28. “Let It Be”

28

"LET IT BE"

THE BEATLES

T he next morning, Kari was long gone before I rolled out of bed and made it down to the kitchen. The keys and list were not where I'd left them next to the coffee maker, but she'd drawn a heart on the next sheet of my notepad. The shorthand of best friends. I knew she'd wake up with a burning desire to sweat in a room full of other sweaty people, and she knew I didn't like to talk in the morning, even on paper.

I decided to take advantage of the distraction-free alone time around the house. It was time to work on my story; only three more days until I met with Caleb.

I sat at the desk in my room and looked out the window into the backyard. I could see the reflection from the pool on the garage doors beckoning me, but I knew I needed to be disciplined and resist the urge to get in the water just yet. That could wait until Kari got back.

I sat thinking of ways I could expand the story. I did some research on what kind of assignments a CIA agent would go on. I tried to think of some exciting adventures for the wife as she tracked down skips and philanderous spouses. Using Caleb's templates, I built out some character profiles, including the two cute little kids I saw at the beach that day, and gave my secondary characters names.

It was nice having a mental picture of each of them. It made the story seem more real, which I'd gone out on a limb and assumed would make it easier to write.

I had accomplished quite a bit of what I'd planned to and lost all sense of time, so I was shocked to see movement from the direction of my driveway. My Jeep was pulling in.

Roxy's quick, high-pitched bark let me know she was excited Kari was back. She did tend to spoil my dog, which was fine. She was used to being spoiled.

I closed my laptop, satisfied with my progress for the day, and headed downstairs to meet her—and hopefully, my lunch—in the kitchen.

I raced through the hallway and into the kitchen, where Kari was unpacking a paper bag from Cat's Bites. I wondered if she had bumped into Jenna or Cat.

I pulled some of the finest paper plates in town from the cabinet behind me. "Ooh, what did you get?"

"Well, after sweating for ninety minutes, I really didn't want anything heavy, so I got us each a chicken Caesar salad. No anchovies for you."

"My hero. I actually had a taste for a salad. I think living in all this sunshine makes me want to eat something in addition to cheese and things made with cheese."

Kari walked to the table with our salad to-go containers while I got two forks out of the dishwasher.

At some point, I'm going to have to put those away, along with the laundry.

As we sat at the table and took the lids off our bowls, I could see Kari's leg bouncing nervously, not a common sight from her.

"Uh, where are you running to there, girl? "

Her leg stopped for a moment while she finished chewing. I could see her brain working behind eyes that couldn't keep a secret from me. "I was trying to clear my mind at yoga, but all that kept popping up was your writer's retreat. You know how you were talking about needing an activity for Saturday morning?"

"Mm-hmm," I replied, shoving a forkful of salad and chicken into my mouth.

"What about having a yoga session? It wouldn't have to be anything strenuous. But you've got plenty of space here where you can have five or six women on mats practicing mindfulness, which would be a great way to start the day, or following along with some beginner yoga moves."

"That's something I'd need to consider because we would have people of all different ages and levels here. I do think it's a great idea, though. It could be completely optional, and I could have some alternative activities for the women who don't want to participate. Where would I start with this?"

"Here's where I come in. I was thinking I could take the next few days to reach out to some local yoga instructors and without giving them too many details, try to find someone who would want to teach that class for you once a month."

"I love it. Are you sure that's how you want to spend your vacation?"

"You know me. I love having a project, and I prefer to be busy. And I know you've got some work to do this week as well. I don't want to feel like I'm holding you up or getting in your way. If I have a project I can work on, I'll feel productive and helpful."

"Have at it. I love the idea, and I trust your judgment. If you can find a few practitioners who would be interested in helping with that part, I'd be grateful."

"I would be happy to reach out to several and vet the ones who are interested. By the time you're ready to meet them, I'd have the list down to maybe two or three."

"Music to my ears. Can you get the rest of my list down to two or three?"

Kari threw her head back and gave me one of her trademarked but rare full-body laughs. "What's the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time, girl."

After lunch, we ran up to the second floor to change into our bathing suits for a day at the beach, then met back downstairs in the kitchen.

Kari grabbed the beach bag, I filled up our travel cups with water, and we hit the road, headed for Clearwater Beach. The windows were down, Stevie Nicks was crooning, and the wind blew our hair everywhere as we crossed the Causeway. Kari leaned forward in her seat, scraped her wild blonde curls together, and pulled it all into an elastic band and through the back of her ponytail hat. She turned toward me in her seat. "You seem like you're really enjoying this, Paige. Do you love it here?" she asked, then covered her ears. "I don't want to hear it if you do!"

