Stages of Grace - By Carey Heywood Page 0,54

Kate can’t hear me, I don’t really have a choice and call Ryan.

"Hullo?"

"Hi, Ryan. It’s Grace. Kate can't hear me, so she asked that I call you."

"Your grandmother needs a hearing aid for the telephone, but she won't listen to me."

"Sorry about that. Why won't she get one?"

"She's stubborn and thinks they look funny in people's ears."

I’m not sure why I think that's so funny, but it makes me laugh. I tell Ryan about the conversation I had with my boss. Ryan is happy for me that it had gone as well as it had. I have two weeks to pack up my life here and move. The idea is daunting. My first thought is to drive, but I’m scared to. It’s over one thousand miles from Cleveland to Tampa. There’s no way I can do that in a day. I probably can’t even do it in two days. That means having to stay somewhere, by myself, along the way.

"What if I flew up and drove down with you?"

Depression

a state of feeling sad

-Merriam Webster

It’s settled. Ryan buys a ticket to Cleveland. My last day of work is Friday, and Ryan is flying in that evening. Jon has already moved out, taking most of our furniture with him. I was especially happy to see his armchair go, I could only see what I had lost when I looked at it. Besides, I don’t need any of it where I'm going. I do, however, keep the TV and laptop in exchange. Jon moved in with a coworker who already had a TV so he is fine with it. I buy an air mattress to sleep on once he leaves. It's strange coming home to such an empty house. I'm partly relieved. This way I will be able to turn the keys over to the complex manager without any worry Jon will do something to screw up us getting our deposit back. Jon said I can keep it.

I make multiple trips over those two weeks to Goodwill to donate things I no longer need, like winter coats and snow boots. I keep one good coat and work hard to purge other unneeded things. I’m nervous about Ryan coming and spending the night, and the fact that we will be sharing hotel rooms on the way down to Tampa. He said he has no problem sleeping on my floor that first night, but it's going to be weird.

Even after all of my purging, I’m worried not everything will fit in my car. Ryan promises that his packing skills are legendary. I hope he’s right. On my last day of work, they have a luncheon in my honor. Kim, awesome boss that she is, lets me cut out early afterward. Nikita sniffles as she walks me to my car.

"You're still coming over tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yes. I just can't believe we don’t work together anymore."

I haven’t said anything about Ryan being gorgeous. Nikita only knows a friend of my grandmother is flying up to help me with the move, but that is all. I'm looking forward to seeing Nikita’s reaction when she sees Ryan.

"I know. Feels really weird being unemployed," I grimace, still feeling a bit crazy for leaving a good job."You'll find something in no time. Besides, I saw the letter of recommendation Kim wrote for you. Any place that reads it would be crazy not to hire you."

"It really sucked saying goodbye to her."

"Is she coming by tomorrow too?"

"She can't."

"Alright. Give me a hug."

I give Nikita a hug and head home. As I cross the river, I tear up a little bit, saying goodbye to my parents. Since Kim let me leave early, I have enough time to change out of my scrubs and straighten the apartment up a bit before I have to go get Ryan. I feel silly organizing the crates and bags, wondering why I am wasting my time trying to organize a pile. Getting antsy, I leave for the airport. I’m thirty minutes early and circle the parking lot a few times, wanting to find a good spot. Ryan is in for a rude awakening weather wise. It's very cold and sleeting. I have an extra hat in my pocket for him, if he needs it.

He hadn't planned on bringing much, knowing that space in my car will be at a premium. I manage to nab a great spot near an entrance. I check my hair and makeup before getting out of the car. The gesture, at least for my