Until There Was You by J.J. Bamber Read Free Book Online Page B

on a kind of fatherly tone that Nate found comforting rather than condescending.
    "Thank you." Nate's eyes welled up with tears and Jack swiftly handed him a tissue.
    Nate walked past the receptionist in a hurry and stepped out into the crisp, cool air. He put the umbrella up and stood still for a beat, listening to the tip-tap-tip-tap of the rain on the expensive waterproof material and watching as streams cascaded to the ground. There was freshness in the air and as well as sadness; the world looked gray and cold and metallic, but it also looked as if it was being renewed. The rain was ruining things so that it could all become clean. It was destroying the little ecosystems of the now so that they could grow again stronger and more resilient in the future. It offered the promise of a new life, a slate not quite immaculate but cleaner than before. Nate put his hand out and felt a trickle of cool water run along his skin. Then he crossed the road, unlocked his car with a beep, and settled into the seat.

Back to the Past
    Nate threw the newspaper down on the table and sipped some more Merlot. He rubbed his strained eyes. "Did you have any idea how expensive rent was in this damn city? When did the world go crazy? I thought that everybody was supposed to be broke!" He slipped off his nice-to-look-at-but-uncomfortable shoes and spread his toes out, trying to cure some of the soreness in his feet. He and Cecily had been apartment hunting all day, and his feet had taken a severe pounding. Luckily, he was on the right side of tipsy; the harsh lines of the world had begun to grow fuzzy without being too lopsided.
    "I can't even believe the price they were asking for the last one. There was barely room for us to stand in there, let alone for you and Bailey to live your lives." Cecily sounded genuinely shocked.
    "You know, I think the Golden Girls had the right idea. We should round up our friends and move to Miami; we can eat chocolate cheesecake, sleep with geriatric men, and wear an endless variety of stylish-yet-comfortable kaftans." Nate smiled at the image.
    "You know what I would like to do? I'd like to go on one of those Eat Pray Love -style trips, but with more eating and drinking and less praying. I always thought it was a shame I wasn't born into a culture that valued the finer things in life more. I've always been suited for the high life. I can just see it now: zipping around Italy on pastel-colored Vespas, getting day-drunk on good wine, and flirting with impossibly handsome young men. Shall I book the tickets now, or later?" Cecily did a pitch-perfect impression of one of the vapid moms at school—the ones who judged parents who turned up in sweatpants or who baked non-organic pies for bake sales. Nate loved when Cecily did this; it suited the way she looked and clashed violently with her true personality. It was a delicious mix.
    "Uhhh... Where do the kids fit into all of this? Are we pulling them around with us, or are they staying with childcare—do we have the kind of money to afford a month's worth of nanny bills? If so, why don't I just rent all of the apartments in town? That way I can be somewhere new every day!" Nate found himself smiling, and it felt really good.
    Cecily moved her head from side to side as if she was weighing her options, which made Nate's smile widen. "You're right. We do have kids. Why won't you let me have my fantasy for just one second?"
    "I don't know. I think I'm too much of a control freak to do any of those things. Why is it that no one ever gets spiritual fulfillment somewhere like Starbucks? There are no books like 'How an espresso gave me inner peace' or 'Grande chai latte: how a huge multinational conglomerate gave me everything'." Nate and Cecily giggled, and it was not lost on Nate that this was the first time they'd been able to fall into their old, comfortable rhythm since Joshua had left. They had spent nights talking, wondering what had happened and what was coming in the