Relocating

Passing

"Hello?" I answered the phone. This number wouldn't stop calling me! It's been interrupting my date with Ash. We had gone out to dinner and were in the car, heading to the Golden Gate Bridge.

"Yes, is this Rachel Maria Mason in San Francisco?" The female voice says.

"Yes, who is this?" I ask and Ashton looks at me confused.

"I'm the Director of Nursing, at Amber Nursing Home, you need to be here for a few days. That is, if you want to see your Aunt. She is in unstable condition. We fear she may pass alone and-"

"She won't. I'll fly there on the next flight to Bradley International. I'll be there." I say.

"Very good. I'll tell her." She says.

"Thank you for calling. I'll be there soon." I say and hang up.

Aston looks at me and pulls over the car. We sit in silence for a minute. I open safari on my phone and search for a ticket. There are no flights until tomorrow morning. Great. The flight was already 6 hours.

"What happened?" Ashton asks.

"My Aunt Mary isn't doing too good. I need to go to Connecticut tomorrow morning."

"I'll go with you." He says, shocking me.

"What?" I ask.

"You heard me. I'll come with you."

"But we both have to pack."

"So, I'll pack my stuff and then we can stay at your place."

"Um, alright. You sure you want to come? It's not exactly a vacation. My aunt is dying. I'm just going to keep her company. I don't want her to be alone-"

"I'm coming." He says determined.

"Alright." I say.

We go to Aria's. I guess he wasn't renting the apartment anymore. He hadn't mentioned it. He had two suitcases, a duffle, and a box in their extra bedroom. Aria follows us around the corner, confused.

"What's going on?" She asks.

"My aunt is in bad condition, so I'm going to Connecticut tomorrow at 4am. Ashton wants to come for some bizarre reason." I say and he turns and smiles at me funny.

"To comfort you, obviously. How do you feel?" She asks.

"I've know she's dying, but I didn't know how long."I answer and lean up against the wall.

"Well, everything happens for a reason." Aria says and walks out of the room.

"Ready?" Ashton asks.

"As I'll ever be." I say and we head to my apartment.

*

Our plane pulls into Bradley International Airport. We grab our carry-on bags. I'm relieved we didn't bring actual luggage. It gets rid of some of the stress.

We get a cab to the nursing home. I go to the front desk and ask for a visitors pass to see my aunt. She says the person I am looking for is deceased. She died this morning. I check my phone. One missed call and one voicemail. Both are from the nursing home.

"What?" I ask, shocked.

"She's deceased. Why don't I walk you down the hall to the administrator?"

"Um, alright." I say, my voice cracking.

We walk into the administrators office. Ashton is holding my hand tightly and kind of pulling me along down the quiet hallway.

"I see you are Mary's niece." The administrator says.

"Yeah. When did she die?" I ask.

"Five this morning." She answers.

"Oh. We were on the plane. I didn't know." I say.

"My condolences. She left you her will and a letter." She says and hands me the papers.

'Rachel,

Well, it seems I won't see you again before my time comes. I just want you to know I love you. I want you to do something for me: make up with that boy. He seemed to care about you an awful lot and it'd be a shame if you two let go of one another. I want you to have fun. You're only 21! Live a little. You're friends will be good to you. You've never really made bad decisions when it comes to friends. Hold onto these ones. They're good to you. Well, that's it. My will leaves all of my possessions to you. I don't have much, but it's yours. I love you. Aunt Mary'