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“That’s a gender reveal,” her friend counters.

“Anyway, my girlfriend is not pregnant,” I interrupt. “But I’d like to know what she wants to tell us.” I throw Kora a warning glance before she interrupts again.

“Okay, I was going to wait until it was confirmed, but since Hayden leaves tomorrow, it felt wrong not to tell him in person.” She gives me a weak smile. “At the funeral, when you disappeared with your mom for a bit, Darlene introduced me to her friend’s daughter, Megan. She’s an event planner, and she loved what we did. Darlene really hyped me up, explaining how I went above and beyond.” She takes a deep breath and looks around the room. “The thing is that I don’t love working at the funeral home. I love Tom, and yes, sometimes I feel kind of good about doing that type of work, you know? But overall, I’m just a receptionist there. I’m not doing anything meaningful.”

“It’s meaningful,” I argue.

She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter. I just feel really stuck there. It’s not something I’ve ever dreamt of doing. But when I took the job, I didn’t have the mental capacity to make any decisions regarding my future. Decisions aren’t my strong suit.”

“You’ve become more decisive the last few weeks,” I point out.

“Well, it’s easier to make decisions when you like what you’re doing. And I really liked planning the funeral. It’s like I was stuck in this loop of monotony, and suddenly, I got pulled out of it. It’s been a while since I woke up every day feeling excited about something.”

“The something that made you excited every day was the funeral and not me?”

“Both,” she says, ruffling my hair. “Long story short, Megan said I could work for her if I wanted. As an assistant at first, of course. But I’d help with the event planning and such. She said it’s mostly a lot of weddings around here.”

“That’s amazing.” Kora comes to sit on the couch and gives her a hug.

“Why did you wait so long to tell me?” I squeeze her thigh.

“I don’t know. I needed some time to process it, you know? And I felt guilty about Tom. He gave me a job, and I don’t want to let him down.”

“You’re not letting him down. He wants what’s best for you.”

“I know. That’s why I feel so guilty. Because he’s so nice.”

“You deserve to do what makes you happy,” Mike chimes in.

She nods. “I haven’t told Megan yes yet, but I will call her this week. I don’t want to tell Tom until everything is confirmed.”

“But you are going to take the job?” I search her eyes.

She beams at me. “I’m going to take the job.”

Chapter 35

Robin

The universe is a bitch.

I don’t want to be the person who wallows in self-pity, but here I am.

Earlier this summer, my life got turned upside down. And while I initially tried to fight it, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

Who would’ve guessed that planning a funeral and getting evicted from my home would turn into my dream summer? But that’s what it was. A dream summer. As much as I’d like to keep the emphasis on dream, the real star of the show is the word summer.

Because, like summer, nothing ever lasts. In a few hours, the person that means the most to me is going back home. I trust him enough that I know he’ll come visit like he promised. But that’s all it will be. A visit. A fleeting moment together while we both live completely different lives in different states. I’m on the verge of packing my bags and moving to New Mexico too, but I know deep down that wouldn’t be right for me. I guess this wasn’t supposed to last. Not the way I want it to, at least.

I hate this.

We’re still in bed, Hayden fast asleep next to me. We got to sleep in because Tom gave me the day off, and Hayden doesn’t seem to be in a rush to get going.

I take a moment to memorize him. It sounds creepy, but I love watching him sleep. He looks so at peace and, he’d hate knowing this, cute. It doesn’t help that Mortimer is on the pillow, curled up around Hayden’s head. That seems to be his favorite place to sleep lately. He’s always either on Hayden’s lap, on his chest, or spooned around my boyfriend.

Seems like my cat also fell in love with him.

Love.