luck.”
She looked up, past his head. Sure enough, they were standing under the wing of the huge 727 suspended above them.
She squinted at him. “They do not.”
His eyes glinted. “Well, they will now.”
She might have melted, she wasn't sure.
She was here, in his arms, safe. Please, world, just go away for a few more
seconds.
But, as she knew it would, it all sank. And now he had to go.
“I'll be back in Golden Grove on Sunday night,” she offered.
“What a coincidence,” he said. “So will I.”
* * *
He was gone.
The city was big, cold, and grey. She made her way down the steps. It was a
little farther to the train station than she thought but she hadn't wanted Peter to feel obligated to take her anywhere. It would be a long ride home, but she had
time.
All the time in the world.
She should have been happy, right? Elated, maybe? Things were finally
coming together with Nitrovex. Moving on an up.
It would have helped if she knew what she was feeling about Peter. Could have categorized her feelings, labeled them like colors on a palette. But they were too jumbled, smeared across the page in a muddy mix. Except for maybe
one. The deep red of fear.
The sun was starting its dive behind the buildings in the west, although the
sky was still blue, bright, and clear. It was a fleetingly familiar scene.
Except she didn't have any silver shoes to tap together. And even more disconcerting, she wasn't so sure anymore where home was.
Because the words were hanging in her heart in bright pink letters.
There's no place like home.
Chapter Twenty
Sunday's trip back the next day to Golden Grove was familiar, yet tense. Kate chalked it up to nerves. Her main proposal to Nitrovex was this Tuesday in front
of their re-branding committee. If they went for it, she'd win the deal for Garman. She'd be back one more time to wrap things up, and that was it.
It was the Super Bowl and World Series in one for her. Win this, and she'd
be the hero back at work, her career getting the boost it needed to move on up.
To where, exactly, she didn't know yet. That would have to come later.
Carol was out at a Community Center meeting tonight, which was good
because Kate needed the time alone to work. Yesterday's jaunt in Chicago with
Peter, although fun, had eaten up some clock, and she needed every slide and chart to be perfect by Tuesday. She still didn't have the main slogan or logo nailed down, which was her biggest stumbling block. Without that, her chances
of getting the contract were dicey. But she had another day or so to come up with
something last-minute. As long as she could keep the distractions at bay.
She found herself staring out the dining room window, past the draped lace
curtains towards Peter's house. The majority of those Super Bowl and World Series distractions lived next door.
Rubbing her eyes, she checked her watch. Carol wouldn't be home for
another couple of hours or so. Maybe she should take a break, a short nap, even.
