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“A teensy-weensy bit,” Ash corrected, holding up his fingers and pinching them together.

Cass laughed. “Alright, alright. I’ll take it.” He stepped over to the stroller and leaned down as though to check on Bri. “I can’t believe she slept this whole time.”

“I can,” Ash said. “She woke up at five this morning, wouldn’t go back to sleep, and then didn’t nap after that hike.”

Cass moved behind the stroller and started to set his hands on the handle but then paused. “Can I?” he asked.

Ash nodded, and he walked next to Cass as Cass pushed the stroller back up the pier and then down the sidewalk and across the street. Ash managed to move Bri’s car seat back into the car without waking her, while Cass folded the stroller and loaded it up in the cargo area.

A minute later, they were on the road, headed south toward SeaTac. There was traffic, predictably, but Ash almost found himself thankful for it, because it gave them a bit more time together. They talked quietly about nothing of much importance, and when they exited I-5 just after Tukwila, Bri finally woke up, gifting them with a wail she kindly muffled into her stuffie. Cass talked with her, doing a wonderful job pretending like he understood her cranky babbling, and by the time Ash pulled his SUV up along the curb under one of the Alaska Airlines signs in the drop-off section of the airport terminal, Bri was giggling and happy, munching on some yogurt snacks Cass had wrangled out of the diaper bag.

Ash shifted into park, and Cass unfastened his seat belt, opened the door, and climbed out, shouldering his bag. Then he leaned back in, setting one hand on the roof of the car.

“I really did have a great time,” he said with a gentle smile. “Thank you, Ash.”

There was so much hope in Cass’s eyes that Ash couldn’t look away. He nodded instead.

“I did too,” he said. He bit his lower lip, still holding Cass’s gaze. “And, um . . . I’ll text you.”

Cass’s smile widened, and he nodded. “Good, good.” He hesitated for a second, as though he couldn’t stand the thought of leaving. Then he blinked and tore his gaze away from Ash, leaning into the car a little more. “Bye, Bri! It was so great to see you again!”

“Bye-bye! Bye-bye!” Bri squealed.

Ash laughed, and Cass grinned. Then he straightened up.

“Bye, Ash.”

Ash swallowed back the lump in his throat. “Bye, Cass.”

Cass stepped back, shut the car door, and gave a little wave, which somehow still had a hopeful optimism to it. Ash waved back, and then Cass turned and headed into the airport.

“Bye-bye!” Bri said again. “Cass, bye-bye!”

“Yeah, Cass is going bye-bye,” Ash said, and although he was still smiling, he could already feel an emptiness in his chest.

“Cass, bye-bye! Cass, bye-bye!”

He shifted the car out of park, put on his blinker, and pulled away from the curb, very, very close to making a decision he hoped he wouldn’t regret.

Joe (Wednesday, September 21, 2022 – 10:01 p.m.): Leaving now. See you in fifteen

Chapter Twenty-Six

Cass

About a half hour or so after his plane had landed at Redding Regional Airport, Cass quietly unlocked the front door to his parents’ house, turned and waved a goodbye to Joe, and then tiptoed inside and closed the door behind him. After slipping off his shoes and stashing them under the table in the entryway, Cass padded down the hallway to his bedroom, his bag slung over his shoulder.

He paused outside of his room, listening until he clearly heard the rhythmic sound of his dad’s snoring from his parents’ bedroom farther down the hall. He’d expected them to be asleep, so that wasn’t a surprise, but his stomach twisted with worry, nonetheless.

He’d have to wait until morning to see his mom. And after being away for a day and a half, that made him even more uneasy.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly scrolled to his dad’s last text message, sent right before nine.

Dad (8:56 p.m.): Getting your mom into bed now. She’s doing okay but tired today

Dad (8:57 p.m.): Hope your flight is smooth. Love you. See you in the morning

He could read between the lines, and he knew his mom very well. His absence—and likely the minor delay in his flight departure time—had caused her extra unneeded stress, and that was probably why she was more tired than normal.