Page 40 of Daddy to Go

I hummed to the radio as I pulled up in front of Ryder’s brownstone. The door was propped open and I could see that the old lady who lived next door had changed her décor. Her place was all decorated in red, white, and blue for the Fourth. She was an interesting woman. I was just glad she didn’t know me personally because the town can get awful small when it comes to things like that.

Hopping out of the car, I grabbed the brownies and went up the steps and to the second door on the left. I rang the bell and stood back, smiling to myself. There was no answer. I rang again, but still no answer. Meandering back outside I looked up and down the street but I didn’t see Ryder’s car.

Weird.He must have had way more work than I thought he did. It was even possible he got called into the hospital for some sort of emergency. It’s okay. I cleared my whole evening for him so there was no harm in waiting a bit. I sat down on the steps outside and put the brownies in my lap. At least it was a beautiful day.

Cars passed by, people strolled along the sidewalk, and the bright sunshine quickly began to fade to dusk. Ryder still didn’t come. I texted him to see what he was up to, but he didn’t respond. As dusk turned to dark, the air became crisp and cool, and everything fell almost eerily silent. My heart had already dropped into my stomach hours before and now it was flip-flopping around and making me queasy.

A door creaked open behind me and I stood up nervously. The old woman who’s his neighbor came out, looking at me with a worried face.

“Hello, dear. I noticed you’ve been sitting here for hours. Are you alright?”

I smiled kindly at her. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I was just waiting for Ryder to get home. I came to surprise him thinking he would be off work already. I guess he had to stay late or something.”

She used the rail to help her along, her brow creasing.

“You mean the young man staying next door?”

I nodded.

“Yes. The doctor.”

She shook her head.

“But dear, the doctor moved out this morning. I saw him loading all his things with my own eyes, and he even said goodbye. Didn’t you know?”

My heart plummeted to the floor as rolling waves of nausea overcame me. What? How could this be happening?

18

Abby

Icouldn’t have heard her right.

“I’m sorry. Did you say he moved out? There’s no way.”

“Oh yes,” she said turning toward the door. “He parked his pretty little sports car out front, brought all his suitcases out, and loaded them into the trunk. He was quite the looker too. Even at my old age I couldn’t help but stare a little.”

I gave a fake chuckle, a smile barely formed on my lips. “Did he say where he was going?”

The old woman shook her head. “No, just that he enjoyed his time in Farmington and he was sure he would eventually make it back around. Honestly, he didn’t look to be in the mood to be talkative. That’s usually how those good-looking fellows are. Standoffish. Still, he was nice and quiet so it was good to have him here.”

I rubbed my forehead, looking at the brownies. “This is impossible. I’ve been texting with him all week and he didn’t say a word about leaving for good.”

All the blood drained from my face and my legs felt wobbly and weak. I grabbed onto the railing to the stairs and shook my head. I had no idea what was going on. Where did Ryder go? Nothing made any sense at all. I was here to surprise him. We just spent three amazing days and nights together at the beach. How could things change that rapidly?

I glanced up at the old woman who was staring at me, unsure of what was wrong. “Do you think he was just moving some stuff out? Was there a fumigation or something today?”

“Oh no, sweetie, this brownstone is very clean,” she said, waving me up the steps. “I’m Edna by the way.”

“Abby,” I managed, feeling like I was going to choke.

She pulled a set of keys out of her pocket. “I watch the place when no one is here, and the doctor’s definitely gone. Take a look around if you like.”

She rattled the keys in the door and opened it up. His scent still lingered strongly inside, and it made me feel like puking right there on the floor. I couldn’t get my feet to move so I stood there staring around the place. The furniture was obviously still there but every remnant of Ryder was gone. Every personal touch. Even the dishes were cleaned and put away, and the liquor cabinet was closed and locked. It looked like he had never been there at all.

Slowly I backed away from the door and let her close and lock it. Edna’s voice lowered and softened, and she put her hand on my shoulder. “I can see now that this wasn’t a mistake. Whatever happened, trust me, it won’t hurt forever. I’m sorry I had to be the bearer of bad news.”

My eyes focused in on the old woman’s face and I realized she wasn’t just some wrinkly old soul. She was a woman too, and she could see that pain radiating off my face. I shook her hand and thanked her, heading back out to the car. Slowly I got inside and sat behind the wheel, still clutching the brownies in my lap.