After all, this wasn’t new. Hadn’t she been burying doubts for ages now? Sometimes it was easier to ignore a difficult thing than face it head on.
But the sad truth was, she and Jake were not working and hadn’t been for some time.
He sucked in a breath. ‘Willow. I told you. There is nothing going on—’
‘I don’t care about Alex. And it’s the fact that I don’t care about Alex that makes me realize we need a break.’
Another long pause. Willow sighed to break the silence.
‘Jake. I don’t think long distance will work for us. We were barely managing to make living together work.’
‘That’s harsh.’
‘But fair.’ She softened her tone. ‘I just think we need some time and space apart. Maybe some breathing room?’
‘OK …’ She could hear the resignation in his voice, but he wasn’t sad. Could he even be a little relieved? ‘But I still want us to be friends, Willow.’
‘I want that too.’
‘We’ll just have a break then,’ he agreed. ‘Have some time and see what happens?’
‘Yeah. I think that makes sense.’
More dead silence. Willow stood up and paced the room, wondering how she could end the call. How had talking to Jake become so hard?
‘I guess you have lots to do there?’ he said finally. ‘The van is looking kind of cool by the way – very quirky.’
Willow had sent him a photo earlier that day. She had hoped that his reaction would be a little more enthusiastic, but at least it was positive. ‘Thanks. It needs some more work still and the guys are adding the signage tonight.’
‘The guys? Who are they?’
‘Joey and Tommy. Jenn knows them pretty well. They do lots of odd jobs around town – Tommy is very artistic. He painted the wagon in the first place.’
Jake chuckled. ‘Wagon. Is that what you’re calling it?’
‘Yeah, “Willow’s Matcha Wagon”. I think it has a ring to it.’
‘What are folk like there now? Anyone I would remember?’
‘Well, the Parkers are still in their B&B, although I’ve not run into them yet. Oh, I met Rachel today; do you remember her?’
She could hear Jake mutter the name under his breath before he declared. ‘Oh yeah! Rachel Granger. The gradeabove us? Didn’t she have really greasy hair and wear those gross, baggy clothes?’
‘Yeah, that’s her.’ Willow flinched slightly at his description. ‘She’s different now. Actually, she looks pretty good. She’s friends with Lucas.’
‘Lucas!’ Jake laughed. ‘I’d forgotten all about him. Of course, that poor little loser would still be stuck in Honey Springs. I bet he’s still hanging around with geeky Greg.’
Willow stiffened. ‘He’s not a loser, Jake.’
‘Yeah, well whatever – I bet he’s still a waste of time,’ Jake replied bluntly. ‘Babe, I’ve really got to go now. Message me tomorrow and let me know how your first day went. Let’s keep talking at least.’
‘I will.’
‘I’m glad we talked this through,’ he added. ‘Maybe you’re right. Maybe we are better as friends, for now.’
‘I think so.’
‘And don’t forget to like my latest post,’ he added quickly. ‘Maybe you could share it with your new friends; they might like having an up-and-coming celebrity ex-resident.’
