Page 52 of When People Leave

Abby

A bby grabbed a sweater from her suitcase and called to Morgan and Charlie. “We need to go, or we’re going to be late for lunch with Brian.”

As they walked to the front door, Abby’s cell phone rang. “Hello,” she said. “Oh, hi, Jennifer, hold on a sec.” Abby mouthed the words ‘real estate agent’ to her sisters. They hurried over and huddled around her as she put her phone on speaker.

“Okay, we’re all here,” Abby said.

“Good,” Jennifer said. “A great offer just came in on the house. It’s all cash, full asking price, a twenty-day escrow with no contingencies, and the buyer wants to keep all the furniture.”

“Really?” Morgan said.

“I doubt you’ll get a better offer than this one,” Jennifer said. “So, do you want to accept it?”

Abby looked at her sisters to get their reactions, but neither Morgan nor Charlie said anything. “Can we call you back?” Abby asked.

“Sure, but don’t wait too long,” Jennifer said, and Abby hung up.

“What do we think?” Abby asked.

“I thought we’d have a little more time to get used to selling it,” Morgan said.

“Me, too,” Charlie said. “If we take the offer, a new family will live here in less than a month. We won’t be able to come here again.”

“If I had the money, I’d buy it,” Morgan said.

“Me, too, even if it was only an investment to rent it out,” Abby said. “I’d love to keep it in our family.”

“We don’t have a choice; I think we have to sell,” Charlie said.

“No matter what we do, Mom is never coming back here,” Abby said.

“We’ll still have all our memories,” Morgan said.

“And the toaster that burned our bread every morning,” Charlie said.

“And the waffle iron that didn’t cook the inside of the waffles,” Abby said.

“We also have Albert, who constantly falls off the couch,” Morgan said, then turned to Abby. “Accept the offer before we all change our minds.”

Abby called Jennifer back, who said she would send the paperwork later that day.

“We better go. Brian’s waiting for us,” Morgan said, and they headed outside.

“Do you think we should call him Brian or Dad?” Abby asked, unlocking the car.

“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” Morgan said, and Abby’s eyebrows scrunched together in contemplation.

Abby drove to El Torito, a Mexican restaurant in Sherman Oaks that they frequented with their mother. It seemed crowded for lunch; all the bar stools were taken by people drinking margaritas and munching on chips and salsa.

Brian was already there, seated at a booth in the corner. “Is everything okay?” Brian asked. He must have noticed the three of them had the same expression, and their shoulders were sagging as they walked up to him. “If you guys have changed your mind about getting to know me, I’d understand.”

Abby saw Brian’s leg jiggling under the table. “No, it’s not that,” Abby said. “We just accepted an offer for Mom’s house, and we’re having a tough time letting it go.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Brian said.

“No, it’s not,” Morgan said as they scooted into the booth.

“I meant you accepted my offer,” Brian said.

“Your offer?” Charlie said.

“Yes, I bought the house. I asked my company to transfer me to Los Angeles. I hope that’s okay. I don’t want to spend another minute without being on the same side of the country as the three of you.”

“You’re going to move into our mom’s house?” Abby asked.

“I’m not going to live there,” Brian said. “I bought it thinking one of you might want to move in.”

“You know none of us live in Los Angeles, right?” Morgan said.

“I can’t move my practice from Arizona, and besides, I just met Collin, and I want to be where he is,” Charlie said.

“I can’t move here either,” Abby said. “Alex just got a great promotion, and two of my kids are in school. I can’t uproot my family.”

“Morgan, you mentioned you were considering moving back,” Brian said. “If you lived in the house, that would eliminate the expense of renting something.”

Morgan looked at him, then tilted her head from side to side as if weighing his offer. “You’d let me live there for free?”

“Of course, but no pressure,” Brian said. “If you decide you don’t want to move, I’ll rent it out as an investment. I knew none of you wanted to part with it.”

“The program at Cal State Northridge is perfect for me. Can I think about it?”

“Definitely,” Brian said.

“If I decided to move in, I wouldn’t feel comfortable not paying you,” Morgan said.

“We can work something out. And if you do live there, your sisters will have a place to stay when they visit. Which I hope will be often.”

“That is not a selling point,” Morgan said, smiling.

“Are you for real?” Abby said to Brian.

“I think so,” Brian said, pinching himself. “Or this is the best dream I’ve ever had.”

Morgan, Charlie, and Abby beamed at each other.

“Dad, I don’t know what to say,” Morgan said.

“You called me Dad,” Brian said.

“Is that okay?” Morgan said.

“It’s more than okay,” Brian’s smile matched theirs.

Abby looked around the table at her sisters and father and knew nothing would ever be the same. And that was the greatest thing any of them could have hoped for.

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