“Yeah, he replaced my wiper blade for me when I stopped there earlier, and then, I was on my way to talk to you there, but I hit a pothole.CAA is on their way with a tow truck.”
It was amazing how fast a fellow’s feelings could crash down to earth from their cloud nine position when the words “tow truck” were thrown into a conversation.
“Why is a tow truck on its way to you?What happened?”
Sean held out his hand.“Keys,” he demanded.“I’ll start the car.”Fred obliged and gave him his keys.
“The pothole took out my front passenger side tire.But I’m fine.I managed to keep myself out of the ditch, and I’m sitting in a warm car.”
“It’s going to be dark soon, especially with how cloudy it’s been today,” Fred said as he slipped one arm into his coat while holding his phone between his shoulder and chin.“Where are you?”
“On the Marydale road.A bit more than halfway to Marydale from Hatfield Falls.But seriously, Fred.I only called to let you know that I want to talk to you about us.”
Us.Was there a more beautiful word?At this moment, he couldn’t think of one.
“The tow truck might be here before you could get to where I am.”
“Well, if it does get to you first, then, let me know.I just need to let someone here know that I’m headed out for a bit, and then, I’ll be on my way to you.”
“No need,” Sean said.“I can make sure things keep rolling along and those last boxes get emptied – just as long as you come back to drive me home.Your car’s by the door.”
“I’ll be back,” Fred assured him before sprinting to the door.“Do you want to talk while I drive?”he asked Esther.
“I’d like that.”
“Okay, hold on.”Fred climbed into his car, put his phone on speaker, and secured it in its holder.“Ready.”
For the next several minutes, Esther told him about her realization that she’d been letting everyone but God guide her decisions when it came to who she wanted to love and date.
“I knew Mandy was behind your refusal to go on that hayride with me,” he said, after she confessed to him what Mandy had told her about not wanting to lose Esther’s friendship to him.
“You did?”
“Yeah, you seemed happy reading that note I left you – I was sure you would say yes, but then, after you’d had lunch with Mandy, your smile was gone, and I got a no.”He could still picture the whole string of events from that day in his mind.Some things were just too hard to forget – like the first time a guy got his heart broken but couldn’t let it show because he still hoped his best friend would someday change her mind.He couldn’t have told her that he loved her then because that would have made him look desperate and put him on the creepy friend list – which was not where he wanted to be.“I don’t know how long I have loved you, Esther, but I knew I was in love with you even then.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.It’s always been you.I mean I tried going out with other girls, but none of them compared to you.Kinda sappy, huh?”He laughed to release his anxiety as he said it.He’d never cared what others thought about him – unless it was Esther.
“Wait?Are you nervous?You don’t laugh like that unless you are.”He heard her sigh with frustration.“Oh, Fred.I’ve been so stupid!How could I be so wrapped up in myself to not notice what I was doing to you?”Again, she gave a sigh that sounded pained.“I realized while I was talking with Parker today that you’ve been telling me you love me for years through the little things you do, but I was too stupid to hear it.”
“Please stop calling yourself stupid.You are not that.At.All.”
“Yes, I am.In this case, I am – or was.Because I couldn’t let go of my desire to fit in with my friends, I let you suffer for years, and then, because I didn’t recognize the sweet ways you cared for me as your proclamation of love, I hurt a good man and his daughter and am going to be the object of playground and parent gossip for a long time – and not in a way that will ever become a funny anecdote later in life.Man, stupidity is costly – and not just for the stupid person who in this case WAS me.”
“You weren’t stupid.”
“Yes, I was.”
“No, you were confused.”
“Maybe, but I was also stupid.I’m not letting you win this argument, Fred.As my dad would say, I have to live through this feeling and come out on the other side with some hard-earned wisdom.”
He smiled as he heard her dad’s voice saying the words she had just said.It was a favourite saying of his.“Have you told him about Steve?”
“Not yet.I was trying to give myself some time to deal with the pain of hurting him before I spoke to you and then, to Dad.But when Parker mentioned that you might be moving to Marydale, I knew I couldn’t wait until things felt better.I had to get to you.I couldn't let you leave Hatfield Falls because of me.”
He could see a car sitting on the opposite side of the road just ahead with its four-way flashers on.
