Page 58 of Sam & Justin
I’d thought about that. After I filled out the application, I started thinking through the logistics. I couldn’t just abandon the patients I had back in King’s Bay, but that didn’t mean I had to be there in person every session. “Online appointments. It might work better with some of their schedules, plus traveling back once a month for a few in-person sessions for clients who want that.”
“Do you think that’d work for them?” I nodded. “Okay, but that doesn’t…” He rubbed the back of his neck, and my stomach dropped. Maybe I was jumping the gun here and he was trying to figure out a way to tell me this wasn’t what he wanted. “Is this really what you want? You’re not running away from everything going on in King’s Bay, are you?”
It was my turn to pause. Was that what I was doing? I thought about it. I hadn’t been thinking about moving to Gomillion a few days ago. I’d thought about how things would work long term with Justin, especially after he showed up at my place when I was having a bad day. It had changed things. Seeing him in action this weekend, it made me realize that there was no way to make this work long term anywhere other than Gomillion. I couldn’t ask him to give up his life, his thoughts of running for office, the legacy he wanted to leave behind, just to be with me.
Just like I knew he’d never ask me to give up my life in King’s Bay. One of us had to make the leap, and I wanted it to be me.
I had my answer. “This is what I really want,” I assured him. “I want to have a future with you. Past few months, you’re all I’vebeen able to think about. I just don’t think it’ll work out with us living on opposite ends of the state. One of us has to make a move, and I can work from anywhere. You can’t.”
“I could do politics in King’s Bay.”
I nodded. He could. “But you’d have to start all over. You have connections here. People know you.” I paused. “Besides, your family’s here, and you actually like your family.” I couldn’t ask him to give up any of that for me. I knew my friendship with Axel would survive being a few hours away. I’d still go to King’s Bay and see him, every time I went to see my clients or I wanted new ink. He could come here, too.
It was the right choice.
“So… you’re moving in then?”
Moving in? My eyes went wide. “Think that might be jumping the gun.”
“Then where would you be staying?”
Fuck. I hadn’t finished telling him about the office. I hadn’t told him about the little apartment. “There’s an apartment over the office. Included in the lease. The last people who rented the building used it for storage, but I figured I’d stay there.” At least until we’d been together longer. I didn’t want to rush things, but I wanted to give us a real chance. I wanted to see what happened when we were seeing each other every day. “Just gotta wait for Beezy to tell me if I got it, but he said it shouldn’t be a problem.”
We talked more about the office, and the more we talked about it, the more I wanted it. I wanted to move to Gomillion and be with him. I wanted to be around him every day. I wanted more dinners like this, the two of us in person and not just eating our own dinners and staring at each other on a little screen while we watched our show. I wanted the day-to-day parts of being with Justin. I wanted a future with him.
Even if it didn’t work out with this building, my mind was made up.
I was moving back to Gomillion.
Three Months After the Reunion
The last month had been hectic.
Two days after I got back to King’s Bay, I got the call from Beezy that I’d been approved for the office and the apartment. After that, I had to figure things out with my clients. Most of them were okay with the idea of online therapy. Hell, most of the teenagers I worked with preferred it. It meant they didn’t have to traipse across town or miss class or practice to have their sessions with me. They especially liked the fact that they’d still see me once a month. After I got them signed off, I had to figureout a secure platform to do my online therapy. It would be a bit of a cost, but I found some things that worked.
Axel and I spent three days testing out different ones from our respective apartments, but I settled on one and then hired someone Axel knew, a friend of a friend, to build me a new website so that my clients could find that information easy. I even got Robbie to sign on as another therapist in my office, though he wasn’t going to be dealing with my King’s Bay clients. He had some of his own clients that he’d be bringing with him.
Packing was the last thing on my list, and I got the last boxes packed the night before I was set to move.
Moving day came bright and early. Axel showed up with a rented box truck, and we made quick work of loading up my entire life. It was strange, seeing how little I actually owned. I had a few bits of furniture, some boxes, and that was it. There was space in the back of the truck, even after we secured my motorcycle. I gave Axel the address to the office, and then we hit the road.
Justin was waiting for me when I pulled into the parking lot. He was sitting on the backstop, a grin on his face. I didn’t even turn off my car before I jumped out and took him in my arms. I was still kissing him when Axel pulled up with the truck. He honked the horn, and it was like a splash of cold water thrown over us. Probably a good thing, because my car was still idling.
Me, Justin, and Axel started unloading the truck. I might have been moaning about the fact that I didn’t have a lot of stuff when I looked in the truck, but by the time we got the last load up the stairs to my new place, I was grateful for it. We got the furnitureall put into their respective rooms, and I figured I could unpack the boxes later. Justin and I showed Axel around Gomillion, and he seemed to like the place well enough. He stayed the night, and the next day, I drove him back to King’s Bay.
A week later, the apartment and office were both set up. I even had that new blue couch I’d been thinking of, though once I had it, I found myself missing the leather couch from my office in King’s Bay. Maybe I should’ve brought it with me instead of leaving it behind. Robbie had started coming by to set up his office, and I’d heard him taking one of his telehealth clients already.
Everything was coming together.
Fourteen Weeks After the Reunion
“I can’t believe you’re dragging me to a football game,” I moaned as I followed Justin up the bleachers.
It was homecoming weekend at Gomillion, and that meant I was following Justin around to all kinds of activities. I’d seen glimpses of my mom and dad once or twice, but we’d ignored one another. My dad looked right through me, and I thought I saw a flicker of sadness from my mom. It wasn’t enough to make her come over, to make her reach out, and I decided it was forthe best. My life was better without them in it, and the past twenty years may have changed a lot, but it hadn’t changed that.
“I’ll buy you a pretzel,” Justin promised me as we reached an empty spot in the bleachers.
I looked over and saw Vanessa sitting close by, and I waved to her. I’d gotten to know her a little better since I moved to Gomillion. She’d referred a few clients my way, kids she recognized as needing help in her new role as school principal. I’d only been in business for a few weeks, and my client list was growing. She waved back before turning her attention down to the field.