill, with the rich green land stretching ahead and the mountains just behind us.
Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did.
5
This morning when my eyes blink open at the bright lights, I know where I am. The last few mornings have left me disoriented, though the days have been nice. Peaceful. I thought the kid might bother me but she’s actually all right. I stretch and something moves beside me. I gasp and pull down the covers.
“Slippers!”
Ellie opens her eyes with a giggle. “You sleep funny.”
“When did you get in here?” I grumble.
“When I woke up.” She bounces.
“And when was that?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. But it’s your last day here and I wanted to see if Rose was right.”
“About what?”
“That you’re not a pretty morning person.”
I cock my head. “And?”
She smiles mischievously. “You should sleep a little more.”
I reach for a pillow and whack her with it. She falls back laughing.
It’s not until now that her words settle in.Your last day.
I’ve been so busybreathingthese last two days that I forgot I was supposed to think about what I’m going to do. Look for a cheap rental in the city, maybe even get a second job—at least for the next four years. Then I can buy that house in the suburbs. The one they’ll build just for me. Marry no one and record an album by thirty.
