And there it is.

The rest of weekend was low key.  Lauren came over Saturday afternoon and we went shopping and grabbed dinner.  I spent Sunday catching up on laundry and cleaning my house from top to bottom.

Pulling up my calendar on Monday was a much more pleasant experience than doing it the week before.  My schedule was manageable this week, and I was looking forward to feeling normal again.  Monday evening, my phone rang as I was walking home from the gym.  I pulled it out of my bag, happy to see it was Brody.  We had texted back and forth over the weekend but I was happy to have an actual conversation.  "Hey," I said, answering with a smile.

"Hey yourself," he responded warmly.  "I'm glad I caught you.  I miss you.  How was your day?"

"Normal, actually.   I left work at 5 like a normal person, and I'm on my way home from the gym."

"So, pretty much the best Monday you've had in over a month," he said, laughing.

"Pretty much!" I agreed.  How are things down there?"

"A clusterfuck," he said, sounding irritated.  "But my plane should be landing in Denver about this time tomorrow."

"Sooner than you thought," I responded excitedly.

"Yeah," he said shortly.  I expected him to say more, but he didn't.

"Can I pick you up?" I asked eventually.

"I'd love that," he responded, and the warmth was back in his voice.  He promised to text me the flight info after we hung up.  We chatted for a few more minutes, and there was no more hint of distance that had flashed between us when when he told me when he was coming back.

Finally he said, "Sorry Liv, but I have to go.  I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

I said goodbye and let myself into my house.  I had been standing outside my door for at least a minute, too focused on our conversation to dig out my keys.


Now that I wasn't as busy, Tuesday seemed to go slowly.  I had lunch with Charlotte, and it felt like it had been forever since we had talked.  With how busy things had been, I was pretty sure that even though I spent more waking hours at work than anywhere else, I talked to my coworkers less than anyone else.  It was nice to catch up with her and not have to shove a sandwich in my face at my desk between clients.

After work, I went home and took a quick shower.  I put on a cute sundress and dried my hair.  I tried not to feel ridiculous for dressing up to pick someone up from the airport, but I was excited to see him.  I parked in the cell phone waiting lot and waited.  When he called to say they had gotten off the plane, I started the car and drove over to arrivals.  I spotted him right away and pulled up.  He threw his carry-on bag in the backseat and collapsed into the passenger seat.  He looked absolutely exhausted, but managed a tired smile and a kiss on my cheek as I pulled away from the airport.

"Hey you," he said.  "Thanks for coming to get me."

"My motives were purely selfish," I admitted.  "I get to see you way sooner this way.  Have you eaten?"  He shook his head.   We stopped on our way through the city to grab burgers.  I looked at him carefully.  He had dark circles under his eyes and hadn't shaved in at least 3 days.  

It was after 8 by the time we finally pulled up in front of his house.  "Come inside for a little bit?" he asked.  I parked the car and followed him in.  He dropped his bag next to the front door and collapsed onto the couch.  He tugged me down next to him and pulled me against him.  When he pushed away and turned towards me, I got nervous.  He looked so serious.

"Liv...I have to go back to Miami," he said.  "On Saturday."

"What?  For how long?  What's going on down there?"

"One of my dad's executive managers was caught sending inappropriate messages and photos to someone with his company email.  They had to fire him.  I went down to help my dad pick a replacement, and now he wants me down there to train him."

"But...why do you have to do it?" I asked, struggling to keep the petulant edge out of my voice.

"My dad has been out of the day to day operations for so long.  And I've built such a successful branch out here, he thinks I'm the best one to do it.  Since he signs my paychecks, I don't have much of a choice," he explained patiently.

"How long?" I asked again, noting that he had successfully avoided answering the first time I asked.

He sighed and pushed both hands into his hair, resting his elbows on his knees for a second before looking back up at me. "Liv, my dad wants me to be the new Director of Operations.  With it comes a share transfer which would make me majority shareholder.  The catch is that I'd have to stay in Miami."