“He’s not my boyfriend,” I objected weakly, although I knew that wasn’t the point.
Before I could say another word, Arty and Alice came hustling down the street. Alice still had the apron she wore at the diner hanging off her shoulders, and Arty was running his hand through his beard anxiously.
“What is the story here?” Alice demanded. “Is this what it looks like?”
“I’m afraid so,” Georgia answered, glaring at the line of vehicles.
Alice pointed a finger right at me. “I just knew it! You’re a sweet kid, Xavier, you really are, but you can’t go thinking with your heart instead of your head! Those city government types don’t care about you or your store. They just care about their projects.” She turned to the woman leading the crew and dropped her voice. “And you! You absolutely cannot start this racket, not now. This weekend is supposed to be warm and sunny, and I fully intended a busy crowd for the deck at my café.”
Arty crossed his arms over his flannel shirt, stepping forward. “Don’t go acting like you run the neighborhood, Alice! Some of us are eager for this project to start.”
The woman in charge of the crew held her hands in the air. “Hold on a minute,” she said. “I don’t take my orders from any of you, so you’d do yourselves a favor to stop bossing me around. If you have a complaint, reach out through the proper channels.”
“Then what?” I said, my voice squeaking. “You’ll already have destroyed the garden by the time we make contact.”
The woman frowned, then glanced down at her clipboard. “We’re really just supposed to start preparations today...” She snapped her eyes back up to me. “But like I said, it’s a bit too late for all of this. We’ll start digging tomorrow morning at the latest, and I’m not putting my crew and our contract on the line just because some nervous young man is having a panic about it.”
I opened my mouth to argue some more, but before I could, Georgia grabbed my hand. “Save it,” she said under her breath. “And go call Dominick. If he’s half as good as you think he is, he’ll be able to do something.”
I looked across the scene, my eyes darting between the bored crew and the argument that was unfolding between Arty and Alice. It felt like absolute chaos had driven up and parked itself right in front of the garden, and all I could do was stand there with my jaw hanging slack and my gut twisting itself into a knot.
“Dominick,” I said, snapping out of it. “Right.”
I hurried away from the scene and pulled my phone from my pocket, punching a few buttons and praying he would answer. After only a single ring, I heard his voice.
“Xavier,” he said warmly. “I just boarded my flight. What’s happening? I only have a minute.”
Just hearing his voice made me feel better, like his arms were wrapping around me and his touch was taking the nervous tremor out of my body. “A crew showed up to start construction on the bus stop,” I said quickly. “They’re going to tear up the garden.”
“Already?” he sounded surprised. “They’re not supposed to start any projects until they get final approval from my office.”
“Should I tell them that?”
“No, it won’t do you any good,” he said. “These things need to come from the top down.” I heard a man’s voice in the background, and a shuffling sound filled the phone. “I’m sorry, I’ll just be a minute,” Dominick said to someone on the plane.
“What should I do, then?” I asked, anxiety rising in my voice again.
“I’m sorry this wasn’t taken care of,” Dominick answered quickly. “But I have to go. It’s time for takeoff.” His voice changed, and the sound got muffled as he turned away from the phone. “Yes, I’m getting off now.”
“Can I do anything?”
“I’ll get on the plane’s wifi after takeover,” he said. “I’m sorry, Xavier. I’ll do what I can!”
The line went dead. I stood on the sidewalk, my phone hanging loosely from my hand. When I looked back over to the scene, Alice and Arty were still deep in their argument, and a few members of the crew were making themselves busy around the garden, taking measurements and pictures.
I wanted to run into the candy shop and start shoveling treats down my throat. More than that, I wanted my dad to be around. He would know what to do. He’d probably charm the whole crew, get them to take the weekend off, and send them home with a candy gift basket, too. But all I could think to do was to call a man who was leaving town.
I just didn’t understand. Dominick said he would take care of things. And he seemed to really try, too. But maybe his life was just too big. Maybe I was fooling myself in thinking he had space for me and my problems. He was running a citywide project, after all, and still handling business back in New York. How important could one little bus stop be to him, really?
And with defeat washing over my body, I couldn’t help but ask the other question, the one I had been trying to avoid since he took me to the gala.
How important could a Denver boy be, to a man who had the whole world in his grasp?
Because Dominick was gone, and I could no longer deny it—soon enough, he would be gone again.
