We spent the next five weeks together. All the time, we were together. We worked on her house during the day, came back to my house in the evenings and ate together. Occasionally, we worked on my house, but most of all, we got to know each other. We made love all the time, everywhere. Her house, my house, all the rooms in those houses; we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. I took her out, she met my friends. She got along with everyone.

I knew she was an art teacher, but her job was constantly in jeopardy. I introduced her to my parents at a barbeque they were also invited to. My mom fell in love with her, possibly even more than I was. Ok, well that wasn’t possible, but my parents loved her. When her injuries from the infamous shower incident healed, she started taking my dog for runs. I was completely mad about her, and for the first time in my life, I understood what everyone always said. When the right person shows up in your life, you’ll know. You’ll just know. I could barely remember what life was like before she was in it.

But there’s always that one thing, right? That elephant in the room you avoid because you don’t want your happiness ripped out from beneath you, like a shitty old rug. She was going to be going back to the city, back to work, in another month. We just avoided the topic altogether until, one night, I couldn’t stand it.

“Babe, what happens when school starts?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, not picking up what I was putting down at all.

“I mean, what happens when school starts. You work in the city,” I said, almost curtly.

“Well, I go back to the city and I go to work, Flynn. That’s where my home is,” she replied, looking confused.

“What about us?” A pain in my chest was forming, afraid of her answer.

“Well, I guess we see each other on weekends then?” she said questioningly.

“I’d rather have you full time,” I pouted.

She got up from the chair she was reading in, and curled up next to me on the couch she helped me pick out the week before. “I would too, but I have a job, Flynn. This is my summer break. And I’m not saying we can’t keep this going, because I don’t think I could give you up if I tried. But I have a job, an apartment, and a life in the city too.”

“So, you don’t intend to end this when the summer is over?” I asked, almost surprised.

Bringing her hand up to my face, she kissed me softly. “Is that what you were afraid of? That I was going to go back and never see you again?” She tilted her head slightly, looking into my eyes for answers.

“The thought had crossed my mind,” I admitted.

“I couldn’t do that to us. Who would keep me from burning the house down?” she teased me. In that moment, I knew I was in love with her. She reassured me, and then made me laugh. I loved this woman. “We’ll make it work, baby.” She kissed me again, and this time, we finished our kiss in the bedroom.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of her coughing in the bathroom, the water running.

“Are you ok?” I called out.

She opened the door, and her face was pale, like she wasn’t feeling well.

“I’m not feeling so hot. I think I’m coming down with something, stay away.” She held her hands out as if to keep me at bay.

“Lay down, baby, you look like you don’t feel yourself at all. Was it dinner last night?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I guess. I feel like I’m seasick. Ugh.” She laid down on the bed and groaned. Almost immediately after her head hit the pillow, she got up and ran back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. I could hear her getting sick again, and got up to help.

“Can I come in?” I yelled from the other side of the door.

“No way!” she hollered back.

“Baby, let me in!”

“You’re crazy. You’ll get sick. Stay out!”

“Um, I’ve probably already caught whatever it is,” I laughed.

“Not funny. And no. Go away. Go get ready for work.”

I went ahead and took her orders, and got ready to go over to her house to work on the chandelier. It needed to be rewired, and this was the day I’d planned to do it. I really didn’t need her help for that, but she always found something to do, even if it was just to entertain me while I worked.

Once she came out of the bathroom, she looked like she was feeling much better. “You should stay here today. I don’t need any help with today’s project. I’ll come home at lunch and check on you, and you can get some rest, ok?”

She nodded, and crawled back into bed. After tucking her in, I planted a kiss on her forehead and went off to work. I had spent the last month working on her house myself, but did the occasional estimate for other jobs, and had my foreman or my crew take them on. So I figured I’d check on those jobs as well, just to make sure things were going well.

All of that took way longer than expected, and I didn’t make it back to the house for lunch anywhere near lunchtime. Around three that afternoon, I came home and she was gone. Her stuff was still there, but she was nowhere to be found. After trying her cell a few times, I paced around, waiting to hear back.