Driving through her old neighborhood, Monica was surprised that she felt nothing. She hadn’t realized how suffocated she had been in Casey’s world and how being with him stifled who she was. Monica committed herself while she was waiting at a red light, not to allow herself to get consumed by Juve’s life. The newfound freedom was refreshing.
There was no more space in Monica’s life to re-live the past. There were good times, and there were terrible times. For now, she was committed to the present and managing how to start her legal career. Thankfully, she and Casey had agreed to a fair amount of child support. While her life would be less glamorous in Houston than in San Diego, she would not be down in the dumps. Not needing to work a nine-to-five while in school was very helpful. She would continue taking courses during the day and could explore internship opportunities. Life was good, and Monica wanted to enjoy every bit of it. Her son adored her, she was working towards her professional goals, and the blossoming relationship with Kenny fed her soul. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the shrill of her ringing phone. Picking the phone up to glance at the screen to see who the caller was, a smile crept across Monica’s face.
“Hello,” she answered while pressing the speaker button and placing the phone back into its original position in the cup holder.
“What’s going on beautiful?”
Monica loved that Kenny showered her with compliments, although they often made her uncomfortable. She wasn’t used to a man consistently pouring into her with goodness. Casey wasn’t mean to her per se; he just took her for granted. Despite her conflict with receiving compliments, she vowed never to complain because receiving them was much better than not receiving them.
“I dropped JoJo off with his father earlier, and now I’m driving around trying to decide what to do next. Being in San Diego is so weird now that my life is in Texas. I thought about going to some of my old hangout spots, but honestly, I don’t want to see any of those people,” she responded.
“How about you pick me up this evening and we can make some new memories in San Diego?”
“What are you talking about, Kenny?” Monica asked.
“My shows in Denver are postponed because something happened at the arena. I don’t know what, but my road manager told me they had to cancel my shows for tomorrow and the next day,” he replied.
“Wow! That is crazy,” Monica responded in disbelief.
“The crew is heading to Seattle, and I was going to head down to you. If that was cool with you.” Kenny quizzed.
“You know what,” Monica paused, “I would love that! What time does your flight land?”
“Seven, but I’ll text you the flight information,” Kenny shared. Monica and Kenny shared their final pleasantries before ending the call.