Page 49 of Another Love, Another Time

River

Halfway through my flight, after I’ve had time to be with my thoughts, I regret my decision to fly to see Baxter. It doesn’t make sense. Auggie told me he asked Melissa to move out. So, what happened from the time he asked to tonight?

The more I think about it, the more I see this has Melissa written all over it. There was nothing on the invitation about an engagement party. I know if Auggie proposed to her, she would have had that shit all over Instagram and Facebook, wanting everyone to know. Why surprise everyone?

I think back to Auggie’s face. He looked like he didn’t know what was going on.

I rub my hands down my face. How is this even my life?

I should have just called Baxter instead of catching a flight.

This was so over the top. In less than twenty-four hours, I have to hop back on a plane to come home.

At least I’ll be able to talk this through before I go back.

~~

My flight lands a little bit early, and I call Baxter to let him know that I landed. He tells me he’s about fifteen minutes out. I use the restroom as soon as I get off the plane. Thank God there’s not a long line, since I about peed my pants.

I didn’t check any bags, so I head straight to where Baxter will pick me up.

By the time I make it down, I only have to wait a few minutes before I see him drive up.

I open the back door, throw my bag in, and hop in the passenger seat.

He takes off. I lean my head back against the headrest and close my eyes.

Baxter lets me gather my thoughts before he starts. “Not that I’m not happy you wanted to see me again so soon, but this is unplanned. Something must have happened.”

I roll my head to look at him. “I told you about my aunt’s party?”

“Yeah. Guessing that didn’t go well since you’re here?”

“Well, much to my surprise, it was an engagement party.” His bros furrow while I pause. “For Melissa and Auggie.”

“No fucking way!”

“Yes, fucking way,” I volley back.

“Riv, there’s got to be more to the story.

If I thought for one second he wasn’t one hundred percent totally in love with you, I would be joining you on that flight tomorrow to kick his ass.

I get paid to tell if someone is lying. When I grilled him, there was no doubt where he stood.

This just doesn’t make any sense. Didn’t you say he asked her to move out? ”

I nod. It makes me feel better, knowing Baxter is questioning it as well. I thought I was going crazy.

“I know he has a long way to go to prove to you that he’s worth your time, but I can’t imagine after I spoke with him that he would do something like this. Did you even stick around long enough to talk with him?”

I groan. “No. I just reacted. I was halfway here before I regretted that decision.”

“River, you know I love you, but you have to stop running. That’s why you moved back, remember?

You’re not a kid anymore. You need to fight your own battles, and you can’t do it a flight away.

You need to learn how to communicate with Auggie.

Be straight with the guy. Tell him what you need.

Either way, you need to stand up for yourself, and that includes having conversations with Auggie and the parent.

I don’t believe their intentions were in the wrong place; I just think they focused on the wrong things.

You were the casualty, but they need to know that what they did affected you. They need to know everything.”

“I know you’re right. I just had a moment. I hate her so much. After everything she’s done, I just can’t believe she’s still getting away with this shit.”

“Is she? Have you even spoken with him since you left?”

“No,” I say guiltily. “He’s left a crap-ton of messages, but I haven’t listened to or read any of them.”

He grunts in acknowledgment. “How about you text everyone that you’re safe, and you’ll be home tomorrow. If I know you, you probably just took off and turned off your phone.”

I give him a look. He knows he’s right.

He continues, “Hurry up, and then we can visit with my mom. When she heard you were coming back, she made your favorite meal.”

I sigh. “She didn’t have to do that. It’s really late.”

“I told her, but do you think I can get my mom to listen to me?”

I laugh, only because I know when his mom has her mind made up, there’s no changing it.

I pull my phone from my pocket. When I landed and turned my phone back on, I silenced all the messages coming through.

Now, I see I have multiple texts and voicemails from Auggie, a few from my mom, one from Logan, and one from Mackey. I pull up the one from my mom first.

Mom: Where’d you go? Nobody can get hold of you.

River: I’m good. I’ll be back home tomorrow afternoon. Nothing to worry about.

I wait a second, but I don’t expect a reply at this time. I move on to Logan and Mackey. Both of them have similar messages: “Let Auggie explain.” I send them a quick text back that I will. I know there’s more to the story, especially if they are both telling me to let Auggie explain.

I then pull up Auggie’s text thread. I don’t read the thread; I just text my message.

River: Don’t worry. I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon. I just needed some time and space.

Before I can exit the thread, I get a reply.

Auggie: I just want to explain.

And I will let him explain.

River: I’ll be home tomorrow evening.

Auggie: I’ll give you until tomorrow. Any longer, I’ll come find you.

I put my phone in sleep mode and close my eyes again.

“Did my mom know?” I wonder. “She and my aunt aren’t close, but surely she would tell her if her daughter were engaged.

But if Melissa told her mom that she wanted it to be a surprise, maybe she did keep it from my mom.

I’ll have to ask her. I would hope my mom would tell me if she knew and not encourage me to go. ”

Baxter breaks me out of my thoughts when he asks, “Are you going to give him a chance to explain?”

“Yeah, I will.” I pause for a minute. “I just don’t get it. If anything, I need to understand what happened from the time he asked her to move out until now. I mean, he’s been staying in my spare room most nights.”

“So, do I need to be an ear to listen, or am I distracting you?” He knows this is just me thinking out loud, that I’m not expecting an answer.

“Maybe a little bit of both.” I shrug with a huff.

“I can do that. My mom’s excited to see you again. You'd better have an appetite. You know she will expect you to eat.”

I smile. I love Baxter’s mom. “Yeah, I can definitely eat, especially your mom’s cooking.” We both laugh, and it fades into a comfortable silence.

