Have You Ever Listened To The Rain At Night?

Chapter 21

"It's such a beautiful day today."

Logan agreed with his girlfriend's statement with a nod. "It really is."

They had a good night's sleep, a nice breakfast and were now chilling in the garden on the porch swing, snuggled up close to each other. It seemed like nothing could disturb this peaceful get-together – except for Logan's cell phone. Camille lifted her head a little from his chest. "Who's that?"

"Probably Kendall," Logan said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"If it's really Kendall, call him back later."

Logan glanced at the display and frowned slightly. "Sorry, it's my mom. And one of her conditions for this weekend was that I should always be available and answer when she calls."

"Wow, she really trusts me, doesn't she?"

Logan looked at her sympathetically and stroked her cheek with the palm of his hand. "Don't take it personally. It is her problem, not yours."

Camille nodded silently. Logan answered the call, "Hey Mom . . . Yes, I'm fine . . . Oh, nothing special, we're in the garden right now . . . Yes, exactly . . . How was Dad's speech? . . . Uh uh . . . Really? That's great. Please tell him I'm proud of him . . . Oh, you recorded the speech? Okay, cool, can't wait to see it . . . Yes Mom, I took my medication."

Camille heard a slightly annoyed undertone in Logan's voice. She reached out and stroked the back of his neck reassuringly. Logan commented her gesture with a gentle smile, then turned back to his conversation, "News? What news? . . . You're staying longer?"

"All right, honey. Have a nice day. Love you. Bye." Joanna put her phone down the same moment Jeffrey returned to the hotel room. "Have you talked to Logan?"

Joanna nodded, smiling contentedly. "I told him we're going to stay longer."

Jeffrey frowned. "Um, why?"

"Easy. If he knows when we'll be back, nothing out of the ordinary will happen. But if he thinks we're going to stay longer, but instead coming back exactly on schedule, then we can see if everything is actually okay. I'm kind of unsure, I don't trust the whole thing. And that's why I want certainty."

Jeffrey looked like he had to fight hard against what he would have loved to say out loud. Instead, he said calmly, "Or . . . we finally start believing in our son and stay a little longer for real. It would be good for Logan and good for us."

"You're kidding me, aren't you?"

"No, I'm serious."

Joanna bit her lower lip. "I don't want to be the bad one all the time. But someone has to be in control of everything."

"And no one can do it better than you," Jeffrey replied, walking over to his wife and placing both hands on her shoulders. "And that's exactly why you need a break from it."

She looked at him for a long time without saying anything.

"Well?"

She took a deep breath. "Okay. One day."

"Three days."

She shook her head. "Two days," she said firmly. "And we're driving back Tuesday night."

Jeffrey nodded. "All right, two days, I agree. But we're not going back until Wednesday."

"Wednesday morning."

"Okay."

"Early."

"All right."

Joanna narrowed her eyes. "I feel like I've lost."