A Christmas to Remember(98)

She zipped up her suitcase and stood it on its end. “Here you go,” she said, holding out her fist. Olivia opened up her little hand, and Carrie put the small bottles of food coloring in her palm. “You and David can make some more rainbow volcanoes now that you know how.”

“Thank you!” she said, and she kissed Carrie’s cheek. “I’m going to go show David.” She ran out of the room, leaving the door open. Carrie sat on the edge of the bed, holding her suitcase, the room clear of her things. She thought about how Rose would be there in a few days to clean, and any traces of her would be gone. With a deep breath, she stood up and pulled her suitcase to the door.

“I’ll get your bags,” Adam said from the doorway.

“Oh. Thank you.” She dropped the handle and met him at the door.

“I started your car for you,” he said. “So you don’t have to drive in the freezing cold. The heat’s running.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you,” he said. “For everything.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. His scent, the softness of his lips, the sweetness in his face—it almost made her falter. She closed her eyes and tried to commit this feeling to memory. She never wanted to forget it.

“You’re welcome,” she said. As she walked down to her car, she couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in her chest that this would be the last time she’d see Adam Fletcher.





Chapter Twenty-Six





Be open to change. It had been a year since Carrie had been in Virginia last, and just like she had a year ago, she was heading there for a new job. Her friends back in North Carolina had sent her off this time with a big party. They’d packed her car with all sorts of Christmas candies and chocolates, a novel for her free time, and a gas card for emergencies. She’d spent the last year working at The Children’s Museum of Wilmington. The term “museum” had always amused her because this place was far from that. It was an enormous facility, full of rooms for children to play, explore, pretend, build—if a child could think it up, it was there. They offered story time, science discovery, cooking. Carrie was in heaven. She was able to do all the things she loved to do with children, but when the museum closed, she could go home, cook a meal, have a glass of wine. When the Program Educator position came available at the Children’s Museum of Richmond, she had to apply. To her complete surprise, she got the job.

Parking was tricky with the U-Haul trailer attached to her car, but she managed to find a parallel parking spot. Carrie pulled up along the curb at the coffee shop where she’d gotten a coffee so long ago, on her way to the Fletchers’ house. This time, she decided to sit inside and enjoy it. She ordered her coffee and took a seat by the window. The streets were clear, no snow yet, but the sky looked like it could let go at any moment. While she’d made a ton of friends in North Carolina through work, she had only one friend in Virginia—a very good friend whom she’d kept in touch with the whole time she’d been away. She sent him a text: I’m here! Just getting a cup of coffee.

Her phone lit up on the table, and she laughed to see “Facetime: Adam Fletcher” on her screen. She hit the button, and laughed again when she saw Olivia’s distorted image come across. “Hi, Carrie!” she said.

“Let me talk,” she could hear David saying in the background.

“Wait, David,” Olivia said, clearly annoyed, her image jiggling as she batted David away. “When are you coming?”

It had started with an email. Olivia had missed her, so Adam had let her send an email just after she’d left last year. Of course, Carrie had emailed right back. Then, every time Olivia missed her—which was all the time—he helped her type an email. As they went back and forth, occasionally, she’d ask Olivia about David and Adam, and then Adam finally sent her his own email. From that moment on, they’d kept in touch. Adam was constantly asking her for ideas for rainy days, things they could make together, places he should take them. He had come to an agreement with Gwen to have the kids more often, and he was really enjoying his time with them. The emails had started out as simply helpful emails back and forth, but as the year went on, they became more friendly, and Adam would drop her a line just to see how she was. She loved waking up in the morning to find that he’d sent her something, and she couldn’t wait to send something back to him. So, when she’d gotten the job in Richmond, he was the first person she told.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m just getting a coffee. What are you and David doing?”