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“Okay, where do you want me to start?” he asked, opening the suitcase he pulled from my closet and setting it on my bed.
It seemed smarter to pack as though I were going on a trip rather than moving out. I wouldn’t be able to fit everything in the few bags we found between us, so I’d take the essentials today and come back for the rest.
“I’ll pull stuff out, and you pack it in there. How’s that?” I pointed to the open luggage and then looked to him for his input.
“Sounds like a plan. At least we’re moving forward,” he commented, and I stopped riffling through my jeans to glare at him.
“Storm, just keep going. Not every comment is an invitation for an argument. Stop being so damn defensive and hand me some clothes.” He held out his large hand for items to pack, and I shoved a stack his way.
And no, I didn’t miss that the green jelly ring was still on his left hand. Exactly where I still had mine.
Eventually we fell into normal conversation while we packed. He was right—not that I’d admit that to him—but I was very defensive by nature. I was so used to my folks second-guessing every single decision I made or being compared to one of my sisters at every turn, it became my natural reaction to be defensive.
I loved my sisters with every beat of my heart. They were the most important people in my world. But when you looked so similar to four other people and were stacked so closely in age, it was easy to lose your own identity.
It took about an hour to pack the bags we had available. Carmen was loading the last one into the back of my car when my father pulled into the driveway.
“Oh, shit. I was really hoping we could’ve avoided this,” I grumbled.
My husband gave my dad a big friendly wave as he parked his sedan, and I ran through my options on how to handle this.
“Hey, guys, how’s it going?” my dad greeted us as he reached into his back seat for his laptop bag.
When he straightened again, leather bag slung over his shoulder, I stepped into his open arms to hug him. My dad was tall like Carmen, and they both dwarfed me by at least a foot.
“What’s going on, Dah? You guys going somewhere? Looks like you have a bunch of bags packed there.” He motioned to the back seat of my small hatchback with his chin.
“Yeah, kind of. Well, no, it’s just…”
Great, this is going swell!
The people in my family were used to my unorganized demeanor, so my father patiently waited for me to explain in a coherent way.
Deciding to rip the Band-Aid off, I blurted, “I’m going to stay at Carmen’s for a while.”
My dad fixed his steady eyes on me for a moment, then gave Carmen the same treatment.
Finally, he said, “I see. How long is awhile? Did something happen here? With one of your sisters? Why the sudden relocation?”
“Well, a couple of things have happened, actually,” I started, but Carmen interrupted.
“Maybe we should go inside and talk for a few minutes?”
“Agatha can speak for herself, son. And if she wants to talk to me right here on the driveway, that’s fine too.”
Well, shit, I’d say that put Carmen in his place, but he was completely unruffled by the mini lecture and politely dipped his chin in agreement.
“All right,” he yielded.
“Darling, what were you going to say?” My dad leaned up against my car and gave me his undivided attention. He’d have kittens if someone leaned up against his beloved vehicle.
“I was fired this morning. So, in light of the conversation we just had…shit, was that last night?” I rubbed my forehead, trying to remember what day it was. After a few beats, I waved my hand through the air. “It doesn’t matter when that was, but yeah, Carmen has his own place and asked me to stay there with him.”
“How will you contribute financially without a job?” my accountant father asked.
“I’m confident she’ll be employed in no time,” Carmen interjected. “Until then, I don’t mind handling the bills. I’m already used to it, so it won’t be any different.”
I didn’t miss my dad’s weight shift. “I don’t want you to feel pressured to move in with someone you hardly know.”
