When she comes back, she holds out a single silver key, attached to a dingyI Love NYkeychain.
My gaze settles on the small silver key.
I started my life with a key, given to me by my parents. The memory of that night, my wedding night resurfaces and I try to shove it down, but I can’t.
And now, I see it differently than I remember.
The flowers that adorned my sidewalk weren’t ones I picked.
The pillow on the rocking chair on my porch was placed there by my mom.
The house was mostly furnished, waiting for Savannah and I to just… begin.
It was meant to be the key to the next chapter of my life. I was supposed to be unlocking possibilities. Success, a family of my own.
But none of that came, no matter how hard I tried to make it a reality, convinced everyone would see me as a failure.
Because I felt like one.
I grab the key from her hands, realizing that this is the key I was truly waiting for.
It won’t happen overnight, I know that. It’ll take at least a year to bring the building to where it needs to be before I can start the company up and put an actual team together.
Which means I’ll have to commute a lot for next year to oversee all the work, but knowing Cam is here… it makes it a little easier to swallow.
But as soon as the excitement fades, I’m hit with a much harsher truth.
I’m going to have to move. I’m going to have tolive here.In New York.
Maybe not right away, but once BrewTech is up and running, I will need to live here.
The air leaves my lungs as I stare at the key.
Is this what risk feels like? Terrifying and exciting?
Am I making a terrible choice? Do I want to be this close to Cameron if things don’t work out… Well, I don’t have a choice now, do I?
I offer Margo a smile as I close my hand around the key and shove it in my pocket.
“Thank you,” I say as she smiles. “It was a pleasure.”
She nods as she heads the opposite direction. “I’ll email you over a copy of your paperwork in the next forty-eight hours or so,” she says.
I nod in response as I exit the building. The temperature has shifted and it’s a little chilly, but my sport jacket is enough for the time being.
I take in the sight for a moment, of the busy street and it hits me.
Thisis the next chapter of my life.
Turning my dream into a reality.
But it’s not all about BrewTech, not really.
I bought this building because he thought it was perfect. Because he’s here.
It’s a gesture. A risk.
Because it’s notjustabout the properties, it’s about the possibilities.
