I text Michelle back and head downstairs, hoping I am not making a jackass-stupid move.
Michelle’s office is in a nice area of Star Falls. No one is sitting at the reception desk, so I stand there and look around, unsure where to go. After a couple minutes, a man in a suit that probably cost more than my truck payment rushes out to the front.
“Good morning,” he says. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Our receptionist is tied up. Do you have an appointment?”
I look the guy over and shrug. “Yeah, I guess. I’m here to see Michelle.” I look down at the jeans and flannel shirt I’m wearing and suddenly feel all the old shit come back.
How I was never enough for Michelle. The way she always wanted me to dress better. But I don’t have a lot of time to worry about it because Michelle comes through the reception door herself then.
“Vito.” She walks right up to me and gives me a very real hug.
I clumsily hug her back, regretting every idiotic thought that brought me here. “Hey,” I say, stepping out of the hug as soon as I can.
“John,” she says to the guy in the suit, “I’m going to take Vito back to my office. Would you hang out up front until Gennie is back?”
The guy nods, looking me over with a hint of suspicion. I follow Michelle back into her office, looking at the pristine carpet tiles as I follow her. Being here alone with Michelle feels like I’m betraying Eden, even if my intention is to listen to what she has to say and get the fuck out of here as fast as I can.
Eden’s final walk-through is at noon, so I have less than an hour before I have to pick her up, and that’s about ten times longer than I plan on staying.
Michelle’s name is posted on a plaque outside the door, and she scans herself in using a keycard.
“Fancy,” I say, following her into the spacious, light-filled room.
She nods. “For client security. I only have a few advisers here, and we keep our private offices locked.”
She motions for me to sit down, then pulls up an app on her phone to order us coffee. “Still the same?” she asks, smiling. “Or do you want something different? I don’t want to assume nothing has changed since we last saw each other.”
I’m feeling more and more irritated by the second. If she orders coffee, that means I’m stuck here for at least fifteen minutes until it gets here. I’m itching to leave so bad I can’t keep my hands still.
“I’m good,” I say, waving her off. “I’ve got someplace to be, so…”
She cocks her chin at me and frowns. “I’m sorry. I thought you…” She firms her lips, punches in an order, then sets her phone down. She sits behind her desk and motions for me to have a seat. I do, figuring the sooner we get through this, the better.
She leans back in her chair and looks at me warmly. “Vito, maybe I was stupid for inviting you here. I thought it could be good to talk a bit.”
I nod. “Go ahead and talk.”
Even as I say it, I hate that I sound like a moody teenager. I’m a grown fucking man, and this woman loved me once.
“Okay, let me just say this,” I tell her. “I heard you were back in town, but I’m seeing someone I really care about now, and I just…” I shrug. “I don’t know what there really is to say.”
Michelle stuns me by laughing and leaning forward on her desk. “Thank you,” she says. “Thanks for being honest. That’s literally all I wanted.”
She sighs and then leans back. “Maybe it’s me who needs to talk. So, can you give me five minutes? If you don’t like what I have to say, you can leave and tell me to fuck off, and I won’t bother you again.”
I nod, feeling a tiny bit less grumpy. “Shoot,” I tell her. “Floor’s yours.”
She gives me a big smile. “Well, you probably heard I came back to Star Falls to help my grandfather. He’s in that memory care place up on Devon and Wilson Drive.”
I nod. “I heard. I’m sorry things have gotten rough. Your gramps was always good to me.”
“You deserved it,” she says warmly. “You’re a wonderful man, Vito.”
Alarm bells like a five-alarm fire sound in my ears. Where the fuck is this going?
“I’ll cut to the chase,” she says. “You know we didn’t work out for reasons. But I have no hard feelings, and I hope you don’t either. I’m dating someone now who I’ve been with for almost four years.” She turns a picture frame on her desk to show me a picture of her in a bikini on a beach with some guy wearing orange floral trunks. He looks like a douchebag to me, but Michelle looks happy, so I just nod.
Her voice is soft as she explains. “He’s a lawyer. We’re doing the long-distance thing for a few months while he’s working up a case that should go to trial by the end of the year. Once that’s over, he’s going to spend half his time here in Star Falls with me.”
