I wasn’t sure if my trip back to Chicago was good for me.
I wanted to go home, rest for a weekend, catch up in the office, and do an incredible amount of laundry. I had accomplishedall that, of course, but repacking the suitcase, getting back on a plane, and leaving the sanctuary of my apartment for another few weeks seemed unbearable.
Or maybe I was just freaking out about the Oklahoma trip.
Dennis had called me the night before I left, and Iimmediatelyrecognized Jo’s voice on the other end.
“Allegra?”She said as soon as I answered.
“Hi, Jo,” I responded, trying to hide my surprise. “How are you?”
“Well, I was talking to Dennis, and he said he let you know we want you to stay with us, but I’m sure he didn’t get you any details, so I wanted to call and convince you myself!”
I hadn’t responded to Dennis’ original text. I had stared at the text and the picture of my dad for an hour, barely blinking. I had planned on forming some kind of excuse, but every time I tried, I felt a knot in my stomach form. “Oh yes, so sorry I haven’t answered. It’s been a busy week back in the office.”
She laughed. “Oh, sweetie, I can only imagine! Don’t even worry, I missed you anyway and wanted to chat.”
I sat on the edge of my bed, bringing my knees to my chest like a child. I closed my eyes and soaked in her words.
When I didn’t respond, she went on. “We have a farmhouse out here in Guthrie. The girls and their kids have been stayin’ here while we were gone, so it’s taken some time to get it back to livable, but it’ll be in tip-top shape by the time you make it. Jimmy and his wife live across the street, Alan is next door with his family, and Dean and Colton still live with us, that is, until Dean gets married in the winter. We’ll have a bed made up for you, breakfast and dinner every mornin’ and evenin’, and Dennis and the boys can drive you anywhere you need to go so you won’t need a taxi or nothin’,” she said in a single breath.
I barely opened my mouth to start forming a response when she kept going.
“What time does your flight get in? I’ll have Dennis or one of the boys meet you at the airport.”
I thought back to Dennis’ text. He was right, she was very hard to say no to. I couldn’t think of a reason why staying with them wouldn’t be optimal.
Other than the fact that her son had unknowingly broken up my engagement and changed the trajectory of my entire life.
“Allegra? Are you still there?”
I put my legs on the floor, looking at my half-packed suitcase. I would have to rethink the tiny silk pajamas. “Yes, sorry! You really don’t need to go through so much trouble for me. I’m happy to stay in a hotelrealclose.”
Listening to her strong accent was forcing mine to creep back into my voice. I swallowed hard and shoved it back down.
“It is no trouble at all! We cannot wait to get to know you better. Just send Dennis your itinerary, and we’ll have dinner onthe table when you get here. Travel safe, Allegra!”
Click.
I resisted swearing enough to make my mother proud. I pulled the tiny silk tank top and shorts out of the suitcase and replaced them with a matching red pajama set I had gotten for Christmas from Martha a few years ago.
The rest of my clothes fit the usual Corporate Allegra persona.
I had a vision of the Nash family sitting for dinner in the house. I knew for a fact Jo’s daughters-in-law didn’t wear slacks, blazers, and tight blouses regularly.
I threw in a textured t-shirt, a sundress, and a pair of denim shorts, just in case.
The pair of boots sticking out from the cardboard box in the closet caught my eye. I shut the closet and zipped up my suitcase.
~~~
I leaned back in my seat, taking long, deep breaths. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
I wasn’t ready for Dennis to ask me personal questions about myself on the drive to their home. I wasn’t ready to have a weekend stay with the Nash family. I wasn’t ready to face Colton again after all he’d done for me.
The only thing I was prepared for was my work.
I had a perfect script that I had emailed to the rodeo coordinator for the announcer to read. I had Billy coming on Friday night to shoot some footage of the Agri-Corp logos scattered throughout the arena. I even managed a video presentation of the equipment to be shown right after the rodeo starts.
