Glee: World of Chances (the fourth book in the Glee series)

Chapter 52: Fly to Your Fixer Upper

"Fort Lauderdale?" Harmony repeated, her head spinning. Ryder stood in front of her and nodded. She suddenly felt dizzy and, seeing the color escape her face, Ryder helped her sit down.

He took her hands in his and said, "Yeah... I... I got the call just now. It's why I was taking a while to get here. It's an amazing opportunity. With my new inheritance I don't really need it but... It's a dream come true."

Harmony shook her head. "Can you just start over?" she asked. "From like, the very beginning."

"Caveman?" he asked jokingly, trying to ease the tension. She gave him a look so Ryder said, "Ok, the owner of Adonis wants to move the bar. Start up a chain in Florida, where he thinks business will be better. Springbreakers, vacationers, college students. A better scene than a small town in Ohio, right? And he wants to offer me a much better position than bar manager, as assistant director of the chain. I'd be almost, like, part-owner. And I think it'd be cool to invest in his project. Make it my project, too."

"But Florida?" she asked. "Why now? I mean, why do you have to...?"

"I haven't given him an answer yet," Ryder noted. "I haven't even made up my mind completely. But if I decide to go, I need to know... Will you go with me?"

Harmony looked down at the ground and shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know," she admitted. "I really have very strong feelings for you but... I don't know if I'm willing to leave my home, again, to follow your dreams. My dream after Broadway was to come back here and start a family."

Ryder's expression hardened. "I don't want to take that dream away from you," he shook his head. "I already have by starting my family with Marley and-"

"This has nothing to do with her," she assured him. "With any of that. Those issues aside, I... I like Lima. It's not where I grew up and I only spent, like, two years of my life in this town but... It was my only true home. I want my kids to go to McKinley with Finn or with whoever he passes the torch to. I want them to be a part of New Directions. And the truth is... Ryder, I don't think it's a good idea for you to go either. If Marley does end up pregnant, well... How is that going to work? You two are in this new partnership and you can't just leave her."

"I still have to talk to her," Ryder said. "But I'm hoping she'll go with me, too. Get a job as a nurse over there and-"

"Ryder..." Harmony sighed, pulling away from him. "What are you hoping for here? That the two of us can just play dutiful wives to you and follow you around the country? Florida is a long way for home for Marley, too, and I don't know that she'll be too happy or willing to go."

"But-" he began.

She shook her head and stood up. "Can I just let it sink in a bit? Your offer?"

He nodded. "And I'll consider your opinion and weigh whether I'll stay or not," he agreed.

She forced a smile, grateful that this was at least a decision he was asking for her opinion on, unlike every other major life choice he'd made in a while. Hungry and full all at once, she clutched onto her stomach and made her way to the kitchen for a snack that may help bring her back to life.

***

"This sucks," said Mandy as she dragged her suitcase behind her into the motel room she was being forced to stay in.

"Not my fault," John rolled his eyes, locking the door after they were both safely inside. "That storm came out of nowhere."

"We could've made it to my apartment," she insisted.

"We couldn't," he groaned. "Let it go. We're stuck here for maybe an hour or two. Do your nails or something and the time will pass by."

"Do my nails or something?" she asked. "What do you think I do for a living?" John raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Mandy gave him a look. "I should've just stayed with the others at the studio. It would've been better than being here in this creepy, dirty place."