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BOO SUBCONTRACTED ONE of her pending jobs and rescheduled the other for the following week. She needed to return to work to reestablish a sense of control over her life. She would have to take it slow for a while to avoid any reoccurring side effects of her concussion, but familiar activity would be comforting and restore a sense of normality.
Boo and María made the trip to the courthouse on Thursday morning to sign and file final paperwork for their divorce. To celebrate, Boo treated María and Isabella to dinner that evening.
“Now, you two crazy kids have to promise me you will not run off and get married without me. I have to give away at least one of the brides,” Boo proclaimed.
“We promise, but you better have a plus one for the wedding. Kids allowed, so that’s plus two,” Isabella replied.
“We promise, no wedding without you. Have you talked to Shon about a finding a place in Crestwood?” María’s task oriented nature surfaced.
“I can’t think about it yet. It’s just too soon in the relationship for such a big move. If there is a relationship,” Boo talked herself into a spiral of doubt again.
“Nope, not going to happen. You will not let this one slip away.” María had no intention of letting Boo undermine her master plan. “You love her, she loves you—”
“But she doesn’t know the real me. What if she doesn’t like this me? She’s a big star. I’m sure there are lots of people she could have a relationship with. I’m just...me.”
“Boo—and I will continue to call you Boo until you get the point—it doesn’t matter what your name is or what you do for a living, it’s you Jamie wants. This is you—kind, loyal, thoughtful, caring. Really, I just divorced you, are you going to make me go on and on about how wonderful you are?” María was prepared to do so, but hoped Boo would give in sooner rather than later.
“Boo, for once I agree with María’s tactics.” Isabella smiled at her soon-to-be wife’s persistence. “You need to breathe and take a leap. From what I hear, you’re willing to jump in front of a truck and off a cliff into a den of snakes. Moving to be with the woman you love has to be a lot less dangerous.”
“You two make me sound wonderful, but I already screwed up my first marriage. That’s what we’re here celebrating, remember?” Despite being over the breakup and feeling great happiness for María and Isabella, Boo still felt that the end of the marriage was largely her fault.
“Boo, you are absolved. Don’t make me talk about all of my faults in front of the woman who is about to take a leap of faith and marry me.” María’s patience was wearing thin. “No one is perfect. Except Isabella.” María made adoring eyes at her flawless partner.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, I am already well aware of your imperfections. It’s part of what I love about you.” Isabella took María’s hand. “Boo, you’ve said before this is what you want—a family. I have never seen you to shy away from a challenge or run away from something because you’re scared. Do you really want to start now?”
“You’re both right.” Boo, lost in thought, sat for a moment before continuing. “I need a plan. Otherwise I’ll get comfortable here and tell myself my time with Jamie was a fairy tale that was too good to be true.”
“Do you promise you’ll talk to Shon? Better yet, text them right now. If you don’t, I will,” María’s directive was more promise than idle threat, indicating her intention to closely monitor Boo’s progress.
“Have you talked to Jamie? What does she say?” Isabella tried to moderate the conversation.
“I talk to her every day,” Boo responded. “She wants a date when I’ll be back, but she’s obviously trying not to pressure me into anything.”
“I’m driving. When do we pack and leave?” María wanted a timeline, too.
“Sweetie, chill a bit,” Isabella reined in María’s runaway train attitude. She reached across the table for Boo’s hand. “When you met Jamie, you didn’t know who she is or what her job is. You saw the person in front of you and you fell for her. She did the same thing. So, please, put your doubts aside. You are enough. She is enough. You have to give this love a chance.”
“I appreciate your support. It means a lot to me.” Boo pulled her shoulders back, sitting up tall. “I would like to be back in Crestwood within two weeks. First, I need to finish a job. I’ll be gone for a couple of days.”
“I’m putting a GPS tracker on you this time.” María was taking no chances on losing Boo this time.
***
JAMIE SCHEDULED A TRIP to New York City. Max would spend a couple of days with Sarah and Bryan and his cousins while she was away. Time in the city and work would take her mind off missing Boo. Jamie contemplated hiring a car and driving to Boo’s home to surprise her, but resisted the urge. She wanted Boo to return of her own accord, without pressure. Jamie needed to be certain that returning to Crestwood was what Boo wanted. Besides, Boo had informed Jamie she would be out of touch for a couple of days while she finished a job in the field, leaving Jamie nervous and hoping this was not Boo’s way of letting her down easy, breaking ties, and moving on.
When Jamie arrived at Gabriela’s early in the week, they ordered delivery from their favorite pizza place and opened a bottle of wine.
“Remind me why we’re sitting here instead of being on our way to find your one true love?” Gabriela was impatient with Jamie’s equivocating.
“Because it needs to be Boo’s choice.”
“You think you have some magical power, if you just show up on her doorstep, she’ll enter a trance and not be able to resist following you home? No free will at all? That sounds like a bad movie script to me. Hey, didn’t you—” Gabriela began to tease Jamie about one of her less than stellar movie choices, but was cut off by Jamie’s defense.
“Okay, no, I can’t cast some magical spell over her. She obviously has her own mind. But what if she’s decided it would be too much to live life under a microscope. Obviously it’s not the life she’s chosen.”
“Everyone has stuff, baggage, whatever you want to call it. Yours just happens to be people who want to take pictures of you for some quick, dirty money. Once you two walk out in the sunshine, it will no longer be interesting. The paparazzi will find something more exciting to chase. You’ll be a boring couple. Doesn’t that sound wonderfully mundane?”
Jamie smiled at her friend’s barely disguised disdain for the mundane parts of life that she herself cherished. She also appreciated what Gabriela was trying to tell her.
“Chief tells me the same thing. Have you two been talking?”
“Yes, that’s how we spend our time after phone sex, talking about you and Boo.” Gabriela winked at Jamie with a hint of delighted mischief in her eyes.
“Oh, I did not need to hear that,” Jamie exaggerated her offense, shaking her head at Gabriela’s antics, whether they were true or not. “Okay, I need to concentrate on work for the next couple of days. Then I’ll have a heart-to-heart with Boo when she returns from her trip.”
***
JAMIE’S RENEWED ENERGY made the workdays in the city fly by. She felt good about what she accomplished before returning to Crestwood. Her future work plans were firming up and she looked forward to new challenges.
The rest of the week passed quickly. On Saturday morning, Jamie rose early to prepare for the Bikes-for-Kids event, driving to her parent’s house to help with last minute details. Sarah and Bryan would bring Max and their kids later, in time for the main event. Chief had gathered free helmets and pads for each child receiving a bike. Shon helped with organization and set-up. Dani wrote a story about the program and today’s roll-out. Gabriela designed T-shirts for the volunteers and a special T-shirt for the children. Everyone was pitching in to make this a memorable day for the children and their families.
In Jamie’s mind, the only thing missing was Boo, who had been out of touch for five long days. The silence weighed on Jamie’s mind.
The event began with a mid-morning brunch at the local park. The local bakery contributed a variety of muffins and juices, while vendors from the farmer’s market donated fresh peaches and other in-season fruits. The diner on the north side of town brought fresh coffee and poured glasses of milk for the kids. It was a community event in every sense of the word.
Just before noon, Philip and Lessa made their way to a platform set up in front of the three large vans used to transport the bikes and equipment. Taking turns at the microphone, they thanked those responsible for making the event possible. Each registered child would receive a bike, safety equipment, and instruction. Rounds of applause showed the appreciation of the children, their families, and the community for the effort it took to create the program and make it a success.
Jamie’s job for the event was to help Chief fit each child with a helmet and protective pads for their arms and knees. During the process, Jamie visited with the families and Max earnestly shook hands with each child.
After a child was fully outfitted in safety gear, the family walked across the platform to receive a bike. Volunteers rolled each bicycle from the back of one of the vans, staying with the child and their family for a short lesson in bicycle maintenance. Riding lessons followed for those who needed them.
After the last child was outfitted, Jamie and Chief began repacking the extra helmets and pads. Two volunteers rolled out the last bicycle onto the far side of the stage.
“Boo,” Max yelled, bolting from Jamie’s side to run across the platform and jump into Boo’s outstretched arms.
Boo released the bike to the other volunteer just in time to catch Max.
“I’ve missed you,” Boo told Max as she held him close, tousling his hair, and checking out his newly un-splinted hand.
Jamie looked up when Max yelled. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the sight of the tall, dark haired woman holding her son and walking toward her. She glanced at Chief, who smiled in the way friends do when they just did something wonderful.
Jamie walked into Boo’s outstretched arm, entwining herself into Boo and Max’s joint embrace. She willed herself to not break into tears of joy. A couple of nearby cameras clicked, but she could not have cared less. Jamie finally looked up into Boo’s warm eyes.
“Surprised? Good surprised?” Boo asked.
“The best surprise.” Jamie sighed her relief at having Boo back in her arms. “When did you get here?”
“We came in last night.” Boo motioned with her head to one side of the crowd. Standing next to one of the vans were Isabella and María, now joined by Shon and Chief. They all beamed. “Isabella and María helped me drive the moving truck—they weren’t taking any chances.”
“Moving truck? Where is it?” Jamie looked around.
“We already unloaded. Shon helped me find a place close to them. I thought, well, it might be a little presumptuous to show up on your doorstep with a moving van. Especially since we haven’t officially had our first date yet.”
“Well, then, we need to rectify that immediately. Boo Charming, would you do me the honor of going out with me? On a date? Today? Five o’clock, my place?” Jamie raised her eyebrows.
“Me, too,” Max chimed in.
Jamie and Boo laughed at Max’s enthusiasm.
“Yes, I would love to go on a date with you, Jamie Jordan.” Boo kissed Jamie’s forehead. “And, Max Jordan, you may join us until your bedtime.”
Boo put Max down and pointed him toward their gathered friends and family. Jamie took Boo’s face in her hands and kissed her slowly and softly. Twice.
“Just so you know, there will be a lot of kissing on the first date, and all subsequent dates.” Jamie winked.
Jamie took Boo’s hand as they walked toward the people they loved, to continue the day, together.