Page 49 of True Blue

Teddy had said this was just a date night for us, my first weekend off since Thanksgiving, to celebrate my attending position at Bluewater.

I jumped when I walked into the bar and people yelled, “Surprise!” at me.

I don’t know how he did it, but he contacted my coworkers and invited them. Even Phoebe, who is sitting at the bar with her wife, both of them grinning at me over their drinks like proud parents.

The chaotic last couple of weeks feel like just a preview of what the next seven months will be like.

I’ll be finishing out my residency, packing up my apartment and Teddy’s condo, getting all of our things—including our cars—from Chicago to Cape May safe and sound.

Thankfully, Bluewater has given me a good signing bonus and relocation package. I’ve already reached out to the owner of the house we toured, and we are officially under contract.

I haven’t told Teddy yet.

He thinks we’re going to move into an apartment first, but I want to surprise him on Christmas morning by telling him I’m going to buy the house for us.

Ellie was ecstatic when we told her about Bluewater, and she gave Teddy the key to her storage container, which holds a lot of her and Ted’s old furniture. She said we could have a full shopping spree there and take anything we want.

I was completely struck by all the strong, gorgeous, well-made mid-century furniture and pretty much took it all, which Ellie encouraged. I asked her why she was letting us have it instead of Dawn, Robin, or June.

Ellie gave me a look and said, "Because Dawn called it all tacky. If it’s not found in a Neiman Marcus catalogue, she doesn’t want it.”

Teddy and I stand close by the bar, each holding our drinks. Every now and then, I feel his fingers trailing lightly up the exposed skin of my back.

“Congrats, Indie!” One of my second-year residents yells to me from across the bar, raising their Miller High Life in my direction.

I raise my own drink in return and smile, feeling so warm and buzzy that I almost don’t know what to do with myself.

Teddy invited his own friends too. Heath and Luke are currently up on the karaoke stage singing a romantic duet of Endless Love. Their girlfriends are cackling and recording them while they dramatically sing to each other like idiots.

I do notice that none of his family is here.

Not that I’m missing their presence, besides Danielle and Stephanie who are at their respective homes. I would have loved for Nana to be here, but she needs her rest.

I’m sure his mother would find some way to monopolize the night or use this opportunity to beg Teddy not to leave.

It seems that ever since Thanksgiving and the announcement that Teddy and I will be moving across the country together, his mother has stopped hiding how much she doesn’t like me.

I’ve started taking on more shifts under the guise of finishing out my patient care before I leave, but really, I can’t sit through another dinner of her glaring at me and throwing backhanded compliments.

“What’s there even to do in New Jersey?”

“Won’t you get tired of living near the beach?”

“Oh, my goodness! What about the hurricanes? Tsunamis? What about sharks?”

No matter how many times we’ve told her we won’t be living directly on the beach, that there’s a lot to do in that area besides the beach, that hurricanes this far up are few and far between, and there is usually ample notice to prepare.

I hate the seeds of doubt she keeps trying to plant in Teddy. His mother is so persistent, and now his father has even joined in, guilting Teddy about the business.

“Who else can I trust with my Dad’s business?”

“Someone more passionate about being an electrician?” I suggested, the escaped my mouth before I could stop them.

Teddy had pointed at me, as if I had made an excellent point. Dawn’s hand tightened around her martini glass, and Judd had just sneered at me like I had the audacity to speak in his presence at all.

I hadn’t backed down from his stare. I held eye contact until he finally scoffed and took a long pull from his beer.

It felt like a small victory, so I took it as one.