Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
That was five years ago. I quit trying after the last ditch effort was tossed out the window, another phone call to Mr. Flay, making sure there was enough money in the estate to maintain the upkeep of my family home. It was a no-brainer—bury your head in the sand along with everything else, take a job in Alabama, and go on with life. Until now.
“You can do this, Tulsa Rose. You didn’t come all this way to only come all this way,” I say as I step out of my car and look at the house. Both inside and outside hold all of my happy memories along with a crap load of bad memories, amazing in the way that this is where Mont and I grew up, watching our parents dance in the kitchen, baking cookies after school, aggravating one another for no other reason than we were siblings. So many great times were built in the two-story home sitting on a few acres of land with a small pond in the back. Where I’m hoping to start fresh. Alabama was never the place I felt at home. Nope, I’m a Florida girl through and through. I close the door to my car and put one foot in front of the other, even though there’s a tingle in my hands, a tightening in my chest, and the blinking of my eyes as I take my first step up the front porch. The guilt I feel for allowing Ledger to control when I came home hits me deep. Breathing becomes harder, and before I know it, I’m reaching for the railing, using it as leverage as I drop to my ass, close my eyes, and give myself a moment. The affirmations my therapist told me to use come to mind. I am strong, I am brave, I am loved, and I can do this. Yeah, that ‘I am loved’ part is hard to swallow. There’s one person on this earth who does love, me and it’s my best friend and now former roommate, Nelle. The love we have for one another is real. We pick each other up when the other is feeling down, celebrate the victories no matter how big or small.
“Nelle, I can’t do this.” The call is placed without my realization, so distraught at the idea of walking through the front door, not having my mother, father, or brother. Never mind Ledger, who lives right next door. I will never call him, not like I can or would. Though, I’m sure one call to Mr. Flay, and he’d give me Ledger’s new number. That’s no longer an option in my eyes.
“Tulsa Rose, you can do anything,” she responds without the pleasantries. We don’t need those, considering we spoke an hour or so ago, when I checked in with her, Nelle telling me how our apartment isn’t the same without me there. I’m secretly hoping she’ll move down here eventually.
“I’m not sure I can do anything. I barely made it to the last step on the front porch. What if I’m making a mistake?” On a whim, I applied for a job in a bigger city next to our town. The commute would mean twenty minutes each way, not too bad considering I wouldn’t have to live in said city, where it’s not near as peaceful as Orange Blossom.
“Well, you can always come back to Alabama. Your room is still empty, but, Tulsa, you may not be able to admit this to yourself, so I’ll do it for you. The woman you are is not because of a house. It’s who you are in your heart. Plus, would you really be able to admit defeat, come back with your tail tucked between your legs and give up your position as lead designer at Restore and Repair?”
“I hate when you’re right. Do you realize how unfair that is?” Restore and Repair, easily known as R&R, is known for working on homes that have been restored to their former glory. My job there is an absolute utter dream come true. Whereas the other side of the firm buys homes, repairing or rebuilding homes from the 1800s to the 1970s, my side is sourcing everything from paint to wallpaper, light fixtures, bathtubs, and all the items you’d need to make it a true home it represents. There’s something to be said about a house full of history and nostalgia.
“I know, and I understand how hard it is for you to admit that I’m right, too. Now, get your cute little ass inside that house, or I’m coming down to Florida. Tonight.” Nelle talks a big game. She currently has a job being the boss babe she is at a mortgage firm, raking in the dough. With how hot the housing market is, she’s raking in the cash. The peanut butter to my jelly. We each work differently yet hard at the same time. So, as much as she threatens to come down here, her job would never allow her to take any time off on a whim. The only chance I’ll have my best friend here is if she takes a vacation, which she won’t. Nelle is a workaholic through and through. Her number-one focus is work. The only person who can pull her away from it is me, and sadly, even me needing her in Florida right now would make her feel like she was being pulled in both directions. I’m not going to add that pressure to her plate. I’ll suck it up somehow, even if I’m a needy friend and monopolize her time with phone calls or FaceTime calls.