Chapter Twenty
Morgan
It’s Wednesday, and Dex is flying out tomorrow night with the team for a tournament. It’s the first time he will be traveling since we started dating, so I’m a little nervous about it. I’m doing nothing more than aimlessly wandering around, tidying the already clean apartment. I’m thinking about how boring my weekend is going to be since he won’t be here. Then my phone rings. The caller ID shows it’s my dad.
“Hey, Dad,” I answer.
“Hey kiddo, how are you doing?” He sounds happy. Hmm. Not that he isn’t allowed to be happy, but he normally just sounds tired. But then, I would be tired too, if I was a workaholic.
“I’m good. How are you?”
“I’m pretty good. Work is keeping me busy, and I’ve decided to remodel the kitchen.”
“Uh, what? What’s wrong with the kitchen and how do you have time for that?” I ask as I scratch my head. I mean, he barely spends anytime at home, so why does he need to remodel the kitchen?
The unfamiliar sound of his laughter comes through the phone, “Nothing is wrong with the kitchen, Morgan. It’s just a project I’ve been wanting to start. Last weekend, I replaced the front door and installed new lighting over the entry way.”
What the hell? Who is this I am talking too? And what did he do with my dad?
I sit down at my desk and take a long, deep breath. “Dad, I’m really confused. You work eighty hours a week at work. And then, when you are home, you work. The only time you’re not working is when you’re watching football. Why did we need a new door?”
He sighs, “Morgan, I know I’ve always worked a lot—”
“No. You started working a lot after mom died.” I hear a pained groan from his end when a thought occurs to me. “Wait. Do you have plans to—are you selling Mom’s…Dad! Tell me you are not selling the house.”
I find myself unprepared for this conversation. Him selling the house never crossed my mind so the panic rising up from my stomach through my chest is almost unbearable.
He doesn’t say anything right away. Oh my god, he is selling the house. I hear him take a deep breath.
“Morgan, kiddo. Calm down. I’m not selling the house. Well, not yet. But maybe someday soon. It’s just, you’re right. I don’t spend a lot of time here, and it has a lot of memories that I don’t really like to think about.”
A stray tear runs down my cheek, “You mean you don’t want to think about Mom anymore.” A whimper escapes me.
He swears under his breath, “No Morgan, it isn’t that. I think about all the good times we had in this house with your mom. All our memories of you growing up. But the painful ones are what cloud my vision when I’m in this house. I’m just ready to move on.”
I don’t bother trying to focus on everything he just said. I zero in on the last part. “What do you mean you are ready to move on?” I can tell by my voice that I’ve started to enter the “daughter is freaking out; father cannot compute” stage. “What are you telling me, Dad?!”
“Calm down, Morgan. I’m telling you that I’ll probably sell the house. I don’t know when, but I’m making some needed updates here and there for when the time comes.” He sighs. He’s back to his normal, tired tone when he speaks. “Look, kiddo, I’ve gotta run. I have a work call I need to take in a few minutes. I’ll talk to you soon, alright?”
It’s my turn to sigh. This is typical of him, to back out of a conversation by bringing up work. It disappoints me, but it’s not a surprise. “I love you, Dad. Have a good call.”
“Love you too, kiddo. Tell the girls I said hi.” The phone goes dead.
I just stare off, focusing on nothing for who knows how long. Our phone calls are normally short; he always has some work…or thing he needs to do. We talk about nothing; I tell him about work or the girls. Whenever I bring up the topic of Dex, I can tell it makes him uncomfortable. We never, ever talk about Mom.
Great. Not only will I be stressed over missing Dex this weekend, but now I’ll have the added discomfort of this conversation, relentlessly replaying itself in my head. This weekend is going to suck.
A couple hours later, Gia comes home from the grocery store. I’m out in the living room watching Gilmore Girls reruns.
“Is that the episode where Dean gives Rory the car he built her?” Gia asks from the kitchen.
“Yup. I love Dean. He was always my favorite boyfriend.” I sigh.
“No way. Jess was the best. Bad boy writer,” she says. “Always thought he was perfect for Rory.”
“I guess we only agree on the fact that rich-boy Logan was a tool.”
She plops beside me on the couch. “So, you sound…bummed. Are you dreading this weekend?” She grabs the remote and turns down the volume a bit.
