“These will look beautiful in the centre of the table. Zander, would you cook the steaks while Summer and I get the sides done?” Sue asks him, fussing with the arrangement to get the roses perfect.
“Absolutely. Put me to work.” Zander heads to the sink to wash his hands before Sue hands him the steaks and grill pan.
Dinner is great. Zander keeps the conversation flowing as usual. After the steaks are gone, Sue gets up to get dessert. She returns, holding a pie in one hand and a book in the other. She hands the pie to Zander before turning to me. “Do you remember when I ran an errand the other day, sweetheart?”
“I do. What did you get?” I ask curiously. Sue didn’t come home with any packages that trip, and I forgot to ask with all that’s been going on.
“I went to get a book created and picked it up yesterday afternoon. This is for you.” She hands me a large, glossy, bound book.
I look down and see it’s a recipe book. Opening it up, I flip through the pages to see they’re full of Sue’s handwritten recipes. “Oh, Sue, it’s beautiful,” I say.
“I hope you’ll continue baking in Charleston. You’ve gotten very good at it since you’ve been here. I left blank pages in the back for you to add your own recipes, too.”
My eyes well up, and I jump up and wrap my armsaround her. “Thank you.”
“You’re so welcome, sweetheart.” Sue hugs me back and has glassy eyes herself when we pull apart. We smile at each other, sitting back down as Zander passes out slices of pie. Coconut cream, my favorite.
“I’ve never had this kind of pie before. I hope the recipe is in your new book, Summer,” he comments.
“It is Zander, and it’s Summer’s favourite,” Sue tells him.
After dessert, Zander returns to his hotel, promising to be here at 9am tomorrow to drive us to the airport. We do the dishes, and then Sue comes upstairs to help me pack up. The new luggage is the perfect size. All my clothes fit in the large suitcase. I use the smallest one for shoes and toiletries. I fill my backpack with my laptop, the recipe book, Jake’s cologne, the picture Mal gave me, and a few snacks. The rest of the baked goods go into the medium-sized suitcase. It takes only about an hour. My entire existence fits into two suitcases, with room to spare in both.
“How about one last episode of Gilmore Girls before bed, sweetheart?”
“Sounds good, Sue.” We finish the night watching tv and eating popcorn. I sleep surprisingly well that night.
Chapter 16
My alarm goes off at 8am. This is it; I’m moving. I have a text from Sarah when I grab my phone off the desk, wishing me a safe flight and reminding me of my breathing exercises. I grab a fast shower and dress in jeans and Jake’s hoodie. The room doesn’t really look any different despite all my things being packed up. Kind of depressing when you think about it. Shaking my head to dispel those thoughts, I lug my large suitcase downstairs first, then take the medium and small down in one trip with my backpack. The suitcase with all the baked goods is almost as heavy as my large one.
Sue has waffles waiting for me again, but I can only eat one as my nerves ramp up the closer we get to 9am. She fills a thermos full of mint tea for the drive, and at 8:50 am Zander arrives. He seems surprised at the amount of luggage I have, but doesn’t comment as he loads them into the SUV.
“Well, sweetheart, this is it,” Sue says as she hugs me, her eyes glassy. “I have so enjoyed having you live here with me. You have a place here whenever you need it, but you are going to blossom in Charleston. Please let me know when you get there safely.”
I hug her back as tight as I can. “Thank you, Sue, for everything. I’ll text you from Charleston.”
Zander pops his head in as we separate. He gives Sue a big hug and makes her promise to visit soon. “Ready?” He asks me.
I take a deep breath and nod. Charleston, here I come.
Navigating the airport is exhausting. I flew only once before, a few years prior to the accident and before my touch aversion. Now, trying to avoid being touched in a busy airport is very difficult, but Zander protects me as best he can. I'm bumped while we wait to pay for my extra luggage and yelp, so Zander stands behind me to block anyone from coming too close. Security chooses me for extra screening, but I opt quickly for a scan instead of a pat down.
Boarding the plane is difficult, too. Zander stands behind me in line, quickly moving ahead when we board, protecting me from people settling and stowing luggage. Luckily, he purchased me a window seat beside him at the front of the plane. He does his best not to touch me, but it honestly doesn’t bother me too much when it happens by accident.
During the flight, I share my snacks that Sue baked while we watch a show he puts on his laptop. Honestly, I have no idea what the show is, but it helps pass the time. We arrive in Charleston after only a few hours in the air. Enough time for my frazzled nerves to settle a bit.
Zander suggests waiting for everyone else to exit the plane before we get off. It works well, and there's no panic-inducing incidents. His security lead, Troy, is meeting us at the luggage carousel, so we take our time winding through the airport, avoiding any crowds. I stop to pee and stow my winter coat.
When we get to baggage claim, Troy is already standing there with a trolley full of our luggage. He and Zander do that half-handshake, half-hug thing I’ve seen guys do before.
Troy is close to the same height as Zander, maybe just over 6 feet, and you can see his muscles through his t-shirt. He's wearing some type of dark green uniform. The color is so dark, you could probably mistake it for black under low light conditions. His blackhair seems shorter than it was in the video a few days ago, and he has a scar on the right side of his neck from just below his ear, descending under his shirt that I didn’t notice on the phone.
“Hello Summer. It’s nice to officially meet you,” he says. “Welcome to Charleston.” He has a friendly smile with a chipped front tooth I missed on the video call, too. He doesn’t approach me or offer his hand to shake, so I guess Zander told him about my aversion to touch.
“Hi Troy. Nice to meet you, too. Um, how did you know which luggage was mine?”
“Z sent me a picture before you left the airport. Come on, you two. The SUV isn’t far.” We walk towards the automatic doors, and I notice they’ve each taken a side and put me in the middle. Zander is on the right and Troy has the trolley on the left, so no one can get close to me. Very nice of them both.
