“Hey. I didn’t expect you to answer. I could have sent a text, but I like hearing your voice on the voice mail.”He’s so cheesy. “Anyway, I was going to leave a message. Dinner tomorrow at my place? I’m not taking work as an excuse.”
“Actually, I just quit. Or maybe I was fired.”
“What?”
“I was called into Jude’s office. They thought I’d stolen money. Then they thoughtyoustole money. Then I admitted we were in a dressing room, and I thought I was fired. So I quit. Then they gave me a month off.” I squint up at my building as I near it.
“Whoa. Slow down.” Zebb exhales. “Was this because of us in the fitting room?”
“Maybe.” I’m not even certain what the accusation was.
“Shit. I’m so sorry. No more dressing rooms.” Zebb weakly laughs. Silence fills the line as I enter my building. “I have furlough for the next two weeks. It’s a mandatory time off. Let’s do something during it.”
“Like what?” I ask as I stand outside the elevator knowing I’ll lose connection once I enter the box.
“I’ll pick you up later today. Say five o’clock?”
“Okay.” I don’t know what he has in mind but I’m ready to follow him anywhere.
Once I enter my apartment, my gaze falls on the business plan Zebb tossed onto my kitchen island and the rest of my day has a new goal.
Today, I turn over a new leaf in my life.
15
Zebb texts me when he’s downstairs. I exit my place, head to the lobby and step outside. Looking left and then right, I don’t see his truck. A large RV bus is parked directly in front of my building.
Suddenly, the door opens.
“Hello, angel.” Zebb sits in the driver seat and then he stands. As he walks down the steps to the street, Tam peeks around the edge of the door.
“What’s this?” I chuckle as Zebb steps closer to me, and I tug at the edges of his open flannel shirt. He isn’t wearing a jacket again.
“This is the plan for two weeks. A real Golden Camper RV. A real vacation.” Zebb turns and waves at the large bus.
“With a family,” Tam yells out the open door.
“Zebb?” I stare up at him.
“You said you took vacations to ignore the holiday, but they weren’t family trips. Let’s make new memories for you.”
“You want me to travel with you?” I glance around him and find Tam smiling big from where she dangles over something, to hang her head before the open door. “This is crazy.”
“No crazier than letting you go when we were young. Now I have you back and I don’t want a day to pass without you. Let’s see where this goes. You and me. Us on a bus.”
“That’s such a Dad rhyme.”
“I am a dad but I’m also a man, wanting the woman before him to be his.” Zebb reaches for my hands and squeezes.
“I am yours, Zebb. I always have been.” We stare at one another, eyes caught and smiles spreading.
“Give me this. Time together. This can be your Christmas gift to me.” Zebb’s voice is quiet as he swipes his thumb over my knuckles.
Time. It can’t be produced, bought, or sold. It doesn’t come in a box with ribbons and bows. It comes from the heart and given without cost.
“I can do that,” I whisper.
“Then get packing. The road awaits.” He releases my hands, spins me toward my building and smacks my backside.