“Yep,” he replies, already tapping away in the navigation.
I sink back in my seat, relaxing against the buttery leather. “You heard about the farm?” I ask Ellie.
Her relationship with Lily is much closer than mine is with my dad, so I assume she must have.
“Yes,” Ellie confirms. “Sort of makes me wish I’d made it back to Brookfield at some point.”
I almost ask,Why didn’t you?but I’m worried her answer might be the same as mine, so I don’t. “You still could,” I suggest.He’s not there; he’s here.Although, soon, he will be there. Soon, he won’t be here.
“They’re closing next week, Sutton.”
“Oh.” Next week is soon, sooner than I thought. “I landed right after my dad called, and things were hectic. Didn’t get many details.”
Ellie makes ahmmsound before looking out the window. I focus on the scenery as well.
Even gray and dreary, London is a beautiful city. We pass several of its most iconic sights in quick succession—the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Gherkin—before transitioning into a more commercial area of the city. Even these buildings are beautiful, detailed with neat trim and rounded arches that look nothing like Los Angeles’s strip malls.
I pull my phone out and searchBao Bao London. The first result is the restaurant’s website. I tap on it and start scrolling through their menu.
Once I’ve decided what I’m getting, I take a fresh stab at conversation with Ellie. “Work going well for Eric?”
“It’s fine.”
Not exactly the robust answer I was looking for. “Great.”
“How are you?” she finally asks.
“Well, I’m on tour.” It sounds obvious to say. It’s the reason I’m in London. But I know better than to expect that Ellie follows my career closely.
“That’s right. How much longer will it last?”
“I only have London and Glasgow left for the European leg, but half the US tour to go still. It’ll last another six weeks total.”
“God, I couldn’t stay in hotels for that long.”
“Yeah, well…it’s my job. I don’t have a choice.”
Ellie shrugs and looks out the window. “Yeah, I guess not.”
I pull in a deep breath. “My guitarist broke his wrist just before the start of the first European date. I found out when I was back in Brookfield for Grandpa Joe’s service.”
“Sounds like you’ve done fine without him.”
“I replaced him. With…Teddy.”
I have her full, undivided attention now. “Teddy…Owens?”
“Yes.”
“Myex, Teddy?”
“Yep. Same guy.”
“Wow.” She looks at me, staring but not appearing to be seeing. “So, he’s here? In London?”
I nod and wait for her to ask if anything has happened between us. But she doesn’t. I can’t tell if it’s because she doesn’t think it has or because she doesn’t care if it has. I’m not sure which would be better. Which would be worse.
“Are you performing tomorrow night?”