I knew she didn’t. She knew I knew she didn’t. Still, it was easier to offer her moving money than to handle this conversation much longer. “I’ll send you money. You still got PayPal?”
“I do.” She practically cackled.
“Okay. And I’ll get those tickets to you as well. See you Saturday,” I reminded her one last time.
When we ended the call, I sat there staring at my son, who was now playing on the floor. He’d dragged a couple of cars upstairs. I sighed, knowing what I had to do. Camilla was never gonna live in my house again. It was time for me to reclaim the downstairs family room.
This space was one of the reasons I’d bought the house. Unlike the basements my friends up north described, this was bright and sunny. The back wall was almost entirely made up of windows and one sliding door that would let in a lot of sunlight if they weren’t so damn dirty. There was a full bath I was almost afraid to look in. How long had it been since I’d been down here?
Years. And it showed.
Time to make one more phone call. “Yo, Tommy,” I began when he answered, “gather up the guys and come to my place. I need some help.”
“Is there money in it?” he joked.
“There’s beer and pizza,” I countered.
“From Marco’s?” he asked.
“Sure, buddy. Whatever you want.” I chuckled. “I’ll even throw in that garlic cheese bread and some wings.”
“Sold. See you soon.” He didn’t even wait to find out what I needed. I knew that man would come around for food.
Soon, I had packed all of Camilla’s clothes, clean or dirty, into the big black lawn and leaf garbage bags. I had a pile of all of Keyon’s stuff ready to go in his new room upstairs. I’d gathered up more than a few kitchen sized bags of trash to go to the dump. My biggest find, however, was when I managed to collect all my missing silverware, dishes, and cups Camilla had been too lazy to return to the kitchen for washing.
By dinner time, with the help of the team, the downstairs family room was back in order, Keyon had a room, and my sister had a bed in hers. “You as worn out as me?” I asked Tommy as we lounged on my living room couch after everyone else left.
“Yeah. I am not built for stairs. How many times I got to tell you this? How do you keep tricking me into helping you?” He moaned and settled into the pillows.
“Lucky, you built for food. So, I offer it up every time.” I rubbed my hands over my face. “But seriously, man, thank you for helping me get the house together for my sister. Now, I need to work on airline tickets.”
Tommy glanced at me out of the side of his eye. “You know, some people would hire a travel agent for this.”
Reaching out, I grabbed my soda from the end table. I wouldn’t be drinking while I was the only one around to take care of Keyon. “Yeah, some people would…” I took a swig from the can and then set it back down. “What you saying?”
“You think I don’t know you keep up on Tegyn?” he asked as he shook his head. “She was the happiest three weeks of your life.”
“Yeah. That’s why it be crazy to stay hung up on her.” I huffed. “Three weeks, three years ago. And not even a word since.”
“So…”
“You know she married, right?” I eyed him.
Tommy shook his head. “Nah. She separated. And not like you and Camilla. She got her own house. She done with that guy.”
I leaned forward and rubbed my palms together while I thought. This was a tough decision, but what if now was our time? I needed to take the risk or regret it my whole life. I already regretted the years we’d lost when we shoulda been together.
“Fine,” I grumbled even though my heart was racing like a pony or something. “Tonight. I’ll look her up. I’ll go to her website.”
While I spoke, Tommy had been fumbling with his phone. He finally held it out to me. “I’m surprised you don’t have it bookmarked, or you just playing shy with me?”
“I ain’t shy.” I noticed my hand shook slightly when I reached for his phone. “So, I just fill in the web form and she’ll be in touch?”
“Yeah. She’ll send you the tickets. She’ll have your phone number if she have to call.” He shrugged. “Simple. Do it. Don’t wait.”
“Right, buddy,” I mumbled while I stared at the form. There was a picture of her in the top corner. She was smiling and I think it was real. She looked truly at peace. I wanted that for her at least as much as I wanted her. I took a few breaths as I began to work on entering the information, giving extra attention to spell Arionna’s and Necie’s names right. Then I submitted everything and hoped for the best.
Tommy slowly shifted on the couch to look me in the eye. “I just thought of something.”