Page 15 of Wine & Dine

“Where are you going?” I ask, my voice laced with complaint. I shouldn’t ask. I shouldn’t care. I don’t want to sound needy, but I look forward to four o’clock each day.

“Atlanta. Why? Want to go home?”

The question throws me off as much as him asking me to dog sit, but I don’t stop walking this time although my feet stumble in the sand.

“I don’t think I’m ready,” I reply quietly. It’s not that I don’t want to go home ever again. I’m just not ready to return to who I was despite feeling a little lost in California. With Mother gone. With the condition of the diner. With Magnolia’s crumbling house. Rusty. My life feels like it’s all been for naught, and I’m relieved when Garrett doesn’t ask for an explanation.

“Still searching for the ruby slippers, Dorothy,” he mocks, and it takes me a moment to register the reference. “I get it.”

He finally stops walking and looks at me. “But the yellow brick road doesn’t always lead to the Emerald City. And Dorothy had the power to make decisions all along.”

He’s quiet as he looks off in the distance.

“My granddad invested in me, my future, and I ran with it. Searching for my own ruby slippers in a masculine, non-threatening, I like women way.” He smiles, and I chuckle at the clarification. “I try to remember his gift of a chance, his gift of faith in me, and I never want to let him down. Well, at least, the memory of him. So I understand the idea of chasing after something, even if it isn’t clear what you’re looking for.”

The words sink in, but something stands out. Let him down. Am I letting others down by not returning? I shake the thought, reminding myself how much I’ve done to support Mother, Magnolia, and the diner. Even Rusty. It’s time for me to invest in myself…only I don’t know what that means.

“My grandmother took a chance on me, too. The diner was hers. When I finished college, she gave it to me as a graduation present. I was the first woman with a degree in the family.” I’m just not sure the diner is the right fit for me anymore. Fear shivers down my spine as I admit the thought to myself.

Garrett’s eyes open wide. “Wow. I was raised by my mother and three sisters. They all went to college.”

He isn’t insulting me, just stating the difference between us.

“Three sisters. Whoa.”

“I know. Each one thought they were my mother even though they are all younger than me.”

“And they’ve made you the man you are today,” I mock.

“Something like that.” He chuckles, but it lacks humor in response to my teasing. We continue walking, heading back toward the condo, and my heart sinks a little. I’ve noticed feeling the same sensation each time our walks near the end.

“Okay,” I mutter.

“Okay, what?” he asks, tossing the mangled ball for Wally one more time before we reach the door.

“I’ll do it. I’ll dog sit.”

Garrett’s face lights up like a kid on Christmas, and he leans forward to kiss me on the cheek.

“You’re the best,” he whispers as he pulls back, and I snort.

“Yeah, right.” He probably says that to all his dog sitters. Still, my face heats where the imprint of his lips linger despite the swift brush on my skin.

Dog sitting? What have I gotten myself into?