Pelican's Landing

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“So you’re really leaving, boss?”

Jordan nodded. “Yeah. You know, I do have a real job.”

Brandon wiped the blond hair off his forehead. “Gonna be kinda strange here without you.”

“I’m trusting you to handle things,” she said. “I will be back, you know.”

“Annie’s gonna be here though, right?”

“She’ll be working part-time this fall. Come January, well, her baby is due then. She’s also got student teaching lined up. So when she’s not here, you’re in charge.”

Brandon lowered his voice. “I don’t think your dad likes me.”

Jordan laughed. “He thinks you’re a hippie.”

“A hippie? Really?” He laughed. “Cool.”

“Just…don’t do anything too crazy,” she said. “I don’t know when I can come back. I’ve got to get somebody else in here by January.”

“You can trust me.”

“I know.”

She sat down behind the desk when he left. The office felt empty without Annie there. Jordan wondered how her first day back at school was going. She knew Annie didn’t want to go, but she was so close to finishing, Jordan had told her the semester would fly by. But would it? Or would it crawl by?

She couldn’t believe the summer was over, couldn’t believe she’d be leaving in four days. The last two weeks had been a blur. She and Annie had tried to cram as much time together as possible. Other than dinner with her parents the one night, they’d spent every evening at home, sharing cooking duties and sharing stories. It was so easy being with Annie. They could talk for hours, like friends did. And they could make love for hours, like lovers did. There were never any awkward moments between them. It was too easy. How could she not fall in love?

Yet, Chicago was calling. Summer fun was over, and it was time to get back to her real life. She tried to tell herself that being apart from Annie would be good for both of them. Being in a relationship with another woman—it was all new to Annie. Separated, maybe Annie would take the time to fully evaluate it and decide if this is truly what she wanted out of life.

Jordan felt a tightness in her chest, a slight pain in her heart. What if Annie decided just that? That this wasn’t what she wanted. What if she couldn’t live with the thought of her mother finding out? Or what if with her being away, these feelings fled? What if—

“Stop it,” she told herself.

She could go on for hours with “what-ifs” and it would solve absolutely nothing. She was leaving. She had accepted that. So had Annie, despite her tears.

She was leaving.