Jess shoved him out the doorway.She looked at me and asked, “Can I get you anything?Coffee?Water?Um…a sandwich?”
I shook my head, then said, “Maybe coffee would help.”
“Give me a minute.”She hurried off.
How was I going to explain myself?
She came back with two cups of coffee, setting them on the coffee table in front of me.“One’s black, one has cream and sugar.”
“Black is good.Thank you.”
Jess pulled one cup back toward her and sat in the chair beside the couch.“I heard you call for Justin.I’ve been talking to him, and I know the two of you…reconnected.And I also know he’d want me to do anything I could to help you.So what do you need?Money?A kidney?”
A laugh almost pushed out.“I didn’t come to ask for anything…I just… It’s been a horrible day and I needed to clear my head and I drove by and…”
“And you thought Justin was here, but it was just Alek.Should I call Justin?”
“No!He’s got his hockey thing going on, right?The retreat and team bonding thing?”
She smiled at me and patted my leg.“One call and he’d be here.”
It was too much.I shook my head and broke down in tears.
Jess was great.She grabbed a box of tissues and sat beside me on the couch, wrapping an arm around me and letting me cry it out.When I felt like I had some control again, I sat up, and she let her arm drop.
I wiped at my eyes and nose.“I’m sorry, I just…”
“Don’t apologize.I won’t push, but I’m happy to be a listening ear if you need it.Sometimes getting it out helps.”
I snorted, which meant I needed to blow my nose again.
“Is your mom okay?I know she’s not been well.”
I sighed.“She’s doing as well as she can.But—” And then it all spilled out.I didn’t have the strength to hold back.What I said was rambling and probably didn’t make a lot of sense to Jess, but she let me talk, passed me tissues, and even got me to drink the coffee.
“We’ll be okay.My friend has offered to let us stay with her—her son is best friends with Arne—till we find our own place.I have my job, so I just need to look into rentals.”
“Did you leave anything in your house that you want?Alek and I can come with you, and Alek is intimidating if he needs to be.”
“That’s Alek Denbrowski?”
She shrugged.“Yeah.Justin talk about us?”
I nodded.
“He’s not as bad as Justin thinks.”
I felt a smile pulling at my mouth.“Justin is trying to be okay with you two, I promise.”
“Yeah, he is.But back to your problem.I might be able to help.”
A small bubble of hope expanded in my chest.I wasn’t alone.I had people, even someone like Jess, who I barely knew, who were willing to help.“You know someone who has a place available for rent?”Maybe even in my price range?
“Kind of.Alek signed with Seattle.We were house shopping and came up here to go through the stuff in the house, but we need to get back to Washington for some viewings.It would be a lifesaver if you could stay here for a bit while we look at places the real estate agent found.”
I blinked.“What?”
“Maybe for a week or two?I’ll let you know how it goes, but I feel unsettled there while we only have a hotel to stay in.There’s stuff we still have to pack up in Toronto, and some things here to ship out once we have a place.”