Spending a few days with Harriet has really helped to clear my head and put into perspective what matters. As leaving day gets closer, I've been getting more…nervous? It's not exactly nerves, since I'm looking forward to all the work I'll get to do in Boston, but I have been antsy to tie up my lose ends here. Harriet has been such a blessing; distracting me with her giggles, silly stories, and never-ending smiles and hugs for Daddy. But alas, the joys of co-parenting mean my time with her isn't forever. April and I did the exchange last night, although it felt weird parting ways considering in a few days we would be operating as one family unit.
Now, it's just me roaming my apartment alone again. The place always feels weird right after Harriet leaves – empty and uninviting is the best way to put it. That's part of the reason I had Jo over so often these past few months. Having another warm body in the space, "sex bridge" or not, helped me feel less alone. I sigh as I realize what a depressing old man I've turned into. I guess divorce and losing a child will do that to you.
A call from my mom shakes me from my mini-midlife crisis. "Hello?" I say tentatively as I pick up. Mom is calling far too often for my liking lately. I wish she'd lose my number temporarily.
"Jackson Avery. What is this I hear about you flying commercial?" she says indignantly.
I scoff at the way she says "hear," as if I can't figure out that April told her. Sometimes I forget how close my mom and April are, even after we ended things romantically. I guess that Facebook friendship I asked April to stop way back when never actually did. It's a bit weird, especially since the whole custody battle fiasco. April's the forgiving sort, but I still know she must be angry about how that went down.
"Yes, mom. I got us tickets in premium economy, if it makes you feel any better. I didn't think I'd be able to get the plane on such short notice." Using a private plane for every jaunt is not a habit I want myself, or my daughter, to think is normal.
"What is with you and your love for flying commercial since coming to Seattle? I offered the plane for you and your friends for the boards, you said no. I offered it when you and April went to visit her parents, you put that one to rest fast. I'm surprised I could convince you to take it to Montana," Mom yells. Why is she so upset? This doesn't affect her in any way.
"Calm down, Mom. I wasn't about to jet off on a private plane to San Francisco with April, Karev, Cristina and Meredith while leaving everyone else in the dust. And I sure as hell was not going to touch down in Moline on the plane either. Commercial is perfectly fine. I'm okay with it, April is more than okay with it and Harriet won't even know the difference."
Mom's eyes become angrier by the second. "If you think I'm letting you take my grandbaby on a five-hour flight in economy class, you're insane. I thought I raised you right, child. You want to be in Boston by Monday morning, correct? I need it to fly out to a bladder surgery on Saturday. I know it won't be in use on Friday – you can have it then. Get those tickets refunded or use the credit to take a vacation next year, I don't care. But I will not have you dragging my granddaughter and daughter-in-law on a packed airplane cross-country during a pandemic for no reason."
'Ex-daughter-in-law,' I think to myself. Anyway, she does have a good point. This is not the time to be interacting with hundreds of different people. If the plane is available to use, why not? It would make for a more comfortable ride for April and Harriet.
"Alright, alright, Mom. You win. I'll take it. But I'm gonna have to call April and let her know we're leaving a bit earlier than we planned. You're lucky she's made better headway than I have on packing and stuff," I laugh. April has always been and will forever be the more organized between us two. Actually, that gives me an idea. Surely, mom owes me one after this conversation went the way she wanted. I continue talking.
"You know what? Maybe it's better I tell her in person. You're not busy tonight, right Mom? I can't assume you are based on the way you've been calling me nonstop lately. Would you mind watching Harriet for the night? I'll ask April if she wants to come over for dinner to chat. I've eaten enough at her place lately that I think it's time to return the favour. We also have some stuff to work out that would be easier without Harriet around," I say with a hint of Avery charm.
"Say no more," Mom says quickly.
"Great, I'll call and let her know to come over with Harriet and you can come pick her up from my place."
"Excellent! See you soon baby," Mom says before hanging up.
I immediately dial April's number and wait for her to pick up. The first thing I hear is an exasperated sigh.
"Jackson, you always call me at the wrong time. I was just putting a pot of water on to boil for pasta. You almost made me scald myself," she says, feigning annoyance (I, of course, know she's joking).
"You're wrong then, because that means I called you at the exact right time. Turn off the stove, dinner will be chez Avery tonight. My mom offered to watch Harriet, and you and I have final details to work out." I hope April doesn't say no. We've been spending a lot more time together than we normally do and I have a feeling she's tired of me.
"Third night in a week? Let's not make this a trend," she says mockingly. "Harriet and I will get ready and be over soon."
That was…easy? April keeps surprising me these days with her unwillingness to put up a fight. I don't know if I should be worried or relieved.
"Okay, see you both soon," I say as I hang up. I'm about to put down my phone when I realize I have no food to make and no energy to do it anyway. I'm also trying to avoid buying any groceries before leaving. I call up our favourite Chinese food place and put in an order for delivery. April will just have to settle for take-out tonight.
The food arrives five minutes before Harriet and April do. When I open the door to them, Harriet runs inside between my legs with her little overnight bag. "Where's grandma?" she yells as she jumps on the couch.
"Grandma will be here soon, Hats. Why don't you go grab any toys you want from your room in the meantime?" I ask while picking her up and placing her onto the floor. She runs off to her room, yelling something about a Doctor Barbie.
"That child has entirely too much energy lately. I thought it might have been because she was glad to be feeling better, but it's gone on too long. We may need to stop giving her sugar," April muses as she hangs up her coat.
"And skip waffle Sundays? Never. She's just excited about the move," I respond. There's another reason why Harriet has been so hyper, but April wouldn't understand. She grew up in a loving home with two parents. I don't think she'll ever be able to get how exciting it can be knowing your family will be together again. I would've given anything for my dad to come back and live with us when I was Harriet's age.
April walks in and takes a look around. Her face looks confused. "Jackson," she says sharply. "You told me you've been packing. Where? This place looks as full as ever."
I rub the back of my neck and look down. "Uh, yeah. I guess I'm not at fast and organized as you are," I say sheepishly. "It's okay though. I'm not planning on selling this place, at least not anytime soon. It'll be here to use anytime I'm in Seattle. No rush to move everything now."
April raises an eyebrow. "So, you're not bringing any furniture? What will you sleep on in Boston, the floor?" she jokes.
I grin and give her a typical Avery response. "New city, new furniture," I shrug as she narrows her eyes at me. "C'mon April, it'll give you a chance to redecorate. You can do the whole house. As many throw pillows as you want."
Her eyes light up at that, but before she can respond, the doorbell rings. Harriet comes zooming out of her room and somehow gets to it before April and I do, which leaves us both baffled. Maybe a no-sugar diet was in order.
"Grandma's here!" Harriet exclaims as she opens the door to my mom. Mom picks her up and spins her around while I grab Harriet's discarded bag and toys.
"Have fun tonight, Mom. You sure your old bones have enough energy to keep up with this one?" I ask tauntingly. She swats me with the hand that isn't holding Harriet.
"You see how your daddy talks to me, baby? Tell him he should be nicer to Grandma," my mom says to Harriet while poking her on the nose.
"Daddy, you be nice. Or else you'll go into time-out," Harriet tells me in the most serious way possible. April, Mom and I all laugh at that.
I hand Harriet's stuff over to Mom as April and I wave bye, with promises one of us will pick her up by noon. Once they leave, I realize it's just me and April alone together. I can't remember the last time it's been just the two of us in a house/condo – not since Harriet has been born and definitely not since we've both been single. I think about how I really hope we're able to steer clear of anything bedroom-related, and then mentally hit myself when I realize that's the first place my mind went. We're here to talk and that's it.
"Is that Chinese food I smell?" April clasps her hands together as she walks towards the table. I toss her a bag full of fortune cookies and watch her smile as she opens it up. In just ten seconds, my entire night has already been made.
"Jackson you are the best!" she squeals while bouncing a bit on her feet. I try to hide my blush at the compliment while silently thanking God I'm not as pale as she is.
"I know," I say casually, cocky persona back in full force. That comment garners a swat from April. We both laugh as we sit down and dig in.
"So, I'll just come out with it while you're still on your fortune cookie high. I heard you ratted me out to my mom about the plane tickets. She basically said under no circumstances will she let us fly commercial and says we can have the Avery plane. Problem is, we'll have to leave on Friday," I look at April out of the corner of one eye and notice she doesn't seem upset. The fortune cookies really do work magic. Though I do wonder if she'll start throwing them at me.
"Sure. Some of us like to actually pack and get ready early, so I can have everything done by tomorrow and be ready to leave on Friday. I already told work and said I'd be willing to travel back and forth to finish out the two weeks so they have enough notice, but they said I could just use my vacation days in lieu," April says plainly. She's so casual about this, there must be something else going on.
"Alright then, that's settled. I gotta go into Grey-Sloan tomorrow to, you know, leave. But the next morning why don't I pick you and Harriet up and we'll go to the airport together? Mom can come and take the car back with her." I know April said she was closing out the lease on her car early, which means I assume she's bringing it back tomorrow now and will be without transportation.
"Works for me," she says while munching on a spring roll. "I see we've both been putting off some unpleasant tasks. I…uh…haven't told Matthew yet. We've only talked by text recently, and the conversations are pretty much him asking about Harriet and me about Ruby. I'm gonna call him tomorrow and work everything out. If he's not coming back to Seattle, we'll need to sell our place. I feel like I've done so much damage to his life that I'm willing to just let him take the equity if it means we can be done with it."
Have Matthew take all the equity? That doesn't seem right. April will have nothing to worry about financially in Boston for sure. I'll see to it that she and Harriet won't want for anything, so she doesn't need a lot of money. But still, I know she was making at least five times what Matthew was when they got married. Being on the board means I've seen what we spend on salaries, and GSM pays its surgeons well. I'm sure the majority of the equity in that house is rightfully hers. I sigh as I realize it's not my marriage and not my problem.
"I guess if that's what you think is best, but don't put yourself out for the sake of peace. I'll help smooth things over if that's what you need. I just want to make sure you do what's best for you," I say cautiously. I don't want her to think I'm overstepping.
"Thanks Jackson, but you talking to Matthew is really not a good idea, no matter how many times you propose it. I know you're just trying to help, and I appreciate it. I'll have to put on my big girl pants and do it myself, though. Just like you need to do with Bailey. I can't believe you've put it off this long." The topic change was slick, I'll give her that. I don't want to talk about Matthew any longer either.
"Yeahhh…I sorta was hoping Richard may have let it slip, but judging by the lack of angry texts from Bailey that doesn't seem to be the case. I have a list of recommended hires to give her and I'm willing to fly out to do any complex surgeries that come up until they find an adequate replacement." I'm trying to make it as seamless as possible for everyone at the hospital.
"Hard to find a double-board certified ENT and plastics surgeon as talented as you, Jackson. You can't just pick one up off the street. You're one-of-a-kind," April says seriously. Her soft tone and intense green eyes are making my heart flutter. This conversation is heading into dangerous waters, especially considering we wanted to keep this dinner to strictly talking.
"Thanks April, I appreciate it," I say genuinely. "They'll be alright though. One of the doctors on the list trained with Mark in New York. I'm sure he'd be excellent."
"Maybe so. By the way, I wouldn't have had to rat you out about the plane tickets if your mom didn't show up at my house out of the blue the other morning. I wonder how she got my address?" April says with her hand on her chin.
Typical Catherine Fox behaviour. I knew she was up to something when she asked for April's address. 'Welcome package' my ass.
"Mom said she had a welcome package to ship you from the Foundation. Guess I should've known the welcome package would be herself," I say with a groan.
"Herself tied to the entire kids section of Target for Harriet!" April laughs. "I can only imagine what new toys and clothes she'll come back with tomorrow."
After dinner is finished, April and I smile at each other as we clear the dishes from the table and make our way over to the couch. We talk easily about our plans for over an hour – I show her some of the real estate listings on my phone and she seems pretty excited about the white picket fence house (like I thought she'd be). I explain more about what role she'll get to play in the Foundation, that she'll pretty much have free reign to run what she wants. She surprises me when she mentions she misses surgery a bit and was wondering if there was any way she could do both. I let her know my mom is still technically employed at the Brigham (although I'm not sure how since she seems to always be in Seattle these days), and that a Catherine Fox recommendation could go a long way into getting surgical privileges whenever she wants. April's face lights up at that.
"I'd love that, Jackson. I've really missed surgery the longer I've stayed away from it. To be honest, I contemplated coming back to GSM so many times, but Matthew…" April trails off and stops mid-sentence. There's a pronounced pause and silence before she starts again. "Anyway, I'll talk to Catherine about it, but not for a while. I'd like to get settled in first."
"Whatever works for you, babe," I say while yawning before I realize what just came out of my mouth. I look sideways at April with wide eyes to see if she caught my gaffe.
"Well," she says simply while patting her thighs. "Looks like someone is getting tired. I'm gonna head out. But let's make a promise to each other: tomorrow I will tell Matthew, and you will tell everyone at work. Deal?"
"Deal," I respond with a handshake.
A/N: I had to make some edits to this chapter and the next one after 17x15 came out to make the story match, which I why I held off on posting. There's only one more chapter left in Seattle, which I'm planning on finishing this weekend since it's a long weekend here in Canada. Then it'll all be Boston!