Holden gave me more than a zero balance on my taxes or a new last name. He gave me the chance to see myself from a new angle. And it turns out that I like this me.
That’s a gift I could never repay him for.
I take out my phone and pull up my photos. I flip between the snaps that Haley sent to me from our wedding day. There’s so much excitement in our faces, so much happiness.
I wouldn’t give that day back. Not a chance. That day led me to so much that I never would’ve experienced or learned otherwise.
Everything happens for a reason. I grin sadly.
My phone rings as I climb out of my car. Naturally, my heart leaps in my chest because it’s stupid. It hopes it’s Holden. As if not to jinx it, I refuse to look at the screen before I answer it.
“Hello,” I say, holding my breath.
“Hey, Sophie Girl.” Fred’s voice is soft and kind, and the sweetness in his usually laughter-filled tone brings tears to my eyes.
“What’s up, Fred?”
“How are you? You holding up okay?”
I climb the stairs but don’t go inside. When I walked in this morning from Liv’s, reality hit me hard. I don’t want to be on the phone with Fred if that happens again.
“Well . . .” I choke back a half laugh, half sob. “I’m hanging in there. You?”
“I miss the little shit already.”
My laugh breaks free. I wipe a tear from my face. “Yeah, well, me too.”
“He called me last night and told me he was taking the job. He said you were staying here.”
I look around the yard of the Honey House. It’s where I belong. I’ve known that since I left for college, and I promised myself I’d never leave again.
And I won’t. Not even for him.
“I can’t leave Honey Creek,” I say. “This place is a part of who I am. And I know that sounds crazy and I should probably just reconsider leaving, but—”
“No. You can’t do that.” He blows out a hasty breath. “Holden left here because he’s trying to find meaning in his life. I know he has all of these other reasons for it, but they’re all inconsequential.”
I lean against a post and listen.
“He was raised in a very interesting way by his parents. His mother, my daughter, was raised with the values my wife and I taught her. Things like family and community were important to us. But his father has a different set of standards. He values things like money and cars and stuff that you can see.
“He’s not a bad guy, per se. Just a bit . . . ostentatious,” Fred continues. “It’s just that a lot of what he values conflicts with the things Becky, my daughter, taught Holden. And then she passed away, and Holden was left as a teenager trying to decide who he was in the midst of all of this. I don’t think he’s ever really figured that out.”
“I know who he is,” I say quietly.
“Me too, Sophie Girl. And Holden will figure it out. It just takes boys longer than girls sometimes. We’re a little slower on the start.”
The first true smile since Holden left slips across my cheeks.
“Thanks, Fred.”
“Anytime. If you hear from that grandson of mine, tell him to call his old grandpa. I have a feeling he’ll call you way before he remembers to call me.”
“I will.”
“Take care of yourself,” he says.
“You too. Goodbye.”
“Bye now.”
I slip my phone in my pocket.
Fred’s words serve as a balm over the edges of my hurt. He didn’t have to call, but I’m glad he did.
And maybe he’s right, I think as I enter the house. Maybe Holden will sort his shit and miss us.
Miss me.
I pad quietly through the hallway and into the kitchen. I’m trying to figure out how to end my day—with wine that I don’t even really like, or with a bubble bath and a book, when I stop dead in my tracks.
A piece of paper sits on the table. A purple goo oozes from under it—a goo that looks an awful lot like grape jelly.
My throat burns as I inch closer to the table. My knees threaten to buckle beneath me as I reach the edge and see Holden’s handwriting on the white, lined paper.
Sugar,
I know you will be surprised to learn that I messed up. Turns out that I’m not perfect. Total shocker, right?
I left last night to go to the Sunshine State only to learn that the sun really shines here. I know this thing between us was built to get to an end point. But what if we are the end?
There’s no easy way to explain this. I guess I just had to know what would happen if I took the job. What I learned in my few hours in Florida is that I don’t want to be anywhere without you.