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Chapter 4
Colby sat down at the dining room table, staring at her planner without really seeing it. She had her morning coffee in hand, but even caffeine couldn’t shake the fog that had settled over her brain. Just yesterday afternoon, Nate had stood right here, looking at her work. Her stomach churned with emotion. Why did he have to come back? Especially if he still wouldn’t explain himself after four years had passed. It felt so cruel. Especially since deeper than her anger ran some other feeling that Colby could not and would not admit. She would flat out reject it and ignore it.
I do not love him. I don’t.
The lady doth protest too much, methink.
Colby groaned out loud. She was having arguments in her head with herself. Quoting Shakespeare, no less. Living alone in someone else’s house was taking its toll. Hopefully she didn’t turn into the guy from The Shining. A guy she dated in high school had made her watch the old horror movie. Sit through was probably a more accurate description, as she kept her hands over her eyes for most of the movie. Even so, it was hard to forget. She could still see Jack Nicolson wandering the halls of the hotel, talking to himself, talking to ghosts. Losing his mind.
Colby didn’t want to go after Nate with an axe. But a nice slap across the face might feel pretty darn good…
Her phone buzzed on the table. The international number told her that it was Liz. Her mind did a quick calculation. It was almost ten at night there. That wasn’t good. Liz had always been asleep by like nine o’clock, even back in college.
“Liz? Everything okay?”
“Hey, Colby.” Liz laughed a little, her voice sounding a little garbled over the phone line. “Not used to me calling so late, huh? What time is it there?”
“Almost four. You’re usually asleep by now, so you calling had me worried.”
There was a little pause. “We’re okay, but we do need to talk.”
Colby’s gut clenched. “That sounds ominous.”
“So, the thing is that John’s job got shifted. A position opened up in Houston that’s much better. It’s what he was hoping to be doing in five years, only they offered it to him now. Which means that we’re coming back next month.”
Colby sat back in the dining chair, her eyes moving over her things all over the tabletop: a sewing machine, her laptop, piles of fabric, small plastic bins of yarn and thread, beads, felt, and embroidery hoops.
“Colby?”
“I’m here. So, you’re moving home?”
“Yes. We’ll be home on October 14th.”
Colby swallowed and tried to find the right words. Or any words. She had terminated her lease and moved all of her things to Liz’s house, using the garage for storage since the house was furnished. This gave her less than four weeks to find somewhere new. She could do it, but it wouldn’t be easy. The idea of moving—again—made her feel ill.
“I’m so sorry, Colby. You can totally still stay with us in the guest room if you need to. As long as you want. I mean it.”
“You’re kind. No—that’s fine! I have time to find a new place. Not a big deal. Really. I’m so sorry for the big change. I’m sure this is much harder on you guys.”
Liz sighed. “Yeah, it will be hard to move the kids after we just moved them. They’re adjusting really well here and I hate to do that. They won’t be able to get into a preschool now that the year has started…”
Colby’s mind shot away as Liz went on about the move. Where would she go? Did she have enough money saved for a deposit or a truck? She’d been too comfortable the last few months since she didn’t have rent to pay. Waiting on the developer to finish the Quork website, not really promoting things too much, getting complacent when she should have been making strides forward. She should have pushed harder. Now she was going to need a new apartment and a job.
“Are you really sure you’ll be okay?” Liz asked. “I’m really sorry.”
“Don’t even worry about it! I’m just one person. You’ve got to move a whole family across the world. I’ll be totally fine.”
Colby didn’t believe in signs anymore. But if she had, between seeing Nate and this, she would certainly feel like someone was out to get her. It felt like some kind of cosmic judgment had been passed down on her. Single, heart-broken, broke, and now homeless. Perfect.
After she hung up, Colby sat staring at her hands. Before she had thought it fully through, she sent a message to Napper.
Sewzy:The worst thing just happened. Well, not the worst. But bad.
Napper:You okay?
Sewzy:Long story short—I have like three weeks to find a new job and a new place to live.
Napper:Srsly?
