My heart dropped, and anger surged through my veins. I couldn’t explain why I was so pissed off, it’s not like they weren’t saying anything inaccurate. I was dangerously like my father—I knew that, and I didn’t deserve Elle Thompson when I had her—I knew that too. I wasn’t even sure if I deserved her now.
Even though there was some truth to it, gossip still pissed me off. I was accustomed to it, I’d practically grown up with my every move watched, dissected, and judged. Even when I was a little kid, I’d feel their whispers and their stares. Now that I was twenty-three, I’d grown tired of playing nice and ignoring their rudeness.
I wanted to stomp over there and give those catty old ladies a piece of my mind, but I had my seven-year old nephew with me, and even though I was sick and tired of the witch hunt, I was trying to turn over a new leaf. Yelling at some old ladies in the middle of the grocery store at six o’clock at night probably wasn’t going to help.
“Can we get chips, Uncle Braden?” Aiden asked, dragging my attention away from the miserable old ladies. His blue eyes were wide as he pleaded with me silently. I probably should have said no, Becky hated buying junk food for him, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Yeah bud, why don’t you go grab a bag?” I suggested. Aiden grinned and took off before I could tell him not to run. Smiling, I shook my head with amusement at my nephew as I followed him.
Becky had called me and asked me to pick up Aiden from his friend’s house and grab some groceries on my way home from work. The nurse that was supposed to take over her patients never showed up, and Becky was stuck at the hospital until the on-call nurse could come.
The three whispering elderly ladies clammed up when they caught sight of me walking past them. “Good evening, Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Stovin, Mrs. Reece,” I flashed a smile at them that was anything but friendly. “Hope you’re all doing well.” My words may have been polite, but the hidden message wasn’t. I practically saidfuck youwith my eyes and they knew it.
They gaped at me as I continued walking, and it gave me immense satisfaction to see the astonished looks on their faces.
Aiden had about three bags of chips in his arms when I finally caught up to him. “Put two of those bags back, bud. There’s no way we’d be able to polish them off before your mom gets home. Do you want to get caught?”
“No,” Aiden pouted, peering down at the bags. “I can’t make up my mind though!”
I chuckled and ruffled his dark hair. “Go for Dill Pickle. That’s my favourite.”
“Really?” Aiden said excitedly. “That’s my favourite too!”
“Problem solved then, let’s get out of here,” I told him. He dropped the bag of chips into the cart I was pushing and we made our way to the checkout line.
I had just finished lifting Aiden up into the truck and was walking the cart back when someone called my name. “Braden!”
I turned around, my hand on the cart so it wouldn’t take off without me, and watched as Ezra Johnson jogged over. Ezra had been my best friend growing up. I hadn’t seen him in four years. In fact, the last time I saw him, he was hoisting my drunk, belligerent ass off the floor at O’Riley’s.
“Give me a moment, okay Aiden?” I told my nephew, ruffling his hair. He nodded, grabbing his Gameboy and firing it up. I closed the door and turned to face my friend.
“I heard you were back in town,” Ezra said, coming to a stop a few feet away from me.
“Yup…I got back last week. How are you doing?” I swallowed hard, shame settling in my gut. After I went to rehab, I took off without so much as asee you laterto all my friends. I was never very good at goodbyes, which is why I preferred not to bother with them.
“I’m alright. How are you doing?” His light eyes held no contempt towards me, just a quiet understanding.
“Good, I’m doing good,” I answered. It was almost true too—while the gossipy old ladies were annoying, it was still good to be home. I missed my life the way it was before I did everything in my power to screw it up.
I had a lot of work ahead of me: I had to repair all the relationships and friendships I’d managed to damage. I hadn’t just hurt my family and Elle, and I knew that. My regrets played on a continuous loop, and I knew I had to find a way to make amends.
“That’s great,” Ezra managed. We assessed each other for a moment, both of us probably thinking about the last few times we’d seen each other.
“Look man, I’m really sorry about everything,” I sighed, hoping my words conveyed the depth of my regret.
“I get it,” he shook his head, smiling sadly. “You were grieving, you weren’t yourself.”
“Yeah,” I inhaled, my eyes dropping to the ground. “Well, I’m sorry about that.”
He was quiet for a few moments longer, studying me. “We still get together on Fridays after work for wings. You’re welcome to join us.”
“At O’Riley’s?” I questioned, my throat going dry and itchy. I hadn’t set foot in the place since my last bender.
“We could try Wild Wings,” Ezra offered, shrugging. “It’s up to you.”
“Nah, if I can make it I’ll meet you at O’Riley’s,” I said, waving away Ezra’s concern like a bad smell. I would have to adjust to this kind of thing sooner rather than later, I just couldn’t make it a habit.
“You sure?”
