Page 40 of On the Ropes
That got her attention. “Can I make a movie?”
I slid out my phone and turned the video function on. “Anyone can make a movie. I bet your dad can help you. Go for it.”
The expression she wore waving my phone around had my sister and me exchanging a look of surprised happiness.
“You might have a little director on your hands,” I mock-whispered.
“I’d be okay with that,” she replied.
Juliet pointed the phone at me. I waved and blew a kiss for the camera. “If you want, you can ask me questions. That’s how I start making my movies.”
“Okay,” she said, very seriously. “Do you miss me when you leave?”
“Every single day.”
“Can I still call you when you leave again like we did before?” she asked.
“You can call me anytime,” I said. “I promise.”
She was zooming all over. I couldn’t contain my smile, watching her work, the astonishment radiating from her movements. It was an astonishment that I recognized.
“Do you have friends?” she asked.
I smothered a giggle. “I do have friends. Your mom and dad are my best friends.”
“But when you go away and leave us, I mean?”
“Wow,” Eric said. “No more softball questions for you, Aunty Tabby.”
I snorted and said, “Of course I have friends. I meet people everywhere I go.”
Which was objectively true. The contact list on my phone was filled with friends I’d made during my travels and random temporary roommates and people I’d dated. But I hadn’t spoken to any of them since coming home.
I thought Juliet might want to keep questioning me, but she’d already dropped my phone to go back to enjoying her grilled cheese, which wasn’t a decision I could fault her for. It was a Drew Tyler specialty.
I leaned across the table. “I just confirmed my next contract. I’m heading out to Austin at the end of the month.”
My sister’s eyes went wide. “Can we come visit? We’ve been wanting to go there for years.”
“I’m in,” Eric said. “We’ll still be off from school for most of August. Could be our summer vacation destination.”
“If Dad and Kathleen come, she will leave a trail of tequila and destruction through that city,” Alexis said. “And, personally, I can’t wait.”
The characterization of my wild and raunchy stepmom was accurate. But my own physical response to what I’d normally consider great news was a little muted. Perhaps it was sitting in this cracked, red-vinyl booth, draped in affection and bittersweet nostalgia, and thinking about everything I had to do only to leave again—the long plane rides, the empty hotel room, the temporary housing, the loneliness of being on your own in a new city.
My headspace was all over the map tonight.
“Austin is probably ripe for a hot summer fling, right?” Alexis asked.
I took a giant bite of my cheesesteak to avoid answering. Dean wouldn’t be in Austin, obviously. And that was fine. Obviously.
The bell over the door jingled, and I smelled Kathleen’s perfume. She slid into our booth just as my dad returned, passing me a Styrofoam container with Eddie scrawled in black marker.
“I happened to make extra chicken tonight if he wants some,” he said.
Thank you,I mouthed, squeezing his wrist.
“Hi, Grandma,” Juliet said, sounding shocked. “What are you doing here?”
