“I just know. Look, Mom, this is what I’m good at. Can’t you just be happy for me?”
Her mother sat down in the middle of the sofa. “I’m just shocked. I mean, at least I’ll get to see you. It won’t be at the law firm, but maybe we can still get lunch some time?”
Payton bit the inside of her cheek. “About that...” She’d been thinking about this since Jackie had arrived, and although she hadn’t said it out loud yet, she knew it was the right thing to do. “I’m moving to Spain.”
“What?”
“I have Dad’s apartment, and it’s so nice there. There’s a lot of opportunities for me there. I’m thinking about focusing on gay weddings. I even did one while I was out there.”
Her mother’s mouth opened but nothing came out, and a knock at the door interrupted them.
Shit. Payton hadn’t planned on introducing Jackie to her mother. Not because Payton wasn’t proud of her. It was more because they weren’t officially dating, and her mother was also incredibly difficult.
Payton opened the door, and Jackie came in, her hat and scarf in her hand. “Hey.”
“Hi. It’s starting to look apocalyptic out there,” Jackie said with a smirk. “Good call canceling the reservation.”
Payton’s mother appeared with one eyebrow arched. “Who’s this, Payton?”
Payton cleared her throat. “Mom, this is Jackie. Jackie this is my mother, Beth.”
Payton cringed when she saw the shocked look on Jackie’s face. This was not good, but Payton couldn’t have even warned her. Her mother never showed up at her apartment unannounced like this.
The two women shook hands, but the air was thick with tension, and Payton ushered them back towards the couch while she tried to figure out how to get her mother to leave.
Her mother sat down on one end of the couch, Jackie on the other. “So, Jackie. I know that accent well. Are you visiting from London?”
“No. I uh, I’m just here on a quick trip from Spain. I’ve never been to New York, and I wanted to see it with all the Christmas lights. Soak up the atmosphere.”
Payton stood on the other side of the coffee table, ready to offer them a drink, but her mother spoke first, her eyes moving between the two of them. “So, this is why you’re really moving to Spain I take it?”
Payton held her breath and out of the corner of her eye she saw Jackie’s jaw drop. “Mom, I told you why I’m moving to Spain, and nothing’s been finalized yet,” she added, not knowing what to make of Jackie’s reaction.
“Yes, but you could be a wedding photographer anywhere,” Beth said.
“Look, I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
“Really? You sounded pretty definite. You even had a niche market carved out for yourself.”
Payton stifled a groan. Sometimes, her mother could be so frustrating. “We’ll talk about this again some time, okay? There’s a storm going on out there, and you should probably get home. I’m not going for a few weeks yet. I’ll call you, alright?”
Her mother reluctantly got up, saying goodbye to both of them on her way out, and Payton almost slumped against the door once she’d left.
Jackie came over to her. “Is that true? You’re moving to Spain?”
Payton inhaled a breath. There was no point pretending anymore. She was so far gone. “Yes. Yeah. If you’re okay with that. When I’m finished working with Kalen, I’d like to give it a shot over there.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “And maybe, we could... You know. We could see what this was, for real this time.”
Time seemed to stand still while Payton waited for Jackie to say something.
“Unless, of course,” Payton started, afraid that she’d gotten ahead of herself, “You don’t…”
“Shh.” Jackie surged forward, her hand on Payton’s cheek, her lips finding Payton’s in a searing kiss.
Payton’s hands moved to Jackie’s waist, more to steady herself than anything else.
Jackie wanted this. They were really going to give this a shot.
Jackie’s thumb caressed her cheek as she pulled away. “Are you sure?” Jackie asked.
“Yes,” Payton breathed. “I’m so sure. I’ve missed you like crazy since I got here.”
“Me too.”
“I know we still have to wait. I have a little more than two months left with Kalen.”
“It’s fine,” Jackie said, leaning in for a light kiss. “We’ll have something to look forward to.”
Payton’s eyes fluttered shut as Jackie’s lips found hers again. After the most difficult year of her life, things were finally starting to fall in to place.
Epilogue
Jackie added two bottles of beer and a glass of wine to the serving tray and left it on the counter for one of the waiters to pick up.
It was February 1st, and Jackie couldn’t wait to see Payton again. Just three more weeks. That’s all it was.
As hard as it was to say goodbye to Payton, she was glad to be back at home, back in her routine. She’d missed Oliver and Alvaro, and it was great being back here at Sun and Sand, interacting with her customers, and soon, Payton would be here, too.
Jackie shook her head as she rested her hands against the wooden bar. She still couldn’t believe it. Payton was willing to come here, to take a chance on her.
“Hey,” Oliver said from the other side of the bar. “You should take the rest of the day off.”
“What? Why?”
Oliver shrugged. “Everything’s fine here, and you deserve it.”
Jackie’s eyes narrowed. “You’re acting weird. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Oliver said, his hands going up in mock surrender. “I just think you should take the rest of the day off.”
“Oliver.” Jackie’s hands were on her waist. “Come on. What’s up?”
“Just go outside,” Oliver said, coming around to her side of the bar and lightly hitting her with a towel. “Just go.”
Jackie couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Oliver acting this strange. She sighed. “Right. Fine. I’m leaving.” She grabbed her phone from behind the bar and slid it into her back pocket.
Jackie double checked that everything was in order on her way out, and it did look like all the tables were being looked after. She nearly did a double take when she saw who was standing just beyond those tables.
Payton was walking towards the restaurant, looking absolutely stunning in white shorts and a black v neck top, and their eyes met when she pushed her shades on top of her head.
“Hey,” Payton said with a huge smile on her face.
Jackie swept her up in a hug, hardly believing she was real.
“Surprise!” Payton said when Jackie finally let her go.
Jackie was completely speechless. She’d been planning on surprising Payton at the airport in three weeks and here she was, standing in front of her.
“What are you doing here?” Jackie managed to say, still not believing what she was seeing.
“I finished up with Kalen early.”
“So... So, this isn’t a holiday?”
“No,” Payton said, her eyes watery. “This was always so much more than a holiday.” She reached for Jackie’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Thank You
Thank you so much for reading From May To December: Volume 5 .
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From May to December 5 Page 39