A quick glance over to her told me everything I needed to know about how she was feeling. While our friendship had stood the test of time, I worried about how the distance would affect it. Would she pull away to protect her heart? Would I? I hoped she could see how much I'd grown since I arrived in Florida.

I reached over to pull her left hand down and gave it a squeeze. "I really do. I really love it here, and I feel like I'm making progress. Not just with my book, but with myself, with my life, the direction I'm going."

"That makes me so happy to hear. I can see it all over you. You are positively vibrating with happiness and I can't pretend it's not beautiful here. I don't blame you one bit. I'm just…" She looked off to her right at the water. She cleared her throat, paused, and cleared her throat a second time, then swiped her free hand under her eyes before beginning again. "I—I know I'm probably going to lose you to this place, and I'm having trouble dealing with it." I could hear the tears in her voice.

Kari wasn't a crier, and that was the second time she'd broken down in two days. I knew at that moment how much my being here was weighing on her.

"Kari, no matter where I live, you will always be my sister. One I got to choose instead of getting stuck with. That will never change."

"I know, I know," she said, sniffing and wiping her eyes with a beach towel she'd pulled out of the bag at her feet. "Can I blow my nose on this?"

I looked over at her in shock, and when I saw the humor shining in her green eyes, I knew she was trying to be ok, at least for me. "I'm happy that you're joking, but I'm not. There is nothing in the world that is going to take my friendship away from you. You're just as much a part of me as my DNA."

"Your DNA gets my boys in a lot of trouble," she quipped, "but, I feel the same way about you. It's just going to be so weird not having you two doors down."

"Life is strange, Kari. Who knows what it has in store for us around the corner. Take mine, for instance. One day, I'm crying lonely tears into my Door Dashed chicken almond ding, and the next I'm lounging around poolside every day in a state I used to visit on vacation."

"The randomness of life does not escape me, I just wish it had the decency to give me a little notice before it shook my snow globe."

I reached over and squeezed her hand again, the only comfort I could give until we were parked, but it had to do for now. "I miss you, too, Kar Bear."

On Wednesday, Uncle Mike called on my way to meet Caleb. "Hey Paige, I have some good news! I just got off the phone with my contact at the zoning department, and in order for you to have a short-term residential zoning approval, you need to be the one to fill out the application since I won't be the one in residence. I would hate for something to happen, and insurance refuses to pay because of some loophole we could have easily closed."

"Ok. What do we need to do?"

"First, I want to stop over and see Kari again. It's been so busy at the store… never mind, that's no excuse. When can we come over? We can talk about it all then."

"Why don't you two come over tomorrow night for dinner. I'll cook, and we can chat. Kari is going to be so happy to see you again! Everyone should have an Uncle Mike."

"I'm looking forward to it. I'll see you tomorrow night. Text me the time and what we can bring."

"I can tell you now. Come at seven and bring nothing but yourselves. I've got it all covered. I downloaded a recipe for braised chicken breasts from All Recipes, and I absolutely suck at cooking for two. I always make way too much, so this is perfect."

"Seven it is. See you then, honey."

A few moments later, I was slipping my phone into my purse and making a mental list for the grocery store as I pulled into the library parking lot.

After we hung up, a notification buzzed my phone. Uncle Mike had wasted no time sending me his contact at the zoning department. Frank Rizzo .

With nervous energy building in the pit of my stomach, I clicked the phone number, but my excitement was doused when it went to voicemail. As soon as I disconnected the call, the phone rang in my hand, displaying, "City of Dunedin."

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Paige?"

"Yes, it is."

"This is Frank from the zoning department. I'm returning your call. I am assuming I know what this is regarding. I spoke to Mike Turner earlier in the week, and I think I understand what it is that you're trying to do. You're looking to host overnight weekend retreats at your place of residence?"

"Correct."

"Would you have some time for me to stop by sometime next week? I can explain some of the information we need on the application, and we can do a preliminary walk-through so I can prepare you for what you'll need."

"That sounds great. I'm not one hundred percent sold on this idea, but that decision relies heavily on what you have to say."

"We do have other residents in the area running bed and breakfasts out of their primary residence, so I think we can make this happen. We can discuss everything in more detail when we meet. How does Tuesday morning at ten thirty sound?"

I checked my calendar quickly, but I already knew what was there. "I should be back by noon. Will that work?"

"Works out great. If you give me your email address, I can add you to the schedule."

After exchanging some basic information, we hung up. It seemed too good to be true that the zoning process would go as smoothly as he had intimated, but I decided to have a positive attitude instead of expecting the worst. Positivity had always been my default, and I didn't know when it had stopped, but I did know it was high time I got back to it.