Rosie pointed at the screen. “Hey, no turning the therapist tables on me. Is that your honest opinion? Or are you just messing with me?”
Shay shrugged. “It’s not for me to tell you that. Any decision is a judgment call, and if you’re lucky, you learn from it. If you’re unlucky, you regret it. But those decisions take you down different paths and mold you as a person, and I think it’s important not to dwell on whether you were right or wrong. Otherwise, you can spend your whole life drowning in a sea of regrets.”
“That’s a good way of looking at it, but it sounds like you’re talking from experience too.”
“Maybe.”
“Do you regret going in the Army?” Rosie asked.
Shay shook her head. “Most of the time, no. But sometimes I wonder if things might’ve been different if I’d followed the path from degree to PhD and become a math professor. Would I have spent more time with Momma before she died? Would Daddy still be mad at me?”
“But then you’d be drowning.”
“Exactly.” Shay stopped to look more closely at a vibrant tulip, one of the few flowers she did know, and switched to the rearcamera again. “Orange was my momma’s favorite color, and these were her favorite flowers.” She smiled, then realized the words had come out so easily. They hadn’t been choked by the grip of grief before being allowed to escape her mouth. She looked up toward the heavens.I love you, Momma.
“Would it creep you out if I told you they were my favorites too?”
Shay laughed. “Yes, it would.”
“Then I won’t tell you.” Rosie gave her crazy eyes and stuck out her tongue.
“So what are you going to do about your mid-life crisis?”
“Hey, I’m only thirty-two! It’s a career crisis, not a life crisis. I’m very happy with the rest of my life, thank you very much.”
Shay smiled, taking that description to include her. “Happy to be of service. So what are you going to do about yourcareercrisis?”
“I don’t know yet, but I won’t rush into another decision, and I’m definitely not doing anything until the rollout of this campaign is over. That gives me a few months to figure out what I want to do.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” Shay had finished the circuit and was back at the entrance. As much as she wanted to keep walking and talking to Rosie, she had to face what was happening with her daddy. “Thanks for this. You took my mind off things for a while. I better get back inside.”
“No problem. Can I call you later? Or would you prefer to call me when you can? Because I’m assuming you’ll want to call me since I’m so good at this talking thing,” Rosie said and winked.
“I’ll call you, I promise.” Shay hung up, briefly wondering why she was making promises.Because that’s what you do with people you care about.
CHAPTER 23
“I’m sorry, toots,”Aunt Sheila said. “I’m just not going to be able to make it.”
Rosie lowered her cell and looked at the screen as if she couldn’t quite believe what her aunt was saying, which was stupid, because she should’ve anticipated something like this. Aunt Sheila was her mom’s sister in more than just blood. “Is it money?” she asked, even though the direct roundtrip would cost less than Aunt Sheila spent on whiskey in a week.
“Of course it isn’t.”
“Is it Uncle Roger? Doesn’t he want you to come? I know he never liked Mom, but she was your sister, Aunt Sheila. Surely he understands you need to say goodbye?”
“It isn’t Roger, toots. He wouldn’t stop me from doing anything; he never has, and he never will. I’m my own woman, you know that.”
No. No, Rosie didn’t know that. She knew very little about her aunt other than she was an alcoholic narcissist, much like her mom. “So what is it?” She hated guessing games and just wanted a straight answer.
“It’s just that… Well, it turns out that I’m banned from flying for life.”
Rosie rubbed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re telling me you’re not allowed to fly onanyairline at any time?” She put her cell in the crook of her neck and googledcan you be banned for life from flying?The search engine promptly confirmed that yes, a person could be barred on one airline, and they’d share the details withother airlines.
“Yep. They kept threatening me with it, but now they’ve dropped the hammer, I guess.”
“You guess? You don’t know for sure?”
“No, I know for sure.”
