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grandfather. This is going to break his heart. I’m all he has left.” A few tears managed to escape and rolled down her cheek. Cree brushed them away.
    Melody knew Cree was upset and didn’t want to upset her further, but they were friends. She had to be honest. “Okay. So, Cameron should not have made this decision without talking to you first, but he did. The residency is what two years?”
    She nodded through glassy eyes. “Yes.”
    “Okay, two years. Your grandfather is healthy as a horse. He’s still a relatively young man at sixty-seven. He has tons of friends and David, and I are here. You don’t have to worry about him being alone or lonely. You know that, so you can’t use it as an excuse.”
    “Two years is a long time.”
    “Yes. It is. But, between the two years Cameron spent at Jackson only coming home on weekends and the four years he spent at Cornell, you two have lived apart for almost six years. That has to be a strain. It would be a strain on any marriage.”
    “I thought all of that would be over once he started his residency here.”
    “But, he’s not going to Jackson. He has decided to take the opportunity in New York.”
    “He could decline it and go to Jackson.”
    “Come on Cree, you are being silly,” Melody shook her head. “How likely is that?”
    Cree dropped her eyes to the floor. “I hate it there,” she stated quietly.
    Melody was doing her best to sound optimistic. “It can’t be that bad.”
    “It’s not just New York; it’s everything. I always feel so out of place and awkward around his friends. They’re doing great things, and I haven’t even figured out what I want to declare as my major. I just feel so inadequate around them. And…”
    Melody softened her voice. “And what?”
    “What if he realizes…I’m just a small town girl?” Cree studied her hands; a reminder that she worked as a cashier in a grocery store and was a part-time gas station attendant. Cameron was about to become a doctor. “What if he’s outgrown me? It’ll be so obvious there.”
    Incredulously, she responded, “Is that what you’re afraid of? It’s as plain as day that Cameron loves you, Cree. Have faith in him and your love for each other.” She lifted Cree’s chin to look at her. “I promise everything will work out.”
    Cree nodded. She pressed her lips together before speaking, “I hate this, but I need to trust him don’t I?” She sighed, “If he thinks Presbyterian is a better opportunity, I suppose I should start packing. I’ll still have to make it clear he can’t just go off making decisions about our lives all willy nilly.”
    “Definitely! Give him hell for that.” Melody smiled.
    Cree reached out and hugged her. “I’ll miss you. You’ve been in my life since I was thirteen.”
    Her voice was thick with emotion. “I’ll miss you too. But we’ll text…”
    Cree finished her sentence, “Everyday and we’ll snapchat too. You’ll tell me everything that’s going on around here.”
    “I most certainly will!” Teary eyed they smiled sadly at one another.
    “And, Cameron said we would visit every chance we can.”
    “There you have it. It’ll be like you never left.”
    Both Melody and Cree knew that was a lie. However, holding on to the lie was much easier than dealing with the truth. They were on the cusp of one of those life changing moments and hoped their relationship wouldn’t suffer because of it.
    *****
    The drive over from Melody’s to her grandfathers was only a few minutes. She pulled up to his ranch-style home. Mr. Cyrus Watson was sitting on the porch drinking lemonade. He lifted his head the moment her car pulled up into the driveway.
    Cree’s feet felt like lead as she opened the door and got out of the car. How was she going to tell her grandfather that she was leaving him? It had been just the two of them ever since her mom died when she was thirteen years old and her father was killed in a car accident before she was old