Chapter 3

Chapter Three

T hey shared a bunch of stories that were probably inappropriate for Trevor to be telling his teenage kids, the food was demolished, and the room was filled with laughter instead of crying. The kids dumped their plates in the sink and disappeared into their rooms again.

Trevor stood and reached for Callie’s plate.

“I got it.” She rose from the couch.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind.”

She followed him into the kitchen and for a brief minute, it all felt natural, which was weird because he hadn’t laid eyes on Callie in years. He filled the sink while she wrapped up the little bit of food that was left over.

“Thanks for coming over tonight.”

“I’m glad I was here. I think we all needed a night like this after the last few days.”

He shoved his hands in the hot water. “About the house…”

“Trevor. It’s okay. I get it. I’ll be fine. Hannah will understand.”

“For me, it’s just about the house. That’s where she moved on, you know? I don’t have a place there.”

“I know. She didn’t make it easy for you.”

“She shouldn’t have. I didn’t think about your role in this. Mostly because I didn’t realize what a big part you’ve been playing in their lives.”

Callie picked up a plate and rinsed it. “Like you said, no matter where I’m living, I’ll still see them.”

“But Hannah’s right. It won’t be the same.” Trevor looked at her and saw Lisa’s best friend, one she thought of as a sister. “I think Hannah might be using you to fill that void that I can’t help with. You’re a woman she trusts.”

“It doesn’t mean I need to live in her backyard.”

Trevor felt trapped. He didn’t want to live in Lisa’s house, a place she’d filled with memories that had nothing to do with him. But he had this sudden revelation that his kids might need Callie. Hell, based on the last couple days, he needed her.

They finished the dishes, and Callie grabbed her purse. A stroke of panic hit him. He didn’t want her to leave, but he pushed it back. “Thanks again for all your help.”

“No problem. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Well, if you’re offering, you could swing by and let Diane know that the kids decided they want to stay with me.”

She burst out laughing. “Hell no. I’ve held the sole responsibility for taking their girl from them. I’m not putting myself in the line of fire for taking their grandkids, too.” Her laughter was like music. The sound brightened the room. She was so beautiful when she was laughing. Not that she wasn’t always beautiful, but when she was smiling and laughing, she was magical. He wanted to lean in and pull her close.

Which was nothing he should be thinking about, so instead, he shrugged. “It was worth a shot since you were offering.”

“Let me know when you plan to break the news.”

“I won’t need you to sit in on that.”

She laughed again. “I want to know so I can make myself scarce, not so I can participate.”

That made him smile. “When are you leaving town again?”

Her face shifted, masking the open happiness he’d just seen. “Not sure. I took off in the middle of a job when you called, so I might have to go back to the Philippines to finish up in a few days.”

He nodded. He didn’t even know why he’d asked. Having Callie here softened the blow of everything. In a way, it had been like old times, when they had been in their twenties and life had stretched out before them. She had been wild back then. And so much fun.

It had taken him years to understand how Lisa and Callie were friends. But they were so close, balancing each other out in ways that made them happy. There had been times that he’d been fiercely jealous of what they shared.

Now it felt ridiculous. Most people would go their whole lives without experiencing that kind of friendship.

Callie said goodbye and left.

From upstairs, music turned on. Loud. He moved to the stairs to yell up and tell the offender to turn it down, and he paused because he realized it was “Dancing Queen.” He’d never much liked that song, but he’d always put up with it for Lisa.

He went into his office and took out his calendar. He needed to get back to the jobs and plan how to move forward. The notes and updates Jerry had given him let him know that everything was on track, but seeing the site today had put his mind at ease. They had a few big jobs scheduled for the summer, which was bearing down on them quickly.

Damn. Summer was almost here. What the hell was he supposed to do with Hannah and Evan when they weren’t in school? They were teenagers, so nothing? He’d never asked. They’d come to his house a weekend or two a month and he’d tried to see their sports and school activities, but he’d never tried to get a grasp on the day-to-day. When he’d spent time with the kids, he’d never worried about schedules. They’d been his for a few brief hours, and he’d let them do whatever they wanted.

