“Hmm, let me think.” I cup my chin and look up at the ceiling. “One week with the parents and my annoying sisters. Or two weeks with my annoying sisters. Such a difficult choice.”
Nyx pushes me with her hip. “You’re missing the fun. By the way, can we discuss Callie’s tuition?”
“When do we have to pay?” I grunt.
Unlike us, Callie didn’t get any scholarship money or grants to help her pay for college. She is a smart kid, but she doesn’t like to work hard for her grades. Since we don’t want her to end up with a pile of student debt, we decided to pitch in and pay for her college expenses. When I agreed to do this, I had a great job and a salary that allowed me to help my parents and sisters.
A month ago, I quit, packed my things, and moved to Colorado to be closer to my family. I’m jobless, and I only have so much money in my bank account.
“Not until August, but I want us to talk her into getting a job,” Nyx states, and I sigh with relief. “I’m okay with paying her tuition and some of her expenses, but just some of them.”
“I second it.” I raise my hand.
Persy shakes her head. As she’s about to say something, the airline announcer calls for some flight. We all go quiet, hoping that our plane has finally arrived and we’ll be taking off soon. It hasn’t.
“We could’ve driven to Wyoming,” I complain. “Or we should’ve gone to Canada.”
“Stop complaining,” Nyx says, annoyed. “You think I’m okay spending all this time with the five of you? I heard our parents having sex. I won’t be able to sleep ever again.”
Persy and I laugh.
“Who thought going to North Cascades in Washington State was a good idea? I mean, we have National Parks—”
“Eros?”
I stop mid-sentence and turn to my left. A couple of feet away from me is Olivia. It’s been a few years since the last time I saw her.
“Hey,” I greet her.
My sisters exchange a look. Persy and Nyx are like twins. They look a lot alike, and they share a brain. Just a slight gesture, and they already had an entire conversation.
“What are you doing here?” She looks around the airport.
“It’s a long story.”
She looks at her phone. “Well, my flight doesn’t leave for a couple of hours. I have time if you have time.”
Persy says, “Oh, he has time.” Then she turns to look at Nyx. “Let’s find the pretzels.”
Nyx agrees, and they disappear through the crowd.
“Please excuse them. They were raised by wolves.”
“Your sisters?”
“Yes, the twin monsters.” I point at them as they disappear in the crowd. “Yeah, the slightly tall one is Nyx. Persy is the sample size.”
Olivia frowns. “She’s my size.”
I shrug. “There’s nothing I can do to fix it, can I?”
She gives me a suspicious glare. “Are you coming or going?”
“We’re heading back to Colorado.” I sigh. “As soon as the stupid plane appears. Is your flight delayed too?”
She frowns and then shakes her head. “Oh no, I just arrived at the airport. I’m visiting my parents.”
“What are you doing in Seattle?”
“I live here.”
“What?” I tilt my head toward the shops. “Let me get you something to drink while you catch me up with what you’ve been doing. The last time I saw you, you were looking for grad schools.”
We grab a smoothie and find a table where we can sit and chat.
“Where are your parents?” We both say at the same time and laugh.
“I’m heading to San Francisco,” she explains. “It’s Dan’s birthday. Dad is throwing a big party. How about you?”
“I just ended the worst week of the year.”
She gives me a worried look. I explain to her about this nightmarish vacation that starts on Memorial Day weekend.
“Sounds like fun,” she states.
“Not when you have to share a tight space with my family. My parents have zero inhibitions. I have to deal with not one but four women. They don’t allow electronics.”
She grins. “So, your parents are back together?”
“Indeed. Persy worked her magic. They reconciled a couple of months ago.” I pause, sip from my smoothie, and say, “You two would get along well. She is a therapist—a marriage counselor or something like that. She also has a blog where she discusses love, sex, and relationships.”
“Sounds like fun. Maybe someday we’ll sit down to chat about love, sex, and she can explain what happens if I feed you after midnight.”
“I forgot she told you that the first time that you two chatted.” I almost choke with laughter. “So, tell me, how is it that you live in Seattle?”
“I work and live in Redmond. I graduated a semester early from college and a semester earlier from grad school. I thought speeding up my studies would help me find my future.” She takes a deep breath, and when she lets it out, she says, “I wish I had partied more and spent a couple more years in school.”
“So, everything is still an idea?”
She grins and shakes her head. “I like what I do. I work at a non-profit. It’s a lot better than interning for Dad. And unlike Dad, they pay me.”
“How’s your father?”
“He’s doing well. He’s also hoping that I’ll take over his construction company someday.”
I arch an eyebrow. “That’s what he does?”
“The company is more complex, but that’s the gist of it. Now tell me about you. How’s New York, the luxury life, the wife, and the kids?”
I laugh. “I quit a couple of months ago and moved to Colorado.”
“Wife and kids?”
“If I don’t have a job or some stability, I doubt I can have a family.”
She tsks. “That’s an excuse. You just haven’t met the girl of your dreams. Your other half. When you meet her, you’re not going to care if you live in a hut or some luxury apartment. All you’ll want is to share your life with her.”
“It’s not that easy,” I argue.
“Let me get this straight,” Liv pauses, takes a sip of her smoothie, and continues, “You quit your job without a plan, moved to Colorado, and are starting from zero. However, you think falling in love is more complicated than that.”
She laughs.
“It’s easier to quit and move.”
“Only for you.”
“No, Misty also quit and moved to Colorado,” I use that as a defense. Maybe she’ll agree with me.
“Who is Misty?”
“A college friend,” I explain casually.
She arches an eyebrow and crosses her arms. “You followed her?”
My phone rings. When I check, it is a text from Nyx. It’s time to leave.
I grab my backpack and look at Olivia. If only we could have a few more hours.
“It was nice seeing you,” she says as we both stand up from our seats.
“Same.” I pull her into my arms and hug her.
As if it’s the most natural thing, I kiss her. I don’t know why I need that little taste of her. A way to stay connected? Who knows, maybe I’m insane, and the next time I see her, I should steer away from her. The last time we met, I stopped seeing the woman I had started dating. It felt wrong to be with someone when the only person I could think of was Liv.