“Parsley,” Ev repeated. “Like the wilty green garnish that sits on the side of the plate taking up space. Like the shit that’s supposed to distract you from how very littleentreeis in front of you. How there’s absolutely nothing on your plate that nourishes you.Thatkind of parsley.”
Wow.
“That’s bullshit. Brian is a great guy. He’s…”
“I like to think I’m not a particularly violent person, but if you tell me again that he’s good and kind and patient, I’m going to find you and smack you, because that’s totally beside the point.” Ev paused. “Speaking of, where are you?”
“In my truck,” I sighed. “Parked outside the diner. I got out of work a few minutes ago.”
“And why aren’t you on your way to Camden to apologize to Brian and beg his forgiveness?”
A good question.
Through the windshield, I watched the lights inside the diner go dark, followed half a minute later by Diane Perkins and Henry Lattimer, Ev’s grandfather, shuffling out the door hand in hand. Diane paused to lock up, while Hen stood on the sidewalk keeping a narrow-eyed lookout for any hoodlums or vigilantes who might be wandering O’Leary’s mean streets ready to attack his ladylove, just as he did every night Diane worked.
I lifted a hand in a wave, and Henry nodded seriously in return, which was kind of amusing, really. Diane, who’d taught me to cook back when I started working at Goode’s as a busboy in high school and still ran the place six days a week, was hardly a delicate maiden. And Hen, who was pushing eighty and was still a bit unsteady on his feet after hurting his leg last summer, wasn’tpreciselythe bodyguard type. But when Diane turned and threaded her arm through his, she gave him a brilliant smile that made her look way younger than her sixty-whatever years, and Henry’s bushy mustache twitched up in an answering grin right before he pressed a kiss to the top of her flame-red hair and led her down the street to their apartment.
And all of a sudden, it didn’t seem amusing at all anymore.
In fact? I was fucking jealous.
Of an octogenarian.
This day got worse and worse.
I put the truck in reverse, backing out of the parking spot and driving down Weaver Street, which was nearly empty except for the lightly falling snow. Towardhome. Away from Brian.
“I don’t know, Ev,” I finally admitted. “Ishouldbe on my way to his place. Ishould. I just… I don’t know, okay. Happy now?”
“Not really. I wantyouto be happy,” Ev said, so gently I couldn’t even be mad at him for being so ridiculous and… right. “I don’t want you wasting time trying to force this relationship to work when there’s something that’smeantfor you out there, just waiting for you to wise up.”
“I don’t believe in fate.”
“Doesn’t matter, as long as fate believes in you,” Ev said with mock cheer.
“Gross. And Iamhappy with Brian. I’m thinking maybe this is just an adjustment period, you know? Having a boyfriend is time-consuming, and I haven’t really tried to have a relationship since… well, since the last time I was with Brian. It’s gonna take me a minute to settle in, for things to feel natural. Right?” I asked hopefully.
“Time-consuming,” Ev repeated. “Why, you hopeless romantic, you.”
“You know what I mean,” I insisted. “Remembering plans. Calling all the time. Figuring out what to eat. Keeping things on schedule. All the stuff you need to do for a boyfriend.”
Ev snorted. “You make Brian sound like an exotic pet you inherited! Where’s the excitement? Where’s the enthusiasm? Those things aren’t hard when youwantto do them.”
I rubbed a hand over my forehead. “Not every relationship is a great romance. Some of us just aren’t built for that. Companionship and stability are way more important in the end.” I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince.
“Sometimes you can have both.”
“And sometimes you can’t. But that guy would doanythingfor me. It’s really—”
“Off-putting?”
“Loving,” I returned. “Sacrificing. That’s what people in a relationshipdo. They stick around, even when it’s not exciting anymore.”
“Jameson, I think we’ve found your problem.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“You really want to date someone who’s gonna lie down in the street and wait to be run over, if you get a wild hair and ask him to? That’s not love, friend, that’s a total lack of self-preservation. It’stooeasy. You need someone who challenges you, who shares your hopes and dreams. Not someone who clings to you like a sucker fish and says, ‘Yes, Jamie. Sure, Jamie. Whatever you say, Jamie.’ You need someone youcan’tforget, even if you try to.”
