Dear Bailey

Part 26

Bailey

Was this really going to happen? Were we really going to be able to meet up again before we both went back to our normal lives? I reread his letter a million times, smiling bigger each time I read the girlfriend part. My friends would think I was crazy if I told them that I'd met this amazing guy in a an airport and had been writing him letters. It just wasn't something kids our age did anymore. Maybe that's why it felt so special.

"I talked to your mom," My dad said from next to me at the breakfast table. We usually didn't get to eat together because he would get up in the morning and rush off to work. I snuck a glance at the microwave and saw that it was already past 8:30. It really wasn't like him at all.

"What about?" I asked, blowing on my coffee before taking a sip. My parent's never really talked. Most of the time I did the communicating between them. The trips across the country were the exception. They always talked to make sure they arranged appropriate travel plans for me.

"Your trip back home." He lifted a piece of bacon to his mouth, but paused before he ate it. "And your move." I froze. If my dad was planning to come back to California for my move to college, it would be the first time since he moved to Florida that he would be around my mom. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. It seemed like things were easier when they lived in different worlds.

"What about my move to college?"

"I think Janie, me, and the girls are going come out and help you get settled." Janie was my stepmom, but she never really acted like it. She was nice, we got along, but I just wasn't around enough to really bond with her and I never needed her help to take care of me. I saw her mostly as the girls' mom.

"You don't have to do that." I couldn't imagine trying to wrangle my sisters on a plane ride. I'd been on planes with hyper kids and it always looked like the parents were miserable.

"Sure we do. We want to. I just want to make sure you're comfortable with it." He finally took a bite of the bacon as he waited for me to think about it.

I shrugged a shoulder. "I think it would be ok." He smiled, and I could tell he was trying to keep it from growing larger. I couldn't help but smile too. It felt good to see that he might have been worried about asking me. Maybe he did care about the big events in my life. I'm not sure what changed things, but I was looking forward to seeing what would become of us.

"Great. Your mom and I also set you up a ticket home for the 20th. Thought you might want a little time to hang out with your friends back home before you had to get back into school." He finished off his bacon and reached for his coffee.

"Thanks. That would be nice." I instantly felt the butterflies that had finally calmed down after reading Lucas' email last night flutter to life again. That wasn't very far away. I wanted to jump from the table and run up to my laptop to email him. I hated trying to type out long notes on my tiny phone keypad. I managed to pretend to be chill and drink the rest of my coffee before excusing myself from the table.

I was so nervous to tell him the date I was leaving. What if he couldn't schedule his trip for the same time? What if we didn't have layovers in the same city? I had taken three steps up my father's staircase when that finally sunk in. I stopped my in my tracks and felt panic grip my chest. If we didn't make this work now, we wouldn't get another chance before I moved into my dorm.

"Dad!" I called to him.

"Yes?"

"Where is my layover this time?"

"Um, Texas. Don't worry, it's only about a half hour. You should just have enough time to get off one plane and on to your next." I could hear the happiness in his voice, but he was breaking my heart. Thirty minutes was never going to be enough time to see Lucas. I felt tears prick the back of my eyes and the beginning of a headache forming.

"Ok. Thanks." It was barely a whisper as I made my legs move again, dragging myself upstairs to deliver the bad news.