I’m silent for a minute. “How are you doing? Are you ready for this next deployment?”

“Is anyone ever ready for it? I’m as ready as I’m going to be. I’ll miss my sister’s graduation, but I know she understands.”

I put my hand over his. Baxter has done a lot. He worked to put his sister through college. That was one of the reasons he joined the Army; he wanted her to have options.

“I know it won’t make it better,” I say, “but you know I’ll be there to cheer her on, and I’ll take tons of pictures.” I squeeze his hand and then release it. Baxter has been an excellent friend, especially when I really needed him.

We pull onto his street, and we fall into comfortable silence again. When he pulls up, his mom is waiting for us on the porch. I don’t say anything, but I know she will. She is not one to beat around the bush.

"Not that I'm disappointed to see you, but two visits in the same week? That’s a record.” She calls out to me as I’m getting my bag from the back seat.

“I know. I figured you missed me.” She goes in for a hug without giving me much of a choice and drags my butt into the kitchen to eat the meal she made for me.

~~

Hey, sweet girl. What brought you back to us?” she asks.

“Family drama,” I reply.

“Come sit and tell Mama June. I’ll plate you up some of my eggplant parmesan lasagna that you love.”

I get up to help.

“No. Sit down. I’ll bring it to you.”

Baxter raises an eyebrow and says, “You better listen to her.”

I throw up my hands in surrender. “Fine.”

Mama June brings me my plate of food. My mouth waters as I think about how good this is going to be.

Baxter’s mom sits down, and she starts to eat.

She knows most of my history with my family and Auggie.

I’ve been here several times throughout the years, and she always asks about my family.

She knows about Melissa, so she’ll understand what I’m about to say.

I pick up my fork, slide it through the lasagna, and pick up my bite. As soon as the food hits my tongue, the flavors explode. I hum in appreciation.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?” she questions.

I pick up another bite as Baxter sets down a glass of sweet tea, and then he takes a seat. I gather my thoughts while I finish my bite. I feel so stupid now that I’m here. I can’t believe I hopped on a plane for all that.

“Well, you know Auggie?” They have never met, but we’ve talked enough about him and my feelings for the guy.

She probably knows how I feel about him better than most. She nods.

“Well, we were at a party last night at my cousin Melissa’s parents’ house, and her parents announced that she and Auggie were engaged. ”

She gasps. “No!”

“Yes.”

“When you were here earlier this week, you said things were going well.”

“It was. I know I shouldn’t have hopped on a plane, but I just needed to get away.”

“Oh, girl. If things were going as good as you said, I’d at least give him a chance to talk. Has he reached out?”

“Yes. Lots of times. I sent him a message on the way here, letting him know I would be back tomorrow evening.”

“Then you owe it to yourself to understand what’s going on. And if it’s true he’s engaged, this boy doesn’t deserve you. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve a man who will put you and your feelings first. If this Auggie can’t do that for you, he’s not worthy of you.”

I start crying, knowing she’s right. She gets up and swallows me up in a hug. “Oh, girl, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” she says.

“You did, but you didn’t; that just reminded me of something my dad would have said if he were here. It just made me miss him.” She squeezes me tighter and releases me.

“Your dad was an amazing man and a good example of what you should look for in a man. I don’t think you know this, or I’m sure you would have said something. He asked me not to say anything. I’m sure he would be okay with me telling you now.”

I’m confused, not sure what she’s talking about. I know she met my dad, but those meetings were brief. She looks at Baxter, and she must sense I truly don’t know what she’s talking about.

She continues, “A little while after you both graduated from basic training, we had that storm come through that damaged the roof. Our insurance company was fighting us. Without insurance, we didn’t have the money to get it fixed.

Well, Baxter must have said something to you, and you must have said something to your dad, because he showed up here one day shortly after it happened and said he was here to help fix the roof. ”

I remember talking to my dad about it. Baxter was stressing that he couldn’t be there to help his mom. He just said that it would work out, but he never said anything about helping her himself.

Mama June continues with her story, “I’ve never had someone show up for me the way your dad did for our family.

He didn’t have to do anything, but he did.

As soon as he got here, he got up on the roof to look at the damage.

He reached out to a local roofing company and negotiated a cost to fix our roof.

He worked out a deal where he would do most of the grunt work to knock off some cost. He tore off the existing shingles and underlay, hauled them off, and helped carry all the materials up and down the ladder.

It only took a few days, but I had a brand new roof, and your dad paid for it all.

I offered to pay him back, but he refused.

He asked me to keep it between him and me. ”

I look at Baxter, checking to see if he knows any of this, but he asks his mom, “Mom, I thought you said the insurance paid for it.”

“Sorry. I lied, Baxter. I didn’t want you to stress anymore either.

Her dad knew that she would worry about it, and he didn’t want her to worry.

I didn’t want you to worry, son. He didn’t do it for the praise; he only wanted to help.

The only thing he asked for was that we look out for you.

You would need someone, and you might not feel comfortable reaching out to your family.

It was no trouble for us, sweet girl. You fit right in with our family. ”

I’m bawling. I miss him so much. He was the best man I knew.

“Don’t be sad, my girl. He loved you so much.”

She lets me cry a bit longer until my tears dry up, and I wipe my eyes. “Thanks for telling me that story. I needed that. I’m glad he was able to help you.”

“Me too. It was one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. Something I’ll always remember. Your dad set a good example of the kind of man you deserve. Don’t settle for less than that.”

“I won’t.” And I mean it. Either Auggie steps up and shows me I’m the most important person to him, or I need to get on with the rest of my life.