Page 50 of Flights and Sights

“Technically, Monday. I could probably push it back a couple of days, but they want me heading out the following week.”

“Wow. That’s… soon.”

“I know.”

We were both quiet for a long time. I let the news process, my heart and my throat tight with sadness. “We won’t see each other for at least three months once you’re gone, right?”

“There’s always video calling. But yeah. I’d be on the road for at least three months. Until Thanksgiving, probably.”

“Long-distance relationships are tough.” It felt like the stupidest possible thing to say. I was sure he knew that, and I doubted he wanted to get into something like that with me. We’d barely known each other a month, after all.

“They are.” Cal didn’t let my hand go, squeezing again. “Do you… Is that something you’d be interested in trying?”

More tears stung my eyes. “I… don’t want to let go of you. Not yet.”

“Okay, then.”

“Three months,” I murmured, more to myself than anything, before glancing at Cal again. “This must be the opportunity of a lifetime, though. It’s a big assignment.”

“It is. I’ve never been offered anything like this. The popularity of the Celestial Cask article going viral opened up doors I never expected to have opened for me. This trip… it’s a career-maker.”

“I get it.” I felt like there was a golf ball in my throat and I took a long, shaky breath to steady myself. “Okay. So we try long-distance.” I didn’t feel as confident as I tried to sound.

“Okay.”

“Do we, like, need to discuss logistics?” I asked. “Or, you know, boundaries and stuff?”

Cal tipped his head to the side briefly. “How do you mean?”

A nervous heat flared in my gut. “Um… exclusivity?”

“Oh,” Cal said with a little chuckle. “Yes. I’d like that.”

A cool relief washed over me. “Okay.”

“And we’ll talk and text as much as possible. Video calls. Maybe we have them scheduled for at least once a week.”

Something gnawed at me though. Was I going to be just a temporary thing for him? Was it going to be something that faded away because of Cal’s ever-moving lifestyle? I didn’t want to give voice to my fears, didn’t want to cause tension in this peace that was settling over us, so I kept that part to myself. All relationships end, I told myself. Until one doesn’t. It was something I’d heard probably an infinite number of times from Uncle Paul as he found himself helping his friends through various breakups and reminding myself of it now was a tiny bit of reassurance.

We were both quiet for a bit before Callum released my hand again. I immediately missed his touch and I ached to reach out and bring him back to me.

He picked up his phone and glanced at it. “It looks like there are a few other grants we can apply for. I can use the same application package for a couple of them, with a few tweaks. One says it closes tonight.” He thought for a moment. “Have you considered getting a loan for the expansion?”

A soft, bitter laugh escaped me. “I’ve more than thought about it. I’ve talked to the bank. But even based on the value of the property I have and what I want to buy, the contractor’s estimates came in too high. I had three proposals. Still too much. I can’t get a loan for enough. I’d do it if I could.”

“So you need the grant money.”

I nodded. “It probably doesn’t matter. There’s a buyer for the property already. I can’t stop them from buying the land if they outbid me. If the town takes their side over mine. There’s nothing I can do then.”

He put a gentle hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to make it happen. Promise.”

There was another stretch of quiet between us while Callum worked on his phone, frantically searching for grants to apply for.

“Hey, Cal?”

He looked up at me from his phone and hummed.

“Do you think I made the right decision? Declining the Carson Group’s offer?”