“Count on me,” I said and hung up the phone.
Tonight, I’d dream about a life where I actually had the money and Georgie and didn’t have to choose. But that was just for dreams.
Tomorrow, I would take the money and prove to myself I was the best there was. It was everything I'd worked for years to achieve and the smart choice. All I needed to do was sign on the dotted line.
Chapter 17
Georgie
Michael was perfect on my television.
I hadn’t intended to watch the game.
After I'd showered and let the water rush against my face, I'd turned the small TV on in my bedroom and just stared at him.
My arms ached to hold him. He caught two balls in five minutes and both times he was on screen for a moment.
My heart raced in those seconds. My lips ached to kiss him and beg him to forgive me.
I’d never be happy without him in my life. Calmness was an illusion to hide my desire.
After the inning ended, I called Indigo who told me to call Olivia.
I sucked on my bottom lip as I dialed and hoped she’d help.
If I didn’t fix my life, I’d be forever…stuck. This wasn’t right.
Love meant taking chances, and I’d not done that.
My mother had been braver than I gave her credit for when she’d been alive. She’d been abused, but had come out of her shell when my dad was around. Love had made her stronger. I don’t know how the water slapping my face had made me see that. All of my cousins had come from harder backgrounds, and they’d found refuge with us.
My mom cooked like every one of them belonged in our house.
I’d forgotten her open heart for every Steel child, until tonight.
Jeremy deserved to see love was possible for him too and that his father was good.
So, while my son slept and the game still played, I called my second sister as I tugged my jeans on. When she finally answered, I said, “Olivia, I need help.”
“What’s going on?” she asked.
I finished getting dressed and turned on my laptop. “Can you come over and watch Jeremy tonight and tomorrow?”
“Why?”
I turned on the lights and went to my bag in the closet to get my laptop as I said, “I need to go to LA.”
“Why?” She asked and I deflated in movement and closed my eyes.
I was stupid, in love, and had tossed out the best man I’d ever met, because I was afraid. I squared my shoulders and spoke fast as I grabbed my wallet and said, “Michael is there.”
“I thought he was coming to Pittsburgh in a week?”
I clicked on the midnight flight as I said, “I told him I wanted a divorce and hung up on him.”
“What? Why?”
She was seriously sounding like an annoying parrot. I hope I didn’t ask this many questions. “Because I feared I’d turn into Mom if I loved him too much.”
“Aww, well that’s silly.” Olivia said like she was teaching her fifth-grade class again and then added for measure like this was all math, “You loved him before anything happened to Dad.”
I dug out my card but didn’t type anything in as I asked, “Can you come and help me, now?”
Olivia said, “Pack your bags. Take a week on the road for your honeymoon. Jeremy and I can go to school together.”
“Thank you,” I said as I typed in my information.
This wasn’t first class, but the midnight flight landed me in Los Angeles at 5:00 am.
“Are you looking things up?”
“You know me well.”
It was better to talk in person, hopefully. I didn’t want to make another mistake and face-to-face was where I was most alive.
Hopefully, I could tell him he completed my life. I’d been wrong to hang up. The screen finally read "confirmed".
Yes. Olivia then said, “Oh, Indigo’s on the line. Hold on.” Guess I had no choice. I dug my small traveling bag out again as Olivia clicked back in and said, “All three of us are together now.”
Indigo asked, “So Olivia’s babysitting?”
“Yes, but you’ll help?” I asked as I grabbed my underwear and bras. Maybe I’d be right home and he’d tell me to fuck off. I probably deserved that, but if he didn’t, then I wanted cute underwear.
Unfortunately, I didn’t own many.
“This morning, but I’m off to Vegas tomorrow.” Indigo said, “Ridley and Nicole are both in to help though. Phoenix and his fiancée are coming to town and they want to take Jeremy to a concert.”
“That’s fine.”
“I confirmed with them to keep him overnight on Friday, so Olivia could have some time for herself. "Look, I’ll text you the hotel he’s staying at now. Did you get your plane ticket?”
Indigo was always the genius in finding out information for me. She’d found me tickets, found out where Michael’s team was staying in LA. I needed to buy her a huge birthday present but for now I held a hand to my heart and said, “It leaves in three hours. Olivia needs to get here fast so I can make my flight.”
I grabbed clothes without paying much attention to what and tossed it in the bag as Indigo said, “You act like Pittsburgh airport might be a problem when you’re flying to LA. Now when you land, that is a monolithic place.”
“Right. Okay. Good to know.” I swallowed and grabbed my stuff from the bathroom. “I’ll be fine.”
“Rent the car before you hit the road,” Olivia said.
Hurry up already and get here. Normally I’d have spent time researching the best price, but I quickly realized renting was cheaper than a ride share. So I picked the cheapest option, but today I was off center. I sighed into my phone and opened my laptop again. I used an app and found a car. “This is taking forever.”
“You’ll thank me,” Olivia said and I heard her car in the driveway.
I
