I nodded.
He watched me.
“I haven’t said yes yet, Ben. But it’s easier now that we’re on the same page.”
Over the next three weeks, I completed two major events and mapped out how I could rebuild my business.
Then one Saturday morning, I found Ben sitting at the table with Olive.
“I’ve decided.”
He stood.
“We can do it after the school year. I’ll be as ready as I can, Ben.”
Olive looked between us.
“We’re moving?”
I sat beside her.
“We’re considering a new place because Dad’s job can give us more time together. But your school year comes first, and we’re going to plan it as a family.” PlanFamily Trips
She thought for a moment.
“Can I still play soccer at the new school?”
“Yes.”
“Can my room be green?”
Ben glanced at me.
“That’s between you and the paint aisle, honey.”
She grinned and returned to her cartoons.
Ben waited until she’d left the room.
“You’re sure, Chels?”
“Yes. Because this is my decision now too.”
He nodded.
“Then we do it together.”
Months later, I was answering an email in our new kitchen when Ben came home before sunset.
Olive sat at the table doing homework.
“What time’s dinner?” he asked.
“Seven.”
“I can help. What should I chop?”
His phone buzzed.
My stomach tightened automatically.
Ben read the message and typed a reply.
“What was it?”
“They wanted me to cover Friday.”
“And?”
“I said no.”
No speech followed.
He simply put the phone down.
Then mine buzzed.
A client wanted me for an event that Friday.
I looked at Ben.
“I’ve got work…”
“I’m free. Take it, sweetheart. Olive and I will go on an adventure.”
A year earlier, I would’ve rearranged my life around his before he even asked.
This time, I didn’t.
“I will.”
For eleven years, I’d believed love meant quietly adjusting until the other person never noticed what those adjustments cost me.
I was finished with that version of love.
Ben hadn’t brought me to Oregon.
I hadn’t followed him.
We had built something new together.
And this time, my life wasn’t the part that had to disappear so his could exist.
