“You’re probably right. I’ll give him a call later anyway, though. Just to make sure he’s okay.”
“Why don’t you just focus on enjoying yourself and having a good time? I’ll make sure he’s okay if I see him again. You shouldn’t worry about him while you’re on your honeymoon. The plants are taken care of and the house is fine. You guys can relax and have fun.”
We spoke for a few more minutes. Then Scott called her name and we hung up. While we’d been on the phone, I’d carried up some of the folded washing, and after putting it away, I went to sit down on my bed as thoughts swirled through my head.
I wonder if I could do what my best friend is.Could I take a vacation from my life and tour the world?It was a frightfully scary proposition, but one that Teddy had made some good points about. The experience alone could be so enriching, to see how other people lived and to eat the food they ate.
While I loved my hometown, I wasn’t blind to the wonders of the outside world. I’d read extensively about other countries and I’d taken several virtual tours of museums, cities, parks, and libraries. As I’d told Colt, there were a lot of places that I’d like to visit. Places that seemed weird and others that were absolutely beautiful.
I’d just never seriously considered actually doing it. Purchasing a plane ticket and going. Some people said that travel changed you. For the better, I’d heard, but I didn’t want to change. Maybe that was why I’d always discounted the possibility.
Or maybe it was just because I was afraid of doing it alone. Packing a bag and boarding an airplane by myself had always seemed too daunting. Teddy and I had talked about it a few times when we were younger, but then she’d met Scott and the opportunity had never presented itself.
Since I hadn’t been hard up to do it, I’d left the idea behind and never thought about it again. But now, things were different. If I wanted to, I could take the chance to go on a trip with Colt. Travel was a huge part of his life, and I wanted to be part of his life as well. So maybe I should get onboard.
As I pondered it, I lay back on my mattress and stared at the ceiling in my bedroom. The same ceiling I’d been staring up at my whole life. I loved knowing where every splotch on it was and where it had come from, but while there was comfort in the familiarity, it wasn’t very exciting.
Going on a trip didn’t mean I had to leave Rockdale for good. There was no harm in exploring the world a bit and going on a real adventure. Home would always be here, waiting for me when I got back.
My ceiling would be the same, as would everything else about the town. The more I thought about it, the more intrigued I became with the idea. The best part of all was that if I didn’t like it, all I had to do was board one more plane and come home.
There was a literal world of places to see and explore out there, and I could be seeing and exploring them with Colt.What’s not to like about that idea?
27
COLT
After spending another day learning about Rockdale, even I had to admit that the town had several good things to offer. It was weird, coming back home to a place where you grew up and really seeing it as an adult.
There was a new microbrewery that had opened and the mall now held more interesting stores that I would actually shop at. Also, the pace of the town, the slow roll of it, was becoming appealing to me. The breakneck travel my job sometimes required was tiring, and the longer I was here, the more I was realizing that I wasn’t hating Rockdale so much anymore.
It was surprising and, contrary to what I might’ve thought before, not altogether a bad realization to have come to. My sister was always going to live here, and I’d been promising her for a long time that I’d come visit more often. I could actually see myself doing it now, though.
“Teddy is going to love those,” Emma said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “She’s been wanting to get a set of garden gnomes for ages, but those you got that are arranged in interesting poses are new. They’re going to be so surprised when they come home to those little guys.”
“They’re cute,” I agreed as I turned over the engine of my rental car and backed out of the parking spot at the local outlet mall where we’d picked up the gnomes. “So are those fairy houses we left behind, though. I still think we should’ve gotten them, too. If I stay in this town much longer, I’m going to turn Teddy’s yard into a wonderland of garden scenes, I swear. The only question is whether there’s a point where it becomes too much.”
“There’s always a point where it becomes too much, but with Teddy, that point is usually a spot on the horizon that never comes any closer, so you’re safe.”
“Excellent.” I grinned, flipping on my turn signal to exit the lane we’d parked in. As I did, I caught a glimpse of a sign with familiar neon lettering on it.
The travel agency my company used to use before we’d gotten a consultant in-house was a nationwide franchise, and apparently, they’d made it all the way to Ohio. Since I’d been getting so distracted by Emma’s activities around here, I knew I hadn’t been doing a very good job of convincing her to give going international a try.
The familiar red and white airplane at the side of the agency’s logo was a reminder that I needed to try harder. My days here were numbered, and no matter what I tried, there was only so much time I could be AWOL before I’d have to get back to my life.
Instead of making the turn I’d indicated, I flicked the signal off and glanced left and right before I continued straight instead. Emma frowned, pointing at the road running parallel to the outlet mall’s parking lot.
“We need to be there,” she said. “There’s no exit on the other side of the mall.”
“I’m not looking for the exit. We’re making a little detour.” I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, sucking in a deep, quiet breath. “Have I ever told you that my company has close ties to the Flight Boys? It’s the agency we used to use all the time. I trust them implicitly.”
“Okay,” she said slowly, her eyes widening when they landed on the sign I was driving toward. “Is that why we’re going there? You want to pop in to say hi?”
“Nah. I doubt I’ll know any of the travel agents who work in this branch, but I thought we could go in and you can have a look at some of the materials they have available.”
“We do have the internet here. I could just look over some websites.”
“You could,” I conceded. “These agents are experts, though, which you wouldn’t have access to if you just read articles online. They’ll be able to answer any questions and give you suggestions based on what you tell them you’re interested in. Plus, in our case, it’s an objective third party you can speak to about traveling who has extensive experience and who will be able to give you unbiased advice. I thought you might appreciate all that.”