“Walk me to my door?” I asked.
“My pleasure.”
Even though the front porch light was on, it wasn’t until we were almost to the door when something on the welcome mat caught my eye. It was a Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone. One of those brightly colored phones toddlers pulled on a string and the eyes moved back and forth. A note was taped to the front door.
Jacob reached up, snatched it, and read aloud. “Your new boyfriend left his phone at Better Burgers tonight.”
Pain and hysterical laughter bubbled up inside me. I bent over and clutched my stomach. Everything inside me hurt. I knew I should just play it off as being funny…but I couldn’t.
It hit too close to home.
“Monica?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” A sob escaped before I could stop it. “I’m sorry, Jacob. I just can’t do this right now.”
He reached out and tried to touch me, but I slipped inside the house and quietly shut the front door. Resting my head against the wood, I let the tears fall.
Chapter 19
I stayed away from Jacob on Wednesday. When he left for his date with Jessica at five, I tried not to stare out the kitchen window. I left the house for This and That around six. When I returned home at nine o’clock, he still wasn’t home. I heard his truck pull into the driveway around ten, but he didn’t knock on the French doors to talk.
I didn’t offer him coffee Thursday morning, either.
At four, when he came striding through the backyard, sweating from work, I almost died when he veered toward my house. I was in the kitchen, pretending to cook dinner.
“What’s up?” I asked tentatively.
He didn’t make a move to come in or to touch me. Instead, he stared deep into my eyes until I wanted to look away. “I just want to say one thing.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
“I’m done asking you out. I’m done begging you to give me a chance.”
Tears stung my eyes, and I tried to blink them back, but I wasn’t quick enough.
He sighed. “Please don’t cry, Monica. It breaks my heart. But you aren’t being considerate with my feelings when you give me the go-ahead signal and then when I do, you pull back because you’re embarrassed by what people will think about us.”
“I know. And it’s not—”
He held up his hand. “No. I need you to hear this. I won’t play a tug-of-war game with you. We’re both too old for games. The ball is in your court. If ever there is a time where you think you could want to be with me—truly be with me—then you’ll need to make the next move. Because I’m done getting my heart stepped on.”
He turned and walked away as I shed silent tears.
I was still sitting at the table crying when I saw Mom, Mimi, Gilda, and Ingrid tiptoe through the backyard. But instead of my house, they headed to Jacob’s cottage.
Rolling my eyes and wondering what crazy thing they were up to now, I opened the kitchen door.
“What’re you doing?” I asked.
I knew Jacob was home, but it didn’t mean he’d want to see them.
“Nothing,” Mom said.
“You worry about you,” Mimi said. “We’re here for Jacob.”
Gilda shook her head at me, while Ingrid clucked her tongue sympathetically.
“He probably doesn’t want company,” I said.
