He relaxes with my answer. “You’ll move in with me?”
I sit up to straddle him, wrapping the blanket around me to cover me up. “Noah—”
He covers my mouth with his hand before I can protest. Before I can tell him that no, I won’t, because we literally just got back together, because he broke up with his last girlfriend today, and because it’s simply too soon, regardless of our history.
“Don’t even say no. I’ve been waiting forever for this moment, Meredith. I don’t want to waste a minute of us making up for lost time because you’re living in an apartment somewhere else. You here with me is inevitable now that I have you back. Stay with me. The season will start soon and it’ll be like having your own apartment when I’m on the road. Let that be enough. If you can give me a really good reason I can’t argue you on, then I won’t fight it. If you don’t have a reason, then give me a kiss and get dressed, so we can get your things.”
Slowly, as if I’m going to spit out a reason, he removes his hand. My plan was to come here and try to get back together with Noah. I’m here; we’re together. Do I need a separate apartment? Part of me says yes while the other part of me wants to agree with Noah.
I lean down to kiss him as my answer.
The disappointment of waking up in Noah’s bed alone wouldn’t be nearly as bad if I wasn’t in his apartment alone. He left a note on his pillow saying that he was gone for his morning workout and to get some time on the ice. I guess that’s another change, though it’s definitely one I can appreciate and admire. He’s more dedicated to hockey than before. Otherwise, he would still be in bed with me.
I shower and then make my way to the kitchen. It feels odd to be here, searching for food as if I live here, when it’s only been twenty-four hours since I ran into Noah. But for the first time in six months, life doesn’t look quite so dreary. My phone rings with a call from my mother and I answer. She’s been calling me daily since I moved back to Pittsburgh where I finally lived in the house I owned there.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hey. How’s it going so far?”
“Good. I think I’m going to stay with Noah for a while.”
“I think that’s the best decision you’ve made in a long time, Meredith,” she says.
I nod and then realize she can’t see me. “Me too.” I decide on cereal, so I turn on the speaker and set my phone down to fix myself a bowl.
“However, I’m concerned.”
“About what?”
“You’re going to have to find a new physical therapist and get your records transferred. If you’re serious about getting back into the pros, you need to take PT more seriously.”
The thing is, Mom doesn’t know that I have been taking it seriously. It’s easier to tell her I’ve been flaky than to admit the progress is way slower than normal. I’m in Denialville with a capital D, population of one.
“I will, but Mom, what if I do retire? What kind of career do you think I should do next? I just want to be prepared.”
Her silence is not encouraging. “I’m not sure off the top of my head. You’ve never shown interest in much other than tennis. Do you want to report the game or be involved in some other way?”
And have to see Vance at some point? “No,” I answer aloud.
“Why don’t you search some majors on university websites and see if something stands out? Or take a few of those specialty classes at a community college and see if you’d want to explore that further? They have photography, cake decorating, things like that. I know you’re eager to decide on something so you can reconfigure your backup plan, but you don’t need to know right now. You have time. You haven’t even retired yet.”
“I know,” I mumble, causing Mom to laugh.
“Try that. If it doesn’t work, we’ll come up with a new plan. For now, you enjoy your time there with Noah.”
“I will. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Call me if you need me.”
“I will,” I promise.
If I’m going to be staying here for the foreseeable future, I’m going to need more clothes than what I packed in my carry-on. The original plan was to fly back, pack my car, and drive back here with my things if I were to stay for longer than a week. I guess I could still do that, but if Noah is going to let me drive his car while I’m here, Mom could ship me what I need. I’ll have to ask him if he’d be okay with that or not.
After finishing my cereal, I rinse the dish and place it in the dishwasher. The two pots and one pan Noah used last night while cooking have been washed. He must’ve done it this morning. Unfortunately, I couldn’t leave my restlessness at home. What am I supposed to do now? I’m used to constantly doing something. Without a job, I do more nothing than something. It drives me crazy. I sit down on the couch, feeling out of place and at a loss as to what to do. I guess I should check out the local physical therapists.
I hear the lock turn in the door and shift so I can see who’s about to walk through. For a moment, I fear it could be Erica, but thankfully, it’s only Noah. He grins as he closes the distance between us, forcing me to lie down as he hovers over me.
“You’re here,” he says.