Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Wow. I’m surprised they found someone so soon.” My heart felt heavy. I wasn’t ready to leave her. And I wasn’t talking about Mimi. “This almost sounds too good to be true.”
“I know.”
“Well, she can’t just start,” I said quickly, feeling panic rise. “We have to meet her. She has to meet Mimi. I want your grandmother to like her.” Anything to extend our time here.
“Yeah, of course. They gave me her number and said we can contact her to arrange that.”
“Okay, uh, I guess this is good news.” I sighed. “Will you go back to the city right away if it turns out she’s a good fit?”
“Yeah. That was always the plan, right?”
I nodded.
“You gonna stay in town or go straight back to L.A.?”
“I’ll spend a couple more days with my sister, but eventually I have to get back to L.A. Recording is gonna start soon.”
“That’s right.” Nicole slipped her hands into her pockets.
I heard rustling from down the hall. “She’s up,” I said, gesturing toward Mimi’s room. “Should we give her a heads up about this woman?”
“Might as well.”
We walked in together and Nicole sat by the bedside. “Mimi, we have great news.”
Her eyes fluttered fully open. “Oh?”
“The agency found a nice lady who’s local to work with you. She can do the same type of schedule as Louise did and sleep here overnight.”
“Who has that kind of time?”
I laughed. “Well, it’s not like she’d be doing it for free.”
“Who is this person?”
“Her name is Fiona,” Nicole said. “I’m gonna give her a call to come by and meet you.”
I patted Mimi’s leg. “If you don’t get a good feeling, you let me know. I’ll get you someone else you like better.”
“Don’t promise anything you can’t deliver,” Nicole warned.
Mimi reached a shaky hand toward her granddaughter. “Well, I suppose it’s time you lovebirds got back to your own life. You’ve been here long enough, and I’ve hated to inconvenience you.”
“Are you kidding?” I said. “This has been the best time I’ve had in a long while. And I’m sorry I went so long without seeing you. I won’t let it happen ever again.”
I meant that. I flew back and forth between New York and L.A. a lot and vowed to see Mimi whenever I was on the East Coast.
She shook her head. “You don’t worry about anything except taking care of my beautiful granddaughter.”
I smiled at Nicole. Mimi had no idea how much I wished that were still my responsibility.
***
That afternoon, a woman named Fiona Baumgartner came by to meet Mimi. Fiona was a widow who’d grown up here in Monksville. She definitely had the experience for the job, having had two elderly clients in a row over the past decade.
After showing Fiona around and describing Mimi’s routine in detail, Nicole and I left her alone with Mimi for a bit. We’d told her we’d return in an hour.
In the meantime, we walked around the neighborhood, circling the block a couple of times before I decided to broach the subject on my mind.
“Even though this trip ran longer than expected, things are coming to an end faster than I’m ready for,” I said. “I want to make sure you know how much this time has meant to me. Even fighting with you is better than not communicating, never seeing you. This time has broken the ice between us, and I never want to go back to the way things were when we weren’t speaking. Even if I can’t have you as my wife, Nicole, you mean so much to me. I want to be your friend, at the very least.”
She stopped walking and turned to me. “I don’t know how to be friends with you, though, Atticus. I don’t know how to be around you and not feel everything—the good and the bad.”
A wave of panic hit. Did she want things to go back to the way they were? “So what’s the alternative?” I asked. “Never seeing me again because you feel too much?” I shook my head. “Not an option for me. I’m willing to feel it all, Nicole, even if it kills me. I don’t want to live in a world where the mention of my name makes you sad. I don’t want to live in a world where one of the guys mentions you, and I can’t perform well for the rest of the night. We’ve been through too much together to remain strangers like we’ve been for the past few years,” I pleaded. “I need you in my life.”
“What does that life look like if we’re not together? You can’t handle the idea of me moving on any more than I could handle the same.”
That was exactly right. Deep down, I knew my version of staying in touch was different from hers. Mine meant working toward ultimately being together again. But if she didn’t see it that way, she was right. Staying in touch wouldn’t be easy. I’d never handle being around her if she was with another man. Never.