“I have, which honestly makes me an ideal choice for his project.”
“And what exactly does his project involve?”
“All the things I love. Snowmobiling. Skiing. Some sledding and possibly tobogganing. Every winter related sport you can think of. The kind of stuff I live for.”
“And he wants your help how?”
Lance transferred his soda can to the coaster on the table next to the recliner. “He wants me to teach him how to do all of those things so he can document his experience and travels in a book for his readers. He’s a travel writer, but apparently tends to keep things limited to beach locales and activities. He’d be branching out for this.”
Nana Jo didn’t say anything for a few minutes, just ruminated over Lance’s words while she continued to pet Tahoe and sip her drink.
He knew his grandmother. She wasn’t one to keep her opinions to herself, and it would be a miracle if she didn’t have one involving the issue at hand.
Lance swallowed. “So?”
“So, what?”
“So, what did I do wrong?”
The woman snorted so loudly, Tahoe startled, letting out a little yap. Lance nearly expected soda to bubble from his grandmother’s nose during the episode. “Whatdidn’tyou do wrong?” She slapped her knee for an emphasis Lance felt she could have left off.
“Okay, am I just so out of touch with women that I no longer know how to communicate with them?” He was beginning to think he might be going crazy—at the very least, speaking a different language entirely. Nothing seemed to line up.
“No, it’s not that. It’s that you haven’t been in a relationship in a long while, and I think that’s affecting your judgment.”
Lance cleared his throat. “I thought being in a relationship meant being supportive of one another. Cheering the other on. Sharing in each other’s successes.”
“It does mean all of those things, dear.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing with Sarah and this whole thing with the retreat,” Lance said adamantly. “Evenwhen it hasdirectly affected the success of my business.Evenwhen it costs me. What am I missing here?”
Nana Jo smiled, but Lance felt like there was nothing to smile about at the moment. If anything, he felt like crying out of sheer frustration.
“Lance, honey. When you’re in a relationship, you think about your future with that person.”
“Yes. I understand that. That’s all I’ve been doing, thinking about a life with Sarah and Laney.”
“So, this big, grand adventure…you can see why Sarah isn’t thrilled about it, right?”
He shook his head with force. “This is where you’ve lost me. This is what I don’t understand. How does a one-month long travel adventure affect our future? We can survive a month apart. Honestly, our feelings have survived an entire year apart. This isn’t such a big deal.”
“Hmm.” Nana nodded, lips pursing. “What would Dr. Franklin say about this?”
Lance frowned at the mention of his physician’s name. “He’d more than likely tell me that it would be too much for my knee to endure at this point.”
“Right.” Her head bobbed up and down again. “That’s what I think he’d say, too. And do you agree?”
“Do I think that my knee is up for this?”
“Yes. Do you?”
He pulled in a breath through his nostrils and held it in his lungs until they strained. “No.” He blew it out through his mouth. “I don’t. I think this would likely be my last big adventure when it comes to this level of activity.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Yeah. Like I said to Sarah, it would kind of be like going out with a bang. Push through the pain to experience this once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Nana Jo just sat there again. To be honest, Lance was getting a little annoyed with her deliberate pauses. She sure was taking a lot of them.
