“No, I’m not,” Mom answered as Gabe stood to give her a kiss.
“Gabe’s moving home,” his dad said. “You should thank me.”
“Do you want to start another argument?” she snapped. “Gabe should do what Gabe wants to do.”
His dad just grinned again. “He wants to be here, helping me run MacKenzie’s.”
Gabe stayed silent while his mom sighed. “I made chicken salad,” she said. “It’s in the fridge. Go home and make yourself lunch. Take a nap. I’ll be here all day with this stubborn bastard.”
“I need to show him the new Brooklyn location!” his dad yelled, but his mom shooed Gabe toward the door.
“Go on before he gets all riled up,” she whispered. “And make sure your sister eats, too.”
Gabe waved past his mom’s shoulder. “I’ll see you in a few hours, Dad. Show me the pictures then.” Hopefully, he’d get some rest in the meantime. Gabe had thought it was still morning, but it was already noon. Even with the windows, he had no sense of time in here. The day was gray and dreary. Drizzle dampened his head as he stepped onto the street. His cheeks felt cold.
His clean-shaven face was the most foreign thing about being home, though. The screeching, roaring, rumbling sound of the streets was already background noise. Unnoticeable. In a few months, he wouldn’t even remember what silence sounded like.
His mind flashed on that moment with Veronica at the top of the climb. Of lying there, his hand wrapped around hers, the sun seeping through his muscles and straight into his bones.
Maybe he could get back there for vacations. Maybe she’d see him again. If he could just talk her into coming out to New York sometime, if he could go out and see her a few times a year... Now that he was back in the city, he could think of so many things to show her. So many things that she would love if she just gave it a chance. New York had been her dream for so long. There was no way she’d purged it from her heart so completely.
He grabbed a cab home, thinking of Veronica the whole way. He’d been too wrapped up in worrying about his father yesterday. He hadn’t thought much about what he’d said to Veronica, how she’d felt, the look in her eyes.
He’d assumed that when he told her the truth, he’d have time to lay it out as gently as he could and time afterward to try to make it up to her. But he felt as if he’d slapped her. As if he’d hurt her and then walked away without a backward glance.
He stared out the window at the buildings he recognized from his teenage years. H
e had a lot of planning to do. He had to find a place. Had to resign from the library. Had to sink himself back into MacKenzie’s and hope he didn’t drown. But all he wanted to think about was the top of that climb and watching Veronica smile up at the sky.
He skipped the sandwich and didn’t bother harassing his sister about eating, either. He just went to his room and fell onto his bed. He felt as if he’d missed a week of sleep instead of just a few hours. The thought of eating made his stomach turn.
A dark veil of sleep was just slipping over him when his phone rang. He raised it to his ear without opening his eyes. “Hello?”
“Gabe?”
His eyes popped open at the sound of her voice.
“I’m sorry,” Veronica said, whispering as if she were invading his dad’s hospital room. “Are you busy?”
“No. I’m alone.”
“I didn’t want to bother you, but...”
“No, it’s fine. It’s good to hear your voice.” The twist in his stomach seemed to unravel itself. “Really good.”
“How’s your dad?” she asked.
“Already trying to get back to work. This morning the doctors said he could go home in two days if he continues to improve. But it’s going to be a long road to recovery. He’ll probably need stents. Maybe a bypass if he doesn’t clean up his act.”
“I’m sorry.”
He sighed. “At this point, I’m thankful that it’s all ‘maybes.’ He looks good, and I think my mom is already planning a party for him when he gets home. My older sister should be here from India tomorrow.”
“Good. That’s great.”
He waited for her to say more, but all he got was silence. “Veronica—”
“I didn’t want to bother you,” she jumped in. “You have so much going on, but you’re the only person I know who works with computer systems and stuff, and I just...”