“Gosh, you’re lucky.Way better than the couch you’re staying on right now in my living room,” Becca says with a snort.
“Hey, I appreciate that couch.”
“Yeah, though you almost had an entire bedroom,” she says wistfully.“It’s okay.I support your move back to your cute little hometown.This will give me an excuse to come check out Bayshore sometime soon.”
“Consider it part of a Great Lakes tour.”My phone vibrates from the arm rest of an overstuffed chair.I snatch it up.It’s Claire.
“Hey,” I answer brightly.“I was just talking about you and your sweet offer to let me stay in your spare room.”
“How’s it going?Packing everything up?”
Claire and I have been chatting like this more frequently.It still feels odd, but I really like it.
“Yeah.Becca and I just cracked into the storage unit,” I tell her, flipping the tassel of a vintage velvet lampshade near me.I got that thing for five dollars at a thrift store in Andersonville, and I’ll probably be buried with it.“I’m going to figure out what I can toss and what I plan to relocate to a new storage unit in Bayshore.”
“That sounds like a lot of work,” Claire says.“Let me send you some breakfast to help get the job done.Text me your address, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Wow.Thanks, Claire.That’s so sweet of you.Yeah, I’ll send that over.”
“And when you get back, can we please go to Cloud Nine?If you don’t visit Piper’s place soon there will be consequences.I don’t know what kind, but it needs to happen!”
“All right, we’ll go.But aren’t you supposed to be going on your honeymoon soon?”
“Yeah, we leave tomorrow.We’ll go to Cloud Nine when I get back.Put it on your calendar!”
“I promise I will.”I smile, ending the call and swiping to my messages.To Becca, I say, “Claire is going to send us breakfast!Isn’t that sweet?”
“You two really turned things around,” Becca says, head buried in a box.
“Yeah.A lot of things turned around, in fact.”Except for one notable thing, which was perhaps poised to be the greatest addition to my life.I swallow another wave of sadness, determined not to let Griffin Grief overwhelm me.“It’s nice to have a sister I talk to.”
I send her the address of the storage unit just as a message from Piper arrives, asking how moving is going, if I’m in Chicago, where I am exactly.
CASEY: I’m slowly working through my things!Excited to get all this moved back to Bayshore later this week.
PIPER: Do you need anything?Can I send you something?Let me send you some coffee.On me.
I furrow my brow.What are the odds that both Claire and Piper would insist on delivering something to me this morning?
CASEY: I’m always down for more coffee.
I send her my address then put the phone down.
“Okay, I’m done texting.But thanks to my sister and my friend Piper, we have both breakfastandmore coffee en route.I’m just waiting for someone else to text and offer to send lunch.”
“Maybe someone will offer to send a mover’s assistant,” Becca cracks, tugging off the lid of a plastic tote.“Or better yet, a hot date.Then we can combine moving assistance and hot guy in one, without all the ghosting of online dating apps.”
“That’s pretty niche,” I say with a laugh.“I’d settle for someone sending trash bags, but I won’t complain if a hot guy shows up instead.”
We work for a while, making our way through about a quarter of the storage unit, dividing things into two halves: Keep or Toss.I’m looking to rebuild in Bayshore, so I’m ready to part with a lot of things that represent the previous chapter.But some things I can keep using or will never part with—like my hideous blob-shaped chaise longue, and the teal velvet lampshade.
“Maybe you should start dating,” Becca says after a while.“It’ll take your mind off Griffin.”
“And join one of the apps where men ghost me?No thanks.”
“Distractions can be fun,” she says with a grin.
I sigh, shaking my head.“I had my fill of fun.All I can be is heartbroken now.”Becca starts to protest, so I hurry to add, “It’s okay.I can still build the life of my dreams with a broken heart.I just know I’m not going to be getting over that man anytime soon.”
