Drive Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan Read Free Book Online

the parking valet to return. Josh had nothing new to report about Bexter, no more menacing phone calls. No matter how creatively I inquired, it seemed as if he’s really told me everything he knows. Which gets me nowhere.
    There was no time during dinner when it felt right to bring up New York. We promised each other no secrets. I’m determined to keep my promise, but I refuse to pull another all-nighter discussing our future. So during thecar ride home it is. Fifteen minutes, Boston to Brookline, and I’m dropping the bombshell. Life is suddenly very complicated.
    “There’s the valet with our car.” Josh points outside. “Finally.”
    We race through the snow, past the marble lions and into the car. The doors slam.
    Here we go.
    “So I have news,” I say as we pull away from the hotel. Trying to keep my tone light. “Guess what Kevin told me today?”
    “He’s quitting,” Josh says. He punches a few buttons on the dashboard radio, tuning it away from raucously grating sports talk. “Who changed the station? Anyway, I predict he’s giving up TV to become a used-car salesman. Why not use his skills where he can really—”
    “Yeah, well, funny. But yes, Mr. Clairvoyant. He’s quitting.” I adjust the boxes in my lap, hoping it won’t be the only time I get wedding cake, and turn to Josh. I hadn’t planned to say it this way, but it’s kind of ironically sweet. “Can you keep a secret?”
    It took five minutes to tell Josh about my New York offer. And almost every minute after that, he’s been silent.
    “Let me think” was his only reaction. In TV news, we often have to make split-second decisions. And when it’s not necessary to decide instantly, we debate the pros and cons until the very last minute. With Josh, I’m still trying to learn his rhythm and not be afraid of quiet. The comfortable jazz from the radio disappears. Chatty voices from some talk show now make his silence more profound. But I can wait. And it won’t be long. We’re almost there.
    We turn onto Bexter Academy Drive. Penny will be asleep, Annie waiting up for us. Josh will leave to drive her home. Here we go.
    The porch light is on as we pull up to the curb. Josh turns the key and unbuckles his seat belt. As I’m trying to read his expression, the ceiling lights click off. We’re in the darkness, snowfall ending, a few final flakes disappearing as they hit the hood of the car.
    “Victoria left Penny and me because of her job.” Josh is staring out the windshield. “Is that what you’re going to do?”
    I grab his hand. One box of wedding cake tumbles to the floor. “No. No. No, no, no. We just need to talk about it. I don’t even know what I want to do. It’s just—sudden. And big. And I wasn’t supposed to tell you. And maybe I shouldn’t have.”
    My chest tightens. This is new territory for me. Am I already lost?
    “Maybe I should have worked it all out by myself,” I continue. “But we promised, right? No secrets?”
    “Sweetheart, I can’t ask you to give up your dreams. You’ve wanted this for your entire career.” Josh looks at me, as if he’s trying to smile. Then he shakes his head. “I adore you. You know that. But you know Penny and I can’t move to New York.”
    Okay, statistics guys. Maybe you’re on to something. But I’m not going down without giving it my best shot. And maybe my dreams are changing.
    “Drive time to New York is only about three hours,” I say, testing this prospect. I’m still clutching Josh’s hand. “If I drive fast. And you know I do. I could commute, live here on weekends, New York during the week. When school’s back in session, your schedule is just as crazy as mine. It would hardly be different from the way it is now.”
    Josh picks up the box of cake from the floor and hands it to me. “We’d better go in,” he says.
    The bluestone walkway to the front door is lined with graying piles of shoveled snow. We leave footprints in thenewly fallen white. Through