“And here I thought Hawaii and Florida were exotic,” I say, laughing at myself.
“Where are those places?” Violet asks KT.
“In a different part of the world. Do you have a world map or a globe? I can show you.”
Violet looks at me. “Daddy, where’s our globe?”
“In one of our many boxes.”
“Must be tough to move an entire family,” KT says.
“It’s not something I want to do often, that’s for sure.”
KT’s phone rings again. “Jeez, sorry.” She looks at the screen, then answers, “Hey, what’s up?”
Another male voice comes over the line. A different one from the other call. “Uh-huh. Okay. Yeah, sure.”
She disconnects and reaches out to place the puzzle piece, which falls in effortlessly. “That’s going to be my contribution to the puzzle, ladies. I can’t stay.” She turns a smile on me. “Laiyla and Chloe want to have a business meeting over drinks.”
But that wasn’t Laiyla or Chloe on the phone. I guess it could have been Levi, Laiyla’s fiancé. Regardless, that’s none of my business, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not a little jealous.
I take this as one more reminder that she and I are at very different places in life, looking for very different things.
“Let me walk you back,” I offer.
All three girls chorus, “I wanna go.”
KT la
ughs and gives them each a hug before she leaves, insisting she can get herself back to the parking lot down the street.
At the door, she gives me one last smile. There’s no doubt we would have closed out the night kissing if the girls weren’t hovering. On the one hand, I’m disappointed and I want her. On the other, I tell myself it’s better this way.
9
KT
I’m holding spiked punch in one hand, trying like hell to appear as if I’m listening to this guy—I can’t remember his name—chatter about mechanical shit.
My days have been long and physical, and I’m exhausted and annoyed. Another entire week has passed with no word from Ben. I catch up on his life only when Violet comes to the marina, which is less and less with her school schedule filling up.
Sure, I could be the one to call or text, but I’ve been getting a very conflicted vibe from him, and I don’t want to push him into something that will hurt him in the long run. Maybe hurt us both in the long run.
So, yeah, I’m pissy. I really just want to escape this community party, go home, and go to bed.
Chloe made a contact with a local who wanted to offload his pleasure boats, and since it was a killer deal, I picked up all three for next to nothing. The only drawback is that every one of them needs a complete overhaul, bow to stern.
January is already closing out. Memorial Day may still be four months away, but I know exactly how fast it will come. Laiyla and Chloe have busted their butts to drum up interest in the marina, and I have a lot to do to keep up my end of the bargain, to get all the boats looking and functioning at one hundred percent by the opening holiday weekend.
Which is also why I’m standing here not really listening to whatever his name is. Chloe and Laiyla insisted we come together to show a united front and create goodwill in the community. They said showing up to the city’s 150th birthday party and playing nice would go a long way toward continuing to build goodwill and alliances in town, which can only help the success of the marina.
But I should have listened to my gut and stayed home, because I’m in a mood. And I know if I don’t control my irritation, I could do more harm than good here tonight.
“And when I looked under the car,” the guy standing too close says, entertaining himself with his own story, “I find the coil of his shock absorber stuffed with tennis balls. There were, like, a dozen or more. Can you believe that?”
I refocus and smile, playing along. “Reminds me of the time a guy came into the shop with four flashlights zip-tied to the front bumper in place of a headlight.”
That makes the guy laugh, long and loud. I force myself not to roll my eyes and suck down the punch instead, hoping the buzz will soften the bizarre sense of dissatisfaction I’ve been experiencing lately.