He got out a fresh pad of paper and began making a list of things that needed to be fixed at Lisa’s house. Even if they decided to sell, he would need to do some work. If they were moving in, it would be even more work. The layout of her house was similar to his, with one bedroom on the main floor and three upstairs. Maybe if he didn’t try to sleep in her bedroom but moved into the guest room, he could live there.

It wasn’t like she’d married someone else and built a life with that man in the house. It was simply what the house represented. She bought it because she knew she would never take Trevor back. He’d tried moving on, especially over the last year, when his friends had pushed him to start dating, but he’d had no success. He wanted to keep trying, but he wasn’t sure how.

An hour later, he went up to check on the kids. Evan was sitting on his bed, computer on his lap, headphones on. Must be gaming time.

Trevor tapped the doorframe.

Evan looked up.

“Not too late with the games. Do you have what you need for school on Monday, or do we need to get more from the house?”

“You’re gonna make us go to school?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Mom just died.”

“I’m aware. But life keeps moving, man. You’ll have work to catch up on so you’re ready for finals. They have to be coming up soon.”

Evan huffed. “No one’s going to fail me. My mom died. That’s like an automatic pass.”

Trevor clenched his teeth and inhaled sharply through his nose before speaking. “Just because people are being compassionate doesn’t mean you should take advantage of that kindness. Besides, we raised you to pull your own weight. Shit happens. It sucks that your mom died, but she’d come back to kick my ass if I let you skip school and bank on getting pity grades.”

His son rolled his eyes.

“You know I’m right.”

“Yeah. I can almost hear her nagging now.”

They stared at each other for a painful moment, almost as if they really expected to hear Lisa’s voice. Trevor knocked on the wood again. “Not too late.”

“Define too late.”

“Turn it off by midnight.”

“Two thirty.”

“Keep dreaming. You’ll never get out of bed tomorrow.”

“It’s the weekend.”

“Twelve thirty.”

“One thirty.”

“One.” Trevor smiled, because he knew Evan had been angling for that all along.

Trevor left the kids at his house and told them to eat without him. He was going to talk to Diane and Gordon. As much as he dreaded it, he needed to get it over with.

Hannah offered to tag along, but since his goal was to keep her relationship with her grandparents intact, he decided it wasn’t a good idea. Diane’s nasty attitude toward him was likely to be on full display, and his kids didn’t need to witness that.

He parked in front of Lisa’s house and cut the engine. It was hard to believe that a week ago he wouldn’t even consider just strolling into her house. So much had changed so quickly. He didn’t know what the fuck he was doing.

But his kids came first and if they wanted to stay with him, he’d figure it out. He climbed from the truck and used Hannah’s keys to let himself in.

Gordon sat on the couch watching TV.

“Hi,” Trevor said as awkwardly as he felt.

“Diane, Trevor’s here,” Gordon called.

Diane came down the steps. “I was going through some of Lisa’s things. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“That’s fine. Take what you want.” He crossed the room and sat across from Gordon. “I came to talk about the kids.

Diane settled next to her husband. Everything about the woman was sharp from the cut of her hair to the jut of her cheekbones on her thin face. Her eyes barely hid the disdain she had for him.

“I appreciate your offer, but the kids want to stay with me.”

“This isn’t about what the children want, Trevor. This is about making the best choice for them.”

“All due respect, Diane, it is about what my kids want. They’re not toddlers. Their lives are here. School, friends, sports.”

“They can have all of that with us. And they’ll have proper parental supervision.”

Heat crept up his neck at her words. He kept his anger in check. “I am their parent.”

“I know that.” She inhaled deeply. “It’s a lot of work staying on top of two teenagers. You have to work. You’re running a business. I’m at home and can watch them.”

You mean you can control them like you tried with Lisa . He barely kept the words from escaping.

“Look, Diane. I’m here as a courtesy to you. It’s not open for debate. They’re my kids and they’re staying with me.”

“And what happens when things get difficult? We know how you handle it. How is that in the best interest of the children?”

He took another breath. “I’m far from perfect. I own my mistakes. If you want to hold my past against me, that’s your choice. Lisa forgave me. My kids have forgiven me. We’ll figure things out together.”

She sniffed and he thought she might start crying. Gordon patted her hand.

Trevor stood. “Let me know when you’re heading back home. I’ll make sure the kids stop by to say goodbye.”

He left without another word. Everything Diane said was true. He has no fucking clue what he was doing with the kids. But he loved them. He would do everything in his power to make them happy.

They’d had enough loss in their short lives. He had to make this work.

Outside, as he headed for his truck, he heard, “Psst.”

He turned in a slow circle. Callie stood by the corner of the house in the shadows.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

She looked over her shoulder up at the living room windows and then ran across the lawn.

“Why are you lurking around like you’re trying to sneak out of your house?”

“Diane makes me feel like a troubled teen all over again. How’d it go?”

He leaned against his truck. “About as well as expected.”

“I didn’t hear any yelling or objects being thrown, so I figured you were safe.”

He smiled. “Were you going to come to my rescue?”

“Maybe.” She returned a smile.

“Has she said anything to you?”

“Nope. Not that I’ve made my presence known. I’m doing my best to keep the peace for the kids.”

“Speaking of, I should get home and make sure they ate.”

“Thanks for doing this,” she said.

“Doing what?”

“Handling Diane. Listening to the kids.”

He wasn’t sure how to take that. Did she think he’d actually ignore what the kids wanted? “I would never toss my kids aside.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just...I know that it’s gonna be hard for you to be a full-time parent. It’d be easy to send them off to Diane’s. I’m glad they’re staying.”

“So am I.”

“Good night.”

“Thanks for checking on me. It’s nice to know that after all these years, you’d have my back.”

She walked backward toward the yard and raised her fists. “Against Diane? Always.”

He watched her walk away. It was nice to have her back as a friend.

Monday morning, Trevor finally breathed easy. He got the kids off to school on time, even after some massive confusion about lunch. How the hell was he supposed to know they thought he would make lunch for them? Then he was on his way to Sunny’s Diner to meet his friends.

He was the first to arrive, so he claimed their usual table and waved the waitress over to get a cup of coffee. As she poured, he saw Tess walking toward the door, so he turned over another cup and had the waitress fill that one, too.

Tess sat and smiled. “You’re so good to me.”

“I know.”

“How are you holding up?”

He shrugged, unsure how to answer. “I talked to the kids Friday night. I told them that Diane wants them to come live in Indiana, but Hannah and Evan both want to stay with me.”

“That’s not surprising. Their lives are here.” She sipped the coffee. “How did your in-laws take it?”

“Pretty much the same way they take everything when it comes to me—with barely restrained disgust.”

“Ouch.”

The door opened, and Nina and Gabe joined them. As Nina walked behind Trevor, she patted his shoulder and then squeezed before taking her seat.

“What’s up?” Nina asked.

“I survived the weekend with the kids. I have to figure out what to do with Lisa’s house. It needs work, which I’ll take care of, but Hannah wants to live there instead of my house.”

“Why? I thought your house was near the school and everything,” Gabe asked.

“Mostly it’s about Callie.”

“Callie?” Tess asked.

Nina leaned forward to look around Trevor. “Lisa’s friend.”

Evelyn came sweeping into the restaurant. They all looked at her.

Gabe asked, “No Owen?”

“How should I know?” she responded, waving the waitress over.

They ignored that Evelyn knew Owen’s schedule better than anyone.

“He’s on at the firehouse,” Trevor said.

Tess’s brow furrowed as she turned the topic back to Trevor. “What does Callie have to do with the house?”

“She lives in the coach house. I think Hannah likes having her around.” He took a drink. “And if I’m being honest, having her around these last few days has made things easier for me, too.”

“I thought she didn’t like you,” Nina said.

He shrugged. “There was a time we were good friends. Then I fucked up everything in my life, and she’d been Lisa’s friend first, so…”

They dropped into silence for a minute and enjoyed their coffee. “Callie helped me remember a lot of the good times with Lisa. We shared stories with the kids over dinner the other night. I kind of forgot what it’s like to have someone who knows your history, who’s been there. Someone who knew me before I broke my life.”

Tess nodded, but he doubted anyone at the table truly understood that feeling. Sure, they’d all done their fair share of screwing up their lives during their marriages and subsequent divorces, but Trevor was pretty sure he held the title for ruining every good thing he’d had.

Gabe set down his cup. “Wait, we’re talking about the hot chick from the funeral?”

Trevor choked on his coffee.

“Smooth, Gabe,” Evelyn said.

“What? She is. Just wanted to verify who we’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh.” Evelyn stared at Gabe. “Oh, God, did you ask her out?”

Gabe smiled crookedly, and Trevor’s stomach sank. Gabe was a decent guy, but Trevor couldn’t picture Callie with him. Callie was the kind of woman who needed to be out living life and interacting with other people. Gabe was basically a hermit. And if she was going to go all hermit-y, he should come before Gabe.

Where the hell did that thought come from?

“The thought crossed my mind, but I figured asking someone out during a funeral would be tacky.”

“Smart move,” Nina said.

“You’re the one who’s been telling me for almost a year that I need to get out and meet people.”

“Not at a funeral, you freak.”

Everyone at the table burst into laughter as Nina called Gabe names.

When their laughter subsided, Tess asked, “Do you have a plan for the kids?”

Trevor shook his head. Of course Tess would ask. She was the only other parent in the group of divorcées. “They’re going to meet me at Lisa’s after school to pack up more stuff to move into my house. Then I’ll develop a plan to get the work done to get it on the market. Or move back in. Hell if I know.”

“Not for the house, Trevor. For the kids.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to tell you what to do, but you’ve never been a full-time dad.”

He knew Tess had his best interests at heart, so he believed she wouldn’t say anything to hurt him. But her words were too close to what Diane had pointed out the other night. He nodded for her to continue.

“You need to set up the rules for them. You need to come up with a system.”

Gabe leaned forward. “They’re teenagers. They don’t need or want constant supervision.”

“But that’s when they need it,” Tess shot back. “They’re used to having you for a few days at a time, and if they didn’t clean their rooms or do the dishes, it was no big deal because they were going back to Lisa.”

“I don’t even know where to start. I left so much up to Lisa when they were little. She made the rules and enforced them. I followed along.”

“If you know what the rules are, you’re a step ahead of some parents. Think in terms of what expectations you have for them. And be realistic. If Lisa always made their lunches for school, is that something you’re going to take on, or is that something they need to do? Or are you just going to give them money to buy lunch at school?”

“Where were you yesterday? None of this occurred to me. So although Hannah gave me a list of what to buy at the store, they both woke up for school this morning and looked for their lunches. How’d you know?”

“It’s all the little things I do that William wouldn’t think of because he’s not there every day.”

Trevor scrubbed a hand over his head. He’d never liked Tess’s ex based on how he’d made Tess feel over the years, so knowing that he wasn’t any better than William as a parent stung.

“Can you do me a favor?” he asked.

“Anything.”

“Text me a list of all those things so I can talk to the kids.”

“I won’t know everything they have going on.”

“I know, but if you give me a list, it’ll be starting place.” He drained his cup as the waitress swept by for refills. He needed to get to the job site, but he needed the extra caffeine more as his head felt like it might explode based on this conversation with Tess. He then texted the kids and told them to wait for him at home—Lisa’s house—after school.

“I’ll do it at lunch.”

“No hot lunch date with Miles?” Nina asked.

Tess blushed. Over the past year, Tess and her boyfriend Miles spent many of their lunch hours together.

“He has a meeting,” she replied.

For the rest of their time at the restaurant, Nina nagged both Gabe and Evelyn about their social lives. Trevor guessed he got a reprieve from the nagging because he just buried his ex-wife.

Last year, he’d still held out some hope that maybe he and Lisa might reconcile, and based on Nina’s urging, he’d approached Lisa about it. She, of course, had shot him down, but it hadn’t been as painful as he’d thought it would be.

We had our time, Trevor. I’m glad you’re in a good place now. But it’s time for both of us to move on. We’ll always love each other. We have a family, but we can’t be together.

When Lisa had spoken those words, it hadn’t hurt. If he’d still been in love with her, it would’ve hurt. For the first time since his divorce, he’d gotten closure. He and Lisa had had their time. Their relationship was strong, and they were united for the kids. Trevor had asked a few women out and had dated, but nothing had developed further than a couple of movies or dinners.

Now, between the kids and having to sell a house, it looked like his pitiful dating life would be put on hold again. So much for moving forward. Being a dad had to come first.

At five-thirty, Trevor’s phone buzzed with incoming texts. He slid the phone from his pocket. Hannah wanted to know where he was. She and Evan had been sitting at home waiting for him. Damn. He’d lost track of time on the site. He’d cut the other guys loose more than an hour ago, but since he’d gotten a late start, he’d stayed. He’d completely forgotten that the kids would be waiting for him.

He sent a quick text telling her to order a pizza for dinner and he’d be there soon. He rolled up his tools and locked up the site. He didn’t have time to go to his house to shower, so it looked like he’d be sweaty and dirty while he talked to the kids. True to her word, Tess had sent him a list of things to go over with them.

And it was a hell of a long list.

Climbing into his truck, he thought about what to do. Hannah wanted Callie near. He understood, but he needed to be the parent now. He couldn’t put Callie’s needs above his and the kids’. He couldn’t afford both mortgages, even with whatever she was paying in rent.

Assuming she was paying rent. Knowing Lisa, she would’ve let Callie live there rent-free. He had no idea how to bring that subject up. Parking in front of the house, he cut the engine and sat for a minute to clear his head. His peace was short-lived, however, because a beater of a car squealed in behind him.

Pizza delivery.

Trevor got out of his truck and waved the driver over. “I’ll take that.”

The boy looked at the house and then back at Trevor, as if he wasn’t sure he could trust Trevor not to steal someone’s pizza. Trevor held up his wallet. “You could go to the door, but I’m sure no one inside has cash.”

“Okay.”

Trevor paid the kid and carried the pizza up the stairs. And knocked. How fucking crazy was it that he couldn’t get into the house? Hannah opened the door and took the pizza from him.

“Thank God. I’m starving. You told us to meet you here after school.”

“Yeah.”

“We get out of school at three thirty.”

He hadn’t thought about that. “Sorry. I was caught up at work.”

Evan came from the kitchen and grabbed a slice for each hand. Then he turned to leave.

“Hey, wait.”

Evan turned.

“Have a seat. We need to figure out what we’re doing.” Evan plopped on one of the armchairs.

Hannah sank to the couch. “I thought we already did that.”

“So did I. But this morning was a cruel reminder that I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Should I go get Callie?”

“No. This isn’t about the house. This is about us.”

“But…she’s family.”

Trevor sat on the arm of the empty chair. He rubbed a hand over his head. Fine sawdust rained down, so he stopped and refocused. “It’s not Callie’s job to make decisions for you guys. That’s on me. And you. We have to figure out how to function.”

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he said, “Tess sent me a list of things we should talk about.”

“So Tess can tell you what to do, but not Callie? She’s been here. Tess doesn’t even know us.” The attitude was something he’d never seen in Hannah before, and it startled him. He took a breath so he wouldn’t snap at her and then spoke. “Tess isn’t telling me what to do. I asked her to send me a list of all the mom things she does because I have no clue. Last I checked, Callie’s not a mom, either.”

Hannah didn’t respond. She simply ate more of her pizza. Evan still hadn’t commented. He was busy going in for another slice.

Looking back at his phone, Trevor continued. “For instance, this morning, you guys expected me to have lunch made for you. I’d assumed that since you’re not toddlers, you’d make your own.”

Hannah’s lip trembled. “We know how. It’s just that Mom…”

Trevor closed his eyes. He was completely fucking this up. “I know. I’m not saying you have to. But no one told me. I need to figure out a schedule, and we need to decide what we’re all going to be responsible for. As much as I’d like to say that I can do what your mom did, it would be a flat-out lie.”

“If you got me a car, I could drive us to school. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about getting us there,” Evan offered. Of course he’d try to get a car out of this. He’d been asking for one for almost a year.

“We’ll see. Let me get things with the house settled and maybe we can get you something. But if we do, you’ll have to chip in with everything like driving your sister to practice and going to the store if we need it.”

“I can do that.”

“Let’s talk school first. What do I need to know?”

“I know.” Hannah jumped up and ran to the kitchen. A moment later, she returned carrying a calendar. “Mom keeps everything on here. We can use this.” She handed Trevor the calendar.

He took a minute to look at it. Lisa, as always, had everything organized. Finals were marked later in the month. Marching band camp for Hannah. He flipped through. Lisa had things marked all the way through the rest of the year. ACT test for Evan, the start of school, a college fair. It took all of thirty seconds to start to feel overwhelmed all over again.

“It’s not that bad, Dad,” Hannah reassured him.

Noise from the other side of the house caught his attention, and he looked up to see Callie standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “Hey, guys. I saw the light on, so I came over. Am I interrupting?”

Trevor shook his head. “We’re still figuring things out.” He pointed at the pizza. “Help yourself.”

She grabbed a piece and came closer. “Whatcha looking at?” She angled her head and then laughed. “The master calendar.”

“It’s not funny. Do you see this? Who can keep track of all of this?”

Callie edged around his legs and sat on the chair beside him. “I think that’s kind of the purpose of the calendar. To keep track.”

She leaned closer, and Trevor caught a whiff of her perfume or something. It was light and summery. He wanted to take a deeper breath, then suddenly realized how wrong that was. He shifted away.

Callie gave him a confused look.

“I haven’t been home to shower yet.”

She moved into his space and sniffed. With a smirk, she said, “Not too bad.”

Callie had no idea what she was doing. Was she flirting with her best friend’s ex-husband? It was all kinds of wrong. She’d come over to the house when she saw the light on because she was lonely. A soul-deep loneliness that she wasn’t sure how to handle. Then when she saw Trevor sitting here looking all confused and vulnerable, she wanted to get closer.

So she made a joke, but in truth, he smelled good. Like a hardworking man and sawdust.

Hannah tossed a crust back in the box and said, “Mom kept the calendar so she would know where we needed to be and other things she needed to remember. She has marching band camp listed so she remembers that she has to get me to school on those days. Just a dropoff.”

“What about this ACT test for you?” Trevor asked Evan.

“I took it already. Mom wanted me to take it again. I don’t want to. You can take it off the calendar.”

“Why did she want you to take it again?” Callie asked.

“My score kinda sucked.”

“Well, taking it again might be a good idea then. You should know what you need to get for the colleges you’re looking at,” she explained.

“I’m not going to college.”

Trevor’s face shot up from studying the page in front of him. “What are you talking about? Of course you’re going to college.”

“No, I’m not. School is stupid. I hate it. Why would I sign on for four more years?”

“Because that’s how you go places in life.”

Callie watched as Trevor became agitated, and his reaction caused a similar response in Evan.

“I’m not going to college just so I can pretend I’m going to get some great job when in reality, I’m gonna be stuck with a hundred grand in debt.”

“You don’t need to worry about debt. Let me worry about what it’ll cost. You need a degree.”

Evan lifted a shoulder. “You didn’t.”

Callie looked from father to son, both of them ready to boil. She laid a hand over Trevor’s. “Maybe he has a point.”

“What?” Trevor stood.

“College isn’t for everyone, and it would be a waste of money if it’s not something he wants.”

“Yes,” Evan said, with a fist in the air.

Whatever she’d expected, it wasn’t this. Trevor’s eyes flashed, and his jaw clenched. “Can I see you in the kitchen for a minute?”

She nodded and stood. Following him out of the room, she felt like she was headed to a firing squad. Trevor walked until he was near the back door before he wheeled on her.

“How could you?”

“What?” She honestly didn’t see anything wrong with what she’d said.

“You completely undermined me as his father. He needs college. It’s something Lisa and I always expected of them.”

“But he’s almost an adult. He has to start making his own decisions.”

“He’s a child. Allowing him to make a stupid choice makes me stupid. It’s my job to help him get where he needs to go in life.”

“Trevor, you can’t make him want college.”

“I don’t give a fuck if he wants it. He needs it.”

She sighed. There was no getting through to him. “I think you should at least listen to his reasons for not wanting to go.”

“I didn’t ask you what you think. Just because you felt the need to buck against everything your parents ever expected of you doesn’t mean every kid should. They’re my kids.”

His words were like a slap to her face. Her throat constricted, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing. She swallowed hard and lowered her voice. “Seriously? I’m well aware that they’re your kids. That doesn’t mean I don’t love them and have their best interests in mind.”

Then she turned and slipped out the back door. Stomping across the grass to get to her house, she allowed the anger to wash over her. How dare he? Of course she believed college was important, but it only mattered to people who wanted jobs that required a degree. Whatever.

Inside her cozy house, she opened a bottle of water and checked her email. She had proposals out and was waiting to hear back, but she’d been neglecting her work since the funeral. In fact, most days she could barely get out of bed. But after tonight, a trip to the other side of the world sounded pretty damn good.

And as luck would have it, the client whose shoot she’d left because of Lisa’s death had sent a message. They loved the work she’d completed and wanted her to come back to the Philippines for more photographs. She reread the email slowly. They wanted her to travel to smaller villages and shoot so they could create brochures that exhibited the local cultural experience.

Callie loved those jobs the most. Where she could just let loose with her camera and shoot anything and everything that interested her. She replied, saying that she’d be there in a couple of days. With the time difference, she expected a quick response, so she kept her phone nearby. Email was great for the initial contact, but she preferred to speak with the people hiring her to get a real sense of what they wanted.

She logged onto her favorite travel site to book her flight. As she worked, she saw the glow of the light in Lisa’s kitchen. Part of her wanted to go back and hang out with the kids because she always missed them when she was gone, but the rest of her knew that if she walked back into that house, she and Trevor would fight. It might even get ugly. What he’d said hurt her, and she wasn’t going to just forget it.

They were all grieving and out of sorts, but that didn’t give him the right to treat her like she was a stranger who didn’t know the kids or what Lisa would want for them. Before she could get too wrapped up in her anger and hurt, her phone rang. It was Jasmine, the woman who had booked her for the job in the Philippines.

“Magandang umaga, Jasmine. It’s good to hear from you.” Callie only spoke English fluently, but she’d traveled enough that she had a collection of phrases in many languages.

“I’m sorry to hear of your loss.”

“Thank you.” Condolences from strangers were the hardest thing about losing someone. They didn’t know Lisa, had no idea what her death meant, so going through the motions poked at her. She knew they were being kind, but it felt phony.

“Are you sure you’re ready to get back to work?”

“More than I thought. Let’s talk about this project. What are your goals?”

As Jasmine explained what kinds of photos they wanted, Callie took meticulous notes about where she’d be going so she could plan ahead. She was so caught up in the information that she didn’t notice when all the lights turned off at Lisa’s and she was alone again.