"Lame people?" I question. "Those people just finished working all day and are spending the last minutes of daylight with their kids outside, so they can spend quality time together having fun. You find it lame?"
Ace tosses his hands in the air. "I don’t know. I’m exhausted after I get home from work, and I can’t imagine taking care of a kid or two all night."
A waitress brings over two mugs of coffee and sets them down in front of us. "Thank you," Ace tells the woman.
“I was clear about my intentions of wanting to get married and have a family, unlike you."
"You didn’t want the same kind of life, though. Instead, you allowed me to act as your wife without the bells and whistles."
Ace glances down into his coffee mug. "I realize it all now, and I’m sorry for leading you on with unfulfilled expectations."
"Great, well, it was only four years. No big deal.” I roll my eyes, feeling beyond the point of frustration.
He drops a spoon into his coffee and stirs as he pours a packet of sugar into the liquid. "I’m willing to move back here and get married, and have kids if you’ll take me back," he says.
I waited so long to hear him say this, too long. It pains me to knowhe waited until I fell out of love with him. "That wouldn’t be fair to you.”
"I’d be with you still, so how not?" he questions, taking a sip from his steaming cup.
"Because we should want the same things in life. Otherwise, someone will eventually have regrets and blame the other. Like your parents." Ace’s mom didn’t care about money like his father. His father spent his life investing, gambling with the stock market, and buying franchises, while his mother raised Ace alone most days. He was right about money and happiness. I never saw our happiness coming from the money I know he has. We hardly spoke of it because we had what we needed and wanted, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
"I’ll want it all if it means being with you," he says.
He’s saying all the right things at the very wrong time. It’s too late. I stare down at my coffee, focusing on the swirl of cream still swirling aroundthe bubbles. The night I found out about Dad; I was already at my breaking point. I couldn’t bear to watch life from inside our kitchen window anymore, and there is no guarantee I wouldn’t have the same view here in Vermont.
"What is with you and your view out the window? You can’t baseyour life off a view from inside a house, Melody. There is more to life than that. Let me prove it to you."
He can promise me the world, but I can’t imagine him following up on anything he’s tried to convince me with. My gut says these are pleading words to buy more time. "Ace," I sigh. "If I still felt like I was in love with you, I might accept your offer, but there’s an empty space in my heart you left vacant a long time ago. I’m sorry, but I’m not in love with you. I can’t do this."
Ace presses his lips together and nods his head then swallows loud enough for me to hear. "You’re breaking my heart," he says.
You broke mine a long time ago.
"I’m sorry, butyou’ll find someone who wants the same in life," I tell him. "It’s just not going to be me."
Ace grips his hands around the coffee mug. "I appreciate your honesty, and I needed this closure before giving up on us, but I understand."
"I should have talked to you about my feelings before everything happened with my dad, but I felt like I ran out of time, and I needed to be here."
"I know," he says. "Brett seems like a nice guy."
I don’t want to discuss anything about Brett with him, so I give a little smile and take a sip from my coffee. "Are you staying in Vermont or going back?"Please don’t stay.
"I’m going back, but I plan to sell the house and get a smaller condo somewhere closer to work. I can box up the things you left and ship them to your mom’s."
"I’ll have my car picked up and brought up north," I say, finalizing the closure of our past.
Ace scratches at the back of his neck. "I wish you lots of luck, and I hope things get easier for you and your family."
Easier. There’s no such thing after losing a parent. I reach into my pants pocket for the five-dollar bill I have, pulling it out to pay for my coffee. "Here.” I toss the money down and try not to give him another look.
"I got it, Mel."
"I’d rather pay for my coffee," I reply, now knowing the thought of dividing assets was a fear of his with regard to committing himself to me. Things can end on an amicable note, but I never took advantage of what he had, and never asked for a thing, except for his love. If anything, I see now, his money kept him from giving those non-tangible things to me.
I take my wet jacket from the back of the seat and force my arms into the sleeves. "Take care, Ace.” I close my eyes and walk away.
Journey is scanning through her phone when I knock on the window, waiting for her to unlock the door. Before climbing inside, I notice Brett watching us from inside the shop. I assume he’s wondering what just happened.
