Flirting with Fifty

Chapter 17

Paige couldn’t sleep Friday night. She tossed and turned, aware that she’d be leaving for Tanzania the next day, meeting up with Jack and the students on the campus tomorrow. It wasn’t an early departure; the flight was at six in the evening, and she had all morning to handle last minute details, but she couldn’t turn her brain off. She wasn’t worried or scared, just amped.

Mentally, she went through everything she’d meant to do, bills she’d wanted to pay, calls she’d wanted to make. She’d talked to her mother for an hour yesterday. She’d also spoken to her brother, Rob. She’d had numerous calls with Nichole and Michelle, and even a big group Zoom yesterday with all three girls and her.

She wanted to sleep because tomorrow night would not be restful. It was a red-eye flight and Paige found it hard to sleep on planes.

She scrolled through the news apps on her phone. All the headline news was about the same thing, a huge bushfire in Australia. Paige read the news with trepidation. It sounded devastating. Even though it was late, she texted Jack. The news coming from Australia is terrible.

It gets worse every year, he answered.

I’m so sorry, Paige responded.

Me too.

She felt the heaviness in his words and knew how much he worried about climate change. So much of his work addressed the issue, but it wasn’t enough. He and a handful of scientists couldn’t save the Earth, not without more citizens on board. See you tomorrow, she added.

Looking forward to it.

Paige woke with a start and glanced at her phone. It was only seven. No need to panic. She could even go back to sleep for a while. Instead she unplugged her phone and returned to the news to check on the wildfires.

They were out of control. She turned off her phone. She wished she hadn’t checked.

Paige dragged herself from bed, started the coffee, and looked at her luggage sitting by the door, ready to go. They were supposed to meet at school at one, with their departure from school scheduled for one twenty, which would allow for traffic and still give them three hours at the airport. Jack had planned a session for everyone so it wasn’t wasted time.

Ashley emerged from the guest bedroom, dressed, hair styled, and in full makeup. “How did you sleep, Mom?”

“Not great. I think I’m too keyed up.” She wanted to ask if Ashley had an audition but didn’t want to open a can of worms. “You look nice.”

“Thank you.”

Paige filled her coffee cup, waited for her daughter to say more. She didn’t. “You’re sure you’re going to be okay here while I’m gone?”

“I’ll survive. And don’t worry, I’ll water your plants on the patio. Nothing will die.”

“That’s reassuring.”

“You’ll be gone how long? Sixteen days?”

Paige nodded. “Three or four of them are travel days.”

“That’s a long trip.”

“I know.”

“Can’t believe you’re flying coach the whole way. That’s going to be miserable.”

Paige stepped back to give Ashley access to the coffee pot. “As a family, we always fly coach.”

Ashley reached into the cupboard for the big pink mug that read Mom loves me best and poured herself coffee. “Yeah, but you’d think the university could have upgraded you. You’re a professor. There should be some perks for being a grown-up.”

“Apparently not.” Paige suppressed a smile. She didn’t know where the mug came from, but it was all the girls’ favorite. Whenever all three girls were visiting, Paige would hide the mug to keep them from fighting over it. “Are we still going to breakfast?”

“Can we make it brunch? We’re not in a hurry to head out, are we?”

“We have plenty of time before I need to be at school.”

“Good, because there’s this online film class I’ve signed up for and it begins soon. Oliver is actually giving it—”

“Oliver . . . as in Oliver King?”

“Yes, Mom, Oliver King,” Ashley answered impatiently, adding the tiniest bit of sugar-free creamer to her coffee. “I’ll mute myself as much as I can, but in case I have to unmute, don’t be doing anything crazy. That would just embarrass all of us.”

Paige watched her daughter return to the guest bedroom rather amazed, as well as a little worried. It was good to see Ashley in high spirits, but why was she taking a class from Oliver? What was the class about?

Paige sat down on the couch in the living room and turned on the TV, making sure the volume was low, even as she felt little ripples of nervous energy. She was heading to Arusha today. Once she left for Orange, she wouldn’t be back home for weeks. Paige couldn’t remember the last time she was gone for a week, much less two weeks. It wasn’t going to be like a trip to a fancy Cancún resort, either. Everything was going to be really different. It’d be a fascinating experience. She’d have a real adventure. Now, if only the adventure was a little less petrifying.

Not quite three hours later they were heading to breakfast. It was foggy again, the gray fog low and thick, much like it had been on Thanksgiving. Ashley wanted to eat somewhere inside, somewhere warm, and they ended up in San Clemente at a little French restaurant known for their espresso drinks and omelets. Paige would have been more comfortable eating closer to home, but her luggage was in the car so if time was tight, they could go straight to Orange from the restaurant.

The waiter was slow to take their order and Paige tried not to glance at her watch. She didn’t want to be the last person to arrive on campus but at the same time, she didn’t want to stress Ashley, either. “Are you going to look for a job while I’m gone?” Paige asked, relieved that the waiter had finally made an appearance.

Ashley shrugged.

“I’m sure a lot of places are hiring for Christmas,” Paige added lightly.

“I don’t want to work retail. I could make a lot more money waitressing.”

“Then apply at a bunch of restaurants.”

“I don’t know of any good ones hiring right now.”

Paige bit her tongue, counted to five. “What will you do while I’m gone, then?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged again. “I’m not really stressing about it. Something will come up eventually.”

Paige struggled with herself. She knew she was a worrier, she knew she tended to crave control, but money was tight, and the girls were all paying back student loans, making car payments, as well as dealing with balances on credit cards. Paige detested debt, particularly credit card debt. Ashley carried high balances on her credit cards and even though she didn’t ask for financial help, it troubled Paige that Ashley’s solution to limited financial means was to open a new credit card.

“So,” Paige said casually. “How was the film class this morning?”

“Good. Interesting.”

“How did you find out about the class?”