I still can't believe April said yes to Boston with such little convincing. For the entire time I've known her, every decision involved a long pros and cons list, some prayer, and maybe even a little panic attack. I guess even after all this time the Avery charm still works on her.

"It's gonna take a few days, gotta figure out what to tell the chief. Feels weird to say Boston. Feels like a…I don't know"

Truth be told, although moving across the country is a big black box, the idea of starting somewhere new with just her and Harriet is the most normal feeling in the world.

April gives me a small smile. "It feels 'I don't know' to me too."

Is she regretting saying yes? Did I push too hard? She's making such a huge sacrifice for me, and I need her to know how grateful I am.

"Thank you." I pull her into a hug, and I'm a little taken aback at how well she still fits into my arms. She sighs quietly, and for a brief moment I'm wondering if this is at all appropriate for me and my ex-wife, a married woman, to be doing. The thought is short-lived though, and when I remember she and Matthew split up I pull her in even tighter. I'm quickly drawn out of my reverie by the sound of Harriet's footsteps on the floor.

"Mommy! Daddy!" she squeals. I'm about to approach Harriet when April stops me. "I got her. You go. Get ready to go."

She's right, I have a lot to prepare for and not much time to do it. I give her one last smile of gratitude and walk out. The past 12 hours almost feel like they didn't occur, like I was in a trance or something. I'm not sure what I expected when I pulled up at April's door in the middle of a thunderstorm last night, but what ended up unfolding was definitely not it.

I'm still reeling over the news she broke not even an hour ago about the breakup. I know I'm not the greatest for saying this, but I'm not gonna lie – it was hard for me to keep the smirk off my face during that conversation. Matthew and I have never been…best friends. Acquaintances? Yes. Civil? Sure. But friendship was a boundary we could never cross. I think once you've highjacked someone's wedding and embarrassed them in front of all their loved ones friendship is completely out of the picture. I know he has absolutely no reason to like me, and I never expected him to, but let's not pretend he's innocent in all this either. It's been over two years, yet I still have nightmares about the day I watched him get down on one knee right in front of me and propose to my wife. Or ex-wife I guess, but that's irrelevant. I know it sounds chauvinistic, especially since I was kinda-sorta seeing Maggie at the time, but something about April marrying somebody who wasn't me felt horribly wrong. A part of me can sleep easier at night now knowing that's in the past.

I can't believe April waited until now to tell me about this. How long had he been gone for? I knew when I walked into her house last night that something was off, more than just Harriet being sick. I've known April for over a decade and have never seen her disorganized a single time. Throw pillows and toys all over the floor just wasn't her. If I had known she'd been alone and struggling to keep it together…never mind. I gave up any right to worry about April like that when I served her divorce papers.

I pull up at my apartment and mentally make a list of what I need to start doing, beginning with who I need to notify. Telling Bailey is not going to be easy, and I'll need to start practicing for that conversation. I can assume mom already let Richard know, but I'll have to tell Meredith, Maggie and Jo. Over the years, Meredith and I developed some sort of ironclad bond over our shared upbringings. Turns out being an Avery and the daughter of Ellis Grey weren't so different. Meredith has dealt with a lot of loss in her life, and I'm one of the oldest friends she has right now. She also just recovered from a long battle with COVID. I cringe thinking of the trajectory of that conversation. Maggie's getting married, so I assume she'll be okay. We're friendly, but I don't think either of us ever got over the way our relationship ended. Looking back, I don't know what came over us to think getting together was ever okay. She's the closest thing to a sister I'll ever get, and we completely ruined any chance of sibling camaraderie between us. I still feel a little bad about basically telling her I missed my chance with April while we were still dating. It was the truth, but it was still low. Then there's Jo. There wasn't really anything going on between us, at least not on my end. It was fun, it was casual, but it definitely wasn't anything worth staying in Seattle over. Still, Alex left her not too long ago, and I don't know how she'll react to being left again. I sigh and rub my temples until I feel a buzz in my pocket.

My phone rings with a familiar ringtone and I can't help but smile when I pick up. "I just left like fifteen minutes ago, I didn't realize you'd miss me so fast," I say jokingly. April laughs heartily in response. "The withdrawal is real! Harriet is upset you didn't stick around. I told her she'd see you again soon, but she hasn't stopped whining. What do you say about coming over for dinner tonight? I'll make chicken parm and maybe we can talk some things out?" I paused for a minute, contemplating my response. On one hand, I'd love to join her and Harriet for dinner. On the other hand, it feels like I'm jumping into a pot of boiling water knowing I'm about to get burned. As much as I tried to resist it, waking up this morning in domestic bliss with April and Harriet made me feel things I'm not ready to confront yet. Having a comfortable family dinner (especially knowing Matthew was out of the picture) would not help matters. But as I heard Harriet cheering "dinner with Daddy!" in the background, I knew I couldn't decline.

"You know I can't say no to your chicken parm! I'll bring the wine this time, see you both at 7."