CHAPTER 3
Ginny balled her hand into a fist to keep from screaming or tearing out her own hair.
Yoga breathing, Ginny. Deep breath in. Slow and steady, big breath out.
She calmed herself enough to not blow up at her mother’s comment as she said, “Mom, it’s just easier for me to go down to visit Thom than it is for him to come up here.”
Her mother’s sniff of disagreement or disapproval—probably both—was audible through the phone.
“So you’re just going to miss every holiday with your family and spend it down there with him?”
She took another deep breath to temper her rising annoyance. “I was with you for Christmas and for Mother’s Day.”
Ginny considered those the two biggest holidays each year for a daughter to be with her mother. But if her mother had her way, they’d be celebrating every holiday on the calendar, right down to Groundhog’s Day.
This latest rant had been brought on by her mother’s hissy fit about Ginny’s plans to be with Thom in Virginia for the long Memorial Day weekend at the end of this month.
“It’s fine. You do whatever you’d like.” Now there was hurt as well as anger in her mother’s tone.
Ginny let out a sigh trying to remember this attitude stemmed from her mother’s love and desire to see her. If she didn’t keep that in mind, she’d lose her temper for sure. There’d be no coming back from what would no doubt be one hell of a ugly fight.
“There’s a chance I might not even be going,” she assured her mom.
Given what Thom did for a living, that was the complete truth. He could—and had—gotten called away on next to no notice.
She’d learned long ago to not book a flight in advance. Paying one airline change fee had taught her that lesson early on in their relationship. Dealing with Thom’s guilt and apologies because he had been the cause of the cancellation of her visit was worse than the exorbitant airline fee.
Now she usually hopped on the Amtrak and enjoyed the scenic ride from Connecticut to Virginia. And honestly, she really did enjoy it. With the peace and quiet and nothing but time and her laptop on those long train rides she’d even gotten quite a bit of work done.
The literary romance of the rails, like in the grand old days of travel a hundred years ago, inspired her. It was as if she’d stepped back to the time of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway, but without all the boozing. Or as if she was Harry Potter, embarking on a great adventure from Platform 9 ¾.
But neither her mother nor her best friend Molly understood all that. They both thought Thom should come to her. Or pay for her to fly to him. Apparently, his being off saving the world didn’t help her friend’s and family’s opinion of him.
At Ginny’s comment that the trip might be canceled anyway, her mother let out a humph that spoke volumes. All was definitely not forgiven.
Thom might have the daunting duty of combatting bad guys all over the globe, but Ginny had a battle of her own closer to home to deal with. Unlike terrorists, who favored bombs and bullets, her mother’s weapon of choice was guilt.
Luckily Ginny had been fighting this war her entire adult life. She was getting pretty good at it. Tired of it, but proficient in diffusing the situation nonetheless.
“How about I come over this weekend and cook you and Dad dinner?” she offered.
“We’re busy Saturday night.”
“All right, what about Sunday? I could come over early and spend the day.”
“I guess that would be okay.” In spite of herself, her mother was softening. Ginny heard it in her tone.
“It’s settled then. I’ll see you Sunday. And I’ll touch base with you before then to plan the menu.”
“Okay. I’ll go tell your father.” Much brighter now, her mother sounded genuinely happy.
“Good. You do that and I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”
The moment her mother said goodbye Ginny punched the cell’s screen to disconnect the call. She dropped the phone to the sofa.
She’d traded all day Sunday for a moment’s peace today. She only hoped the truce lasted for a while because she still had every intention of spending the long weekend with Thom in Virginia.
An alert had her glancing down at the cell on the cushion next to her. One glimpse of the display had her sighing as she read the text from Thom.
Don’t buy your train ticket yet.
Crap. Maybe she wouldn’t be away for Memorial Day after all.
Drawing in a deep breath she grabbed for the phone and dialed his number. He never could tell her much, but she hoped she’d be able to get some information from him.
More than that, if he’d been called in, who knew when she’d be able to talk to him again?
The phone rang once before he picked up. “Hey, baby. I’m so sorry.”
The level of background noise told her he was busy doing something and surrounded by others probably doing the same thing. Experience had her guessing he was getting ready to leave.
Over the couple of years they’d been dating she’d learned to read the signs. The low drone of other male voices nearby. The rustle and clink of equipment being loaded into packs. The clanging of the metal doors where they kept their stuff locked up. Thom breathing heavier than usual as he rushed to do what he needed to while speaking to her.
Yup. She could kiss this visit goodbye.
They’d be going on three months since she’d seen him. Saddened by that realization, she still tried to sound upbeat as she said, “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. I was looking forward to seeing you.”
That made her smile through the mist forming in her eyes. “Me too. We’ll make new plans.”
“Well, I’m not writing this trip off as dead in the water quite yet. I’m gonna do everything I can to be able to see you soon. I just . . . don’t know right now.”
“I know. I’ll be here waiting whenever you find out.” It wasn’t like she had anything else to do.
“I know you will be.”
Thank God as a freelance editor she could work from anywhere and could set her own schedule. If she had a job with regular office hours and scheduled vacation days, they’d really be screwed.
“Hey. Have I told you how much I love you?” he asked for probably the hundredth time since they’d been dating.
“Nope. Never.” She smiled because no matter how corny their little private joke was, and no matter how many times he’d told her how much he loved her, she’d gladly hear it a thousand times more.
“Well, I do. Look, I’m gonna have to go.”
“I love you. So much.” She rushed to say it as the panic set in.
After he said goodbye she wouldn’t know when he’d be back or when she’d hear from him again. She wouldn’t let her mind go to that place where she thought about how he might not return. If she let herself obsess about that reality every time he left she’d drive herself crazy.
“And I love you. So much. I don’t know when it will be but I’ll call you as soon as I can,” he said.
“Okay.”
“Bye, baby.”
Swallowing hard she said, “Bye.”
The silence on the line after he’d hung up had her eyes stinging from the tears trying to spill out.
Being in love wasn’t supposed to hurt so much. Was it?
Ginny gave herself a mental slap. She was stronger than this. They’d been making this long distance relationship work for years. It was worth it. Thom was worth it.
It would all work out. She’d see him soon enough and it would be even more special when she did because of the time they’d been apart.
But damn she missed him so much it physically hurt. She rubbed a hand over the place in her chest where her heart ached.
Then a thought hit her that made it all feel even worse. She wasn’t going to Virginia to see Thom but she’d still have to spend all day Sunday at her parents’ house.
Crap.