The next thing I knew, he was dragging her outside and leading her to one of the lounge chairs.
“I really can’t stay, Weldon. I have a lot to do tonight.”
“Your shift is over, right?”
“Yes, but—”
“Just have one beer with us. You’ve clearly had a hard day.”
“Seriously?” She was pissed. “Are you that immature?”
“Oh, come on. Neither you nor Gavin can take a damn joke tonight. You’ve got to admit, the fact that he gets a hard-on when you’re bathing him is hilarious.”
“Actually, I don’t find it hilarious. But you know what I do find amusing? The fact that you’ve been wearing the same shirt for God knows how long that has a gravy stain on it from lunch three days ago.”
A snort escaped me; I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Alright. It’s like that?” he asked. “I can take it.”
Raven cracked a smile.
Weldon pointed to her face. “Is that amusement I see? Does that mean you’ll stay for a beer?”
It surprised me when she conceded.
“Okay. Just one.”
Weldon disappeared into the kitchen to grab her beer, leaving us alone for a minute. A dog howled in the distance. Raven and I turned to each other and shared a hesitant smile, but neither of us said a word.
There was so much I wanted to say, namely apologizing again for telling Paige about us without giving her any warning. But Raven had a long day, and I didn’t think it was the right time to broach that subject again.
Weldon returned, handing her the beer before relaxing into his seat. “Ahhh. Isn’t this cool? Just like old times, right?”
She cackled. “Not quite. I wasn’t exactly welcome to hang out on the patio like this in old times, as you’ll recall. And if I remember correctly, you were a miserable prick who looked nothing like Jesus at the time. So, there’s that.” She winked.
I bit my lip, unsure whether to laugh or be upset at the reminder of how things around here used to be.
“Although…” she added. “I have to say, you’ve sort of been a nice buffer when needed.”
Weldon flexed his muscles. “I am quite buff.”
Raven downed some more of the beer and lifted the bottle. “By the way, Weldon, I hear Jesus Christ Superstar is playing at the Kravis Center. Wanna go?”
“Are you serious?”
“No.”
“Aw, man. You got me all excited.”
“I know the feeling.” She chided.
I remained quiet but enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. So fucking needed.
“By the way,” Weldon said. “Don’t you think Mother would find this whole situation hilarious right now? Dad upstairs with a woody, and the three of us taking over the house?”
Suddenly, the sky opened up and rain came pouring down.
Raven looked up and held her palm out to catch some of the water. “Welp, there’s your answer.”***As I got closer to my departure date, I found I couldn’t stop thinking about Raven. I had only a couple of days left, and there was a growing feeling of urgency inside me I couldn’t shake.
I wasn’t getting any younger. I wanted a family. I was ready to settle down. I didn’t want to have any lingering doubt before that happened. These last couple of days would be my only opportunity to explore any unanswered questions and get the closure I needed to move on with my life, marry Paige, and not look back.
This was about moving on with Paige, not looking backward with Raven. But somehow, it felt like the latter was necessary to move forward.
I have to talk to her.
I knew today was Raven’s day off. I’d spent the entire morning with Dad, and now he was napping.
Needing to clear my head, I decided to take a drive and somehow ended up over the bridge in West Palm Beach.
For shits and giggles, I decided to check out the old improv club. To my dismay, it was all boarded up. The sign was still there, though. For some reason, seeing the sign looking virtually unscathed against the boarded-up building made me really sad. I’d had so many good memories there.
It was a gloomy, rainy day to boot. I sat in the empty parking lot and got this feeling of déjà vu. How had ten years gone by in a flash? So much had changed. So many people gone.
There it was again—that feeling of urgency in my chest. I didn’t quite understand what it was trying to tell me, but I suspected it had something to do with Raven and the closure I was seeking before returning to London.
Paige and I had planned to skip the big wedding and fly to Fiji to get married. I knew she wanted that to happen soon. For all I knew, the next time I’d be back here, I’d be a married man. If there was any question at all left about my feelings for another woman, I needed to resolve them before the wedding.