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Lincoln heard movement as he approached the door to their apartment. Not only was Kali home, she was awake, and unlike his family, she wouldn't look at him like he was a disappointment.
He opened the door and stared. Half of the boxes that had spent the past weeks lined up and piled against the wall were in the centre of the living room. Kali sat amidst a pile of items, packing tape around her.
“Oh, hey!” Her eyes widened. “Look at you. A haircut. New clothes. Was tonight the party?” She braced her hands on her knees and stood. “You went? That's great.”
“Uh, yeah.” Lincoln kicked off his new sneakers and closed the door. “What's going on?”
“Packing. Tell me about the party. Was your mom ... did ... did everything go okay?”
“She was happy to see me.” Lincoln stepped into the room. “What are you doing?”
Kali grinned. Grinned. She hardly ever grinned ... though she had been more lately. “I didn't want to tell you until I knew it was a sure thing, but I found a place.” A happy breath of air escaped her. “It's only three blocks from Westwood's main campus. A twelve-minute walk. This nurse is taking a job in Ontario and she needs to go now. So I'll technically be subletting the last couple of weeks of the month and my lease will start in September.” She reached for a pile of old yearbooks. “Why do we keep these things? Crazy.” She dropped the pile into the nearest box.
“So you're leaving when?”
“I'll move in tomorrow after work.” Another grin. “My first non-shadowing day!”
“Tomorrow?” Lincoln sank onto the arm of the nearest couch. “That's uh—”
“Soon. I know.”
“And isn't the job in Dartmouth? What about Theo? I thought the daycare couldn't take him for another week. Wasn't Mrs. Martin supposed to watch him until—”
“No.” She perched on a box. “They can take him right away. A space opened up. I didn't want to jinx it until I knew for sure it was happening. Really happening, you know?”
He gave a half nod. “But it's sudden. Is he ready?”
“He'll be ready. I took him over today to introduce him to the place. This one little girl kind of claimed him. Walked him around, introduced him to the other children. He'll be okay.”
“That's great. That's uh,” the room seemed to grow around Lincoln, as if she'd already left, as if the space she left behind were a chasm, “super.”
“Super?” She let out a laugh. “Okay, Mr. Rogers.”
This was too fast. Too soon. He wasn't ready. “You don't have to leave yet. You don't have to rush, I mean. Moving's rough, right? Take your time, move over slowly.”
“No.” She reached for another item. “This was the agreement; as soon as I was able, I'd be gone. I'm able. So, I'm going.”
“Yeah, but—”
“But what, Lincoln?”
“I don't want you to feel like I'm kicking you out.” He laughed. “Sure, of course I want my place back, but a few days, a few weeks, it's not a big—”
“A few weeks?” Kali turned from him as she gathered some items on the other side of the room. “This has been kind of you. Incredibly kind. I appreciate it. But we're not staying a few more weeks.”
“Okay, well,” Lincoln ran a hand through his hair, “I'll make sure I'm home then, tomorrow night, to help you take the first load over.”
“Oh, it's no problem.” She taped the box with Theo's dinky cars. “I hired movers. That's why I'm packing up tonight. By tomorrow at this time it'll look like we were never here.”
“Movers? But I can help. You don't need to—”
“You've done enough.” She smiled. Happy. Eager to leave.
“Okay, well.” The room grew and grew, and Lincoln felt lost in it. Her face: Excited. Resolved. She'd walk out and never look back. “Sure. Yeah. That's great.”
“I really do appreciate it.”
“Of course. Yeah.”
Lincoln passed by her. “Congratulations. I'm happy for you.” He turned, pushed out a smile. 'Cause he should smile. This didn't matter, her going. Or if it did, it was a good thing. “Bet you're relieved to be getting out of this dump.”
She shrugged. “It's not so bad.”
Lincoln kept walking. In the hall, once out of view, he put a hand against the wall, steadying himself. What was happening? Why did he feel like his world was crumbling? It wasn't. It was going back to the way it should be. He'd have his space back, his life back, he'd stop being blinded by the illusion that Kali and Theo were what he needed, what he wanted. They weren't.
By tomorrow they'd be gone, just like they'd never been here. He could put these last few months behind him, put them behind him, and finish the tree house. If he worked hard and fast, he could start living there soon, living his dream. If he started small, focused on a compact insulated room, maybe he could even live there through the winter, then work on expansion next spring. That could work. Yes. It would work. It'd be perfect. And no one would find him there. If he wanted to visit his family—for their sake, not his—he could, but he'd be the one in control. He'd give them no address. He'd hide away. Escape.
Yes. This was good. Just what he needed. What he wanted.