Slaying the Dragon

I finally looked at the nursery set and cringed at all the pink and purple surrounding me. “Sorry,” I offered. “It’s pregnancy brain, I suppose.”

I continued past them, ru

“No,” Je

Sighing, I stepped into another nursery setup and plopped down on the glider, rocking back and forth. “It’s Tyler.”

“What about him?” Brayden asked. “I thought things were good between you two.”

“They were…until this morning when he asked me to move in with him…”

Brayden’s and Je

“In Boston,” I finished. Their expressions fell just slightly, but not nearly as much as I had thought they would.

“Let me guess,” Brayden began, walking toward me. “You said no.”

“I didn’t really say anything. I yelled at him for even thinking I was willing to move somewhere I had only spent a few days just so he could be close to his friends and family. What about my friends? What about my life? Doesn’t he understand I worked my ass off for years to make the restaurant as successful as it is? How can he expect me to just walk away from all of it?”

“You said you were pla

“That’s beside the point!” I exclaimed, my face flaming. “His life is up there. Mine is down here. With everything going on, I can’t leave my dad. And I can’t leave you two! We’ve been practically attached at the hip for the past eight years! How can he expect me to pick up and leave the only family I have?” Tears began to well in my eyes at the thought of not being able to have my traditional Friday girls’ night, of not waking up some mornings to see Brayden lying in bed beside me, of not walking into the kitchen at the restaurant to another one of Je

“But we’ll only be a quick flight away,” Brayden assured me, rubbing his hand up and down my arms. “We’ll come visit as much as we can. And when you’re able, you can come see us, especially in those cold winter months.” He shivered in a dramatic ma

“You moving won’t change our relationship,” Je

“It’s just…” I took a deep breath, trying to compose my thoughts. All day, I had been trying to figure out what it was about Tyler’s proposition that I didn’t like. The truth was, it scared me. I would be in a new place, with a new family, with no support system like I had here. “Who will I run to when things get bad?” I asked with a quiver in my voice.

Brayden sighed dramatically. “You’re such a pessimist.”

“No, I’m not!” I insisted. “I’m a realist. Big difference.”

He rolled his eyes. “Who says things are going to get bad? How have things been lately?”

“Great. Better than great. Perfect…which is exactly why I’m worried. I’m just scared I’ll get there and will see a different Tyler than the one who’s been down here with me. I won’t be able to run to you guys for advice…”

“Of course you will! We’re always just a phone call away,” he interjected.

“Mackenzie,” Je

“I know.” I sank further into the glider, feeling defeated. “I guess I’m just scared of all this change at once. Not only am I going to have to completely rearrange everything because of the baby, but now I have to uproot my life? I just–”

“Do you love him?” Je

I nodded without hesitation.

“And you know he loves you. If you don’t want to move to Boston, you know damn well he will stay wherever you do want to live. I think you owe it to him to at least consider Boston as an option.”

I sighed, knowing she was right. It was selfish of me to not at least start the discussion with Tyler. Yes, the idea of having to move to a completely new city scared me, but wasn’t that part of being in a relationship? Making sacrifices? Stepping out of your comfort zone? I would have been lying if the thought of Triple B growing up in Tyler’s gorgeous house hadn’t crossed my mind once or twice over the past few months. And maybe that was what was most important. Not what was best for me or Tyler, but what was best for our baby.

“I’m not saying yes, but I’ll think about it.”

“That’s my girl,” Brayden said, helping me up from the glider.

“But you promise you’ll both come visit every chance you get?”

“Of course! We can’t have Friday girls’ night without you!” He nudged me.

I wrapped my arms around both of them, pulling them in close. “Thanks, guys. I love you wholes.”

“And we love you, too, Mack,” Brayden said, kissing my forehead.

Mackenzie

SATURDAY WAS A PERFECT day. The air was crisp and warm, the sun was shining, a few clouds adding a beautiful texture to the sky, and the summer tourist season was over, leaving the island calm and peaceful for a change. On the outside, it appeared as though everything was just as it should be. But inside, I struggled to fight back the uneasy feeling growing stronger with each passing second.

As I stood on the sidewalk outside my restaurant, listening to Tyler’s voicemail pick up for the seventh time that morning, I struggled to control my anger. I had tried to reach him yesterday evening before girls’ night, but got no answer. At the time, I shook it off, knowing he’d be at my baby shower today. But now that it was thirty minutes past the time the shower was scheduled to begin, I questioned my entire relationship with him. I had told him how important it was to me that he be at my side today. I didn’t know what to think anymore.

“Mack,” Je

“Hey,” I said, my expression dropping.

“I’m sorry, Mack, but it’s time.”

She placed her hand on my arm in a consoling ma

“Apparently, he’s not the man I thought he was,” I hissed. Pausing, I put a fake smile on my face, not wanting all my friends, who had traveled from far away, to see how upset I was about Tyler’s absence, especially Colleen and Olivia.