That was five months ago, though, and Allison was nowhere to be found now.
Mom told me she had taken a leave of absence from working with Callie three months ago, but assured her she would be back. I still don’t know how Allison managed to keep working with Callie for the first two months after the letter, but she did. She was amazing like that.
Walking back into the kitchen, I noticed that Stephanie was already sitting down drinking coffee and eating her waffle.
“Sorry, I took so long.”
“No worries, Blue Eyes.”
I suddenly felt nauseous when she called me that. It was what Allison said she used to call me before we met.
My mind switched to thinking about whether taking Stephanie to my mother’s today was a good idea.
“So, what’s the verdict on today?” she asked.
“Do you like pork?”
“Is that what you guys call it these days?” Stephanie winked.
“Ha…no, I mean actual pork, as in pig meat.”
“Yeah…it’s okay. I prefer chicken.”
“My mother has a cookout every Labor Day and we roast a pig. It’s kind of a European tradition she picked up from her grandmother. Would you want to come with me? I sort of can’t get out of it.”
“Is the pig alive?”
“Oink. Oink.” I winked. “Just kidding…no, it’s already dead on arrival.”
“Oh, thank God.” She sighed.
“Don’t thank God, til you see its face. It’s still pretty gross, but the meat tastes great when everything’s done,” I said taking a bit of my waffle.
“Sounds like a plan. I’d love to meet your family.”
Hearing her say that made me cringe because I knew I wasn’t ready for this with Stephanie, but I just didn’t have the energy to get out of it.
Not knowing what to say to that, I repeated, “Sounds like a plan.”
CHAPTER 34
ALLISON
Three Months Earlie
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The harmonious fire Moon brings interesting people crossing your path, Gemini. Their conversations are enlightening and leave you inspired over their encouraging words. You feel refreshed and motivated to continue on the course of those pushed-aside dreams.
The fasten seatbelt sign lit up and my heart was racing in anticipation of what would greet me once I left this plane. I always hated flying but mostly takeoff and landing.
As the plane slowly descended, I prayed that it wouldn’t hit the ground in a ball of flames. My nerves were acting up for a lot of different reasons right now.
When the jet touched down, I mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to the man upstairs and realized that my breathing was still rapid, even though the plane had safely landed.
Thanking the pilot as I exited, I walked slowly down the long hallway that led to the inside of the terminal.
I didn’t know what they looked like, but they said they would find me. I hoped this wasn’t a mistake as I looked around and saw that no one made eye contact.