Tears fill my eyes as I contemplate Thomas’s betrayal. We had so much fun last night. SO much. He must have spent a fortune on dinner and flowers. He hung on my every word like it was gospel. He held my hand and kissed me. He made me feel more special than any man ever has, and now he’s taken that all away.
I replay our evening word for word, trying to figure out where I went wrong, but I can’t. Even when I expressed concerns about what kind of future we could have, he continued to assure me everything would work out.
That’s when it hits me: maybe he’s a compulsive liar. I try to convince myself that the problem is with him and not me. But I’m not sure I’m successful.
I do know one thing though. I’m starting to feel like I might need a little revenge of my own. I do not appreciate being played for a fool, and in addition to being very sad right now, I also feel enormously foolish.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
THOMAS
I stand up when I see Kevin walking toward me. “Hey, neighbor,” I say. “I stopped by your house this morning for a chat.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there, Tommy.” He’s wearing a dirty pair of overalls that look like they’ve seen better days.
That’s when I recognize the man he’s with. It’s Dr. Hall from the hospital. “Edward,” I say to him, “It’s nice to see you again.”
He nods his head. “You too, son.” Then he adds, “Pickles and I were just doing a little fishing.”
The use of Kevin’s nickname catches me off guard. These two must be old friends. “Did you catch anything?” I ask.
Kevin answers for him. “We got a mess of walleye. I was going to bring some by for you later.”
“I’m not sure I’d know how to clean a fish,” I tell him honestly. “Maybe I can YouTube it.”
He waves his hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll clean it for you.”
“That’s very nice Kevin, thank you.”
“You gotta call me Pickles, boy,” he says. “Every time you call me Kevin, I feel like I’m being called into the principal’s office.”
Dr. Hall jokes with him, “Remember that time we got called in for putting a dead fish behind the radiator?” The two of them laugh like little boys.
“You guys go way back, huh?” I ask.
“We grew up next door to each other,” Kevin says. “Eddie here lived in the house you’re renting.”
“Really? Does your family still own it?” I ask him.
“My sister Judy does,” he tells me.
“Does she live in town, as well?” I haven’t met her, but I’m not surprised as she listed the house with a realtor.
“She’s retired down to Florida. She comes up and spends Christmas with us, but other than that, we don’t see much of her.”
“Yet.” Kevin nudges him in the ribs. “Now that you’re going to retire yourself, you’ll be seeing her bunches.”
“You’re retiring?” I ask Edward. He doesn’t even look sixty yet.
“My wife wants me to stop working while I’m still young enough for the two of us to have some fun,” he says. “I figure she might be on to something.”
“Good for you,” I tell him. I hope I’m as lucky someday.
Kevin interjects, “Why did you stop by the house?”
I glance between him and Edward and stammer, “I … um … just wanted some advice.”
“Why don’t we all head over to the tackle shop for some tater tots and we can chat?” He nudges Dr. Hall and adds, “Two heads are better than one, am I right?”