I shift around on my cushion. “Yeah, but I’m not sure why.” I clear my throat, “We don’t see each other every day, so going three days without seeing him shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“True, but it’s kinda different with him going out of town. He won’t be here…in the city.” She chews on her thumbnail.
I let out a big sigh. “That’s probably it. At least I’ll still be able to text him, and he will call when he can.” I hope.
“Luckily, you have me and Ruby. We’ve been known to show a girl a good time,” she says with a laugh.
I smile at that, at least I do have them. I won’t be lonely.
We sit there in silence for a few minutes before she asks, “Ok, something else is wrong. You look like someone knocked your ice cream cone on the floor.”
With a look of resignation on my face, I lean over and pause the show, and tell her, “My dad called. He is thinking about selling the house. He wants to move on from the memories the house holds.”
Baffled, Gia asks, “What? That’s crazy. What do you mean he wants to move on?”
“My thoughts exactly. He is remodeling the kitchen.”
“I didn’t know your dad was the handyman type,” she says, skeptical.
I let out a laugh. “I didn’t know either.”
She picks the remote back up and fiddles with it, tossing it from one hand to the other. “Morgan, do you think he is seeing someone?”
I hate hearing it out loud. I’m not going to lie, I had a similar thought, but I didn’t want to continue down that path. With a groan, I say, “Maybe. But he didn’t say anything about it.”
She nods. “Would it bother you if he was?”
“Honestly? No. I’d be happy for him. But what I’m not happy about is how he told me he is selling the house. And what if this person…”
“A woman, it would be a woman,” Gia interjects.
“Whatever. What if this woman is the one telling Dad to sell the house? That, I’m not ok with.” I feel quite agitated now.
She leans over and places a hand on my arm. “I understand. He hasn’t always been the best communicator when it comes to you. But until he tells you otherwise, just take what he is telling you at face value. Ok?”
I place my hand over hers and squeeze, “Thank you, Gia.”
“Now push play. I love this episode, because it’s when Rory breaks poor Dean’s heart.” She says haughtily and snuggles back into the couch.
“What? You are a terrible person sometimes!” I say, horrified. She just cackles with evil glee and turns up the volume.
~~~
The next day, my bummed-out mood is still hovering over me like a rain cloud. I’m a mix of emotion right now as I drive Dex to the airport. The rest of the team grabbed an Uber but Dex asked me if I wouldn’t mind taking him. I think he just wants a private make-out session in the car before he has to go. That, or he just knows I need some last minute Dex time.
While I haven’t come out and told him that I’m nervous and antsy about him traveling, I think he can tell I’m on edge.
“When does your flight land?” I ask.
“Around nine. I’ll text you when we land so you don’t have to worry,” he squeezes my hand that he is already holding.
I smile my thanks as I signal the car into the airport parking lot.
“I know you don’t like that I’m gonna be out of town this weekend, but it’ll be fine, babe. Promise.” He tells me.
I sigh, “I know, I’m just antsy. I’ll miss you.” I’m really not trying to sound whiney. I really hate feeling this way, but I do.
As I pull into the drop-off lane, I ask, “Will we be able to talk at all while you’re gone?” I worry my bottom lip between my teeth.
The car comes to a stop and I put it in park as he unbuckles his seatbelt. “Probably not a lot over the phone, but we can text.” He leans over to me and places his hand on the back of my head, pulling me to him.
“Kiss me and smile for me, babe. ‘Cause I’m leaving on a jet plane,” he smiles a sexy, crooked grin.
“God, how old are you? Like fifty?” I laugh.
“Ever since you made me watch Armaggedon, I’ve been itching to use that line. Ben is a stud in that movie.” He barely finishes his sentence before pressing his lips into mine.
The kiss turns heated fast but doesn’t last nearly as long as I want. He draws away and smiles.
“I’ve gotta get going.” He leans back in and kisses my forehead, “I’ll see you in a few days.” He climbs out of the car as I pop the trunk. He makes fast work of grabbing his suitcase and then shuts the trunk. He walks back to the car and leans in the passenger side window looking way too sexy and cool. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” He winks.
I can’t help but laugh. “I don’t think that’s how the line is actually used in the movie.”
“Maybe not, but it sounded good. Later, Morgan,” he knocks a fist on the top of the car and heads into the airport.
The smile fades on my face and a sigh escapes my lips. “You can do this, Morgan. Put your big girl panties on. He’s only gone for a few days.” Now, if only this pep talk will work.