10. “Babe （I’m Leaving）”

10

"BABE (I'M LEAVING)"

STYX

I headed home and found Kari sitting at the kitchen table with a pile of papers in front of her, her elbows on the table, and her head in her hands.

"How's it going there, love?"

Her head lifted. Her spirit, not so much. "I'm not even really sure where to begin. I called the insurance company back to update them. I have two builders who actually answered the phone and can give me an estimate next week."

"Oh, that reminds me; I stopped by your house and the boys are working their fingers to the bone."

She rolled her eyes, but did not respond.

"On the way home from the course, I called my mom and she is going to text me the number for the builder they used for their house. She wants to make sure you have someone you can trust."

"I really appreciate it. That guy was awesome. If I can find an estimate that isn't completely outrageous, we're going to have to get started right away, but I'm not really sure what the short term plan is for us." She started shuffling the papers in front of her from one side of the table to the other .

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "That's where the universe is working its magic here, Kari, because I've been thinking a lot about that call from my uncle yesterday and what I'm going to do. The boys' prank seems to have helped me make that decision."

Kari stopped shuffling papers and turned in her chair to face me.

"I think what I'm going to do is have you guys move in here while your repairs are underway. I'm going to head to Florida and see what I can make of my life in a different zip code."

"Paige, I—I hate to drive you out of your house, and I really hate the idea of you being so far away."

"The thing is, you're not really driving me out of my house. This whole situation is propelling me to make a decision, and maybe it's just inspiring me to make one sooner rather than later. And for me, that's never a bad thing. I do tend to suffer from a little decision paralysis."

Kari scoffed. "A little? "

"Fine. A lot. But why don't you talk to Nick and see how he feels about you guys staying here. And, look at it this way, at least you'll be able to keep an eye on the progress over at your own house. Maybe if you're two doors down, they'll be more likely to keep their foot on the gas. No pun intended."

Kari chuckled, but then quickly sobered. "I don't know what I would do without you. I can't even think about you not being here every day. Especially during the winter when you'll be lounging around in the Florida sun."

"I don't know how much time I'll have for lounging; I do still have to work. But you can always come and visit. I'm probably going to get lonely down there. I can't be hanging out in Uncle Mike's love nest with him and Chris every day."

Kari gave me a knowing look and tilted her head to the side, much like Roxy does every time I ask her if she wants a piece of cheese.

"I think we both know once you get down there, you're never going to want to leave. Not for any length of time anyway. So we'll see what happens, but I'm pretty certain you and I already know how this is going to play out."

"Kari, be serious. There's no way I'm staying in Florida. Especially not where my uncle lives. I'm a copywriter, not a tech CEO, remember? I'll probably be back before the end of September."

"By the end of September, it'll be fall, and there's no way you're coming back here for winter, but sure, okay, we'll see what happens." She sighed and put her head down on her arms folded on the table. "I'm going to miss you."

I reached over and rubbed her back. "I'm going to miss you too, but once the boys leave for school, you can escape and come visit me for as long as you want."

Kari lifted her head and looked at me; the rarest of tears shone in her green eyes. "Remind me how many bedrooms that house has."

I laughed, picturing an endless slumber party with my best friend. "Plenty, and you're welcome any time, assuming, of course, I end up staying that long."

"Mm-hmm," said an unconvinced Kari.

With that, a text notification chirped. My mother had sent over the number for their contractor.

"I'm going to send this number over to you, then I'm going to run upstairs and check my email, but you go ahead and make as many calls as you need to. When I come down, we'll figure out what we are going to do about dinner. I haven't cooked for more than myself in quite a while, so maybe we can make dinner together tonight."

"That sounds wonderful. Just like old times."

"I'd prefer to not eat burnt grilled cheese and watery tomato soup like old times, but we'll play it by ear." I laughed, remembering all the times Kari and I had tried—and failed—to cook on a hotplate in our dorm room. Back then, we thought we had it all figured out. We'd finish school, start our careers, get married, have a couple kids. Easy peasy, right?

What the hell did we know?