“That’s incredible.”
“For the record, I’m not trying to claim I’m cured or won’t have any setbacks, but my perspective has shifted. I thought I needed to forgive you for a wrong, believing you harmed me in some way, even if that was never your intention.”
I braced for another round of this zombie fight. “And now?”
“Now, everything’s flipped around, and I can see how you nudged me out of my rut that night. I never would have had that conversation with Liz or Vicky, and while they’re only two faces of a multifaceted history of regrets and grudges, talking to them has made me rethink the life story I’ve been telling myself. I’m finally ready to let go of a decade of self-loathing. Or at least try. I feel like I’ve been fighting a mirror.”
“Very Luke Skywalker.”
He laughed, and it was a beautiful sound. Today had been one for the record books.
“Is Chelsea going to be okