Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115288 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
“It sure seems like it. What am I going to do?”
“Well, you have two options. You can give him a few days to cool off and hopefully come to his senses, or you can go back over there and try and force him to see that you’re right. I think the first option is probably the best, even if it’s the hardest. The second is likely to backfire, and you also wouldn’t be sticking to your guns and then this has the potential to happen again, but with significantly worse fallout. And as a woman who has dealt with really bad fallout after a relationship crisis, I can say that I would not want to invite option two if at all possible.”
“His default move is to bury his head in the sand until he’s at risk of suffocating. I can’t keep running on this hamster wheel.”
“You’re right, you can’t. And this isn’t on you to make things better, Harley. He has to realize he has work to do if he wants you two to succeed as a couple. I think if you can stand your ground, then he’ll have to look critically at how he’s responding and hopefully see that his reaction did not in any way match the circumstances.”
“I wonder if Karen feels a level of guilt for welcoming someone new into their lives who isn’t their daughter, just like Gavin feels guilty for what happened to Marcie. Neither of them have had to contend with that before now. It’s complicated, and not entirely logical, but emotions rarely are.” I let my head fall back. “There are so many more layers to this than I realized.”
Avery’s expression is sympathetic. “There are. But that doesn’t mean it’s not fixable. You’re a tender soul, and he’s been battling with his own feelings. I don’t think it’s as simple as the accident setting him off, or the influence of his mother-in-law. I think it’s everything piled on top of each other, and it was too much for him. Especially with the way he reacted to Peyton getting hurt, and him being fixated on it potentially having been worse. When was the last time he was at a hospital? If it was when his wife died, then would his reaction be more understandable?”
I nod slowly. “Yes, it would make a lot more sense. And Peyton’s birthday is soon, which means the anniversary of her death is coming up. Maybe I need to call him.” I reach for my phone, but Avery stops me.
“Just because you realize what’s going on doesn’t mean he does. Give him some time to think. It might take more than a few days for him to get his feelings sorted out, especially since it seems like he’s been keeping them buried for a long time.”
“How long do you think it will take? A week? More? Less? Do you think it will be months like it was for you and Declan?” I can’t imagine hanging in limbo for that long. Although for Avery and Declan, there was ten years of love and friendship as the foundation. They had lots to build on. Gavin and I have a challenging history fraught with loss and guilt. And maybe that’s part of the reason why I’ve been so accommodating. Maybe it isn’t just Gavin who needs to do the work; maybe it’s me too.
Avery gives my hand a sympathetic squeeze. “It’s hard to say. You’re the first person he’s really let in since Marcie died, and the last time the two of you got close, he ended up moving away. That’s a pattern he needs to see on his own. Give him some breathing room. Message in a few days to see how he’s doing. If he’s receptive, ask if he wants to talk. Then leave the ball in his court.”
“Okay. What about Peyton?”
“She’s got lots of love in her life. She’ll be okay.”
I know she’s right, but the question is, will I?
* * *
The next few days suck. A lot. But while my personal life seems to be imploding, the Spark House franchise is taking off. So I don’t have a whole lot of time to wallow in self-pity during my nine-to-five. I save that for when I climb into my bed, struggling to sleep, and wondering if we’ll be able to get past this or not.
“I’m sorry I can’t be at the grand opening this weekend,” Gran says on our biweekly call. Gran’s lips are pulled down in a frown which contradicts her sunny-yellow dress and her equally sunny hat covered in a pink flower print.
“It’s okay, Gran. We know it’s a long trip, and you’ll be back soon enough. Besides, these kinds of things are so busy, we wouldn’t have time to really visit. It’s better for you to wait until the baby is born.” Gran is planning a trip around when Avery has the baby, and we decided that was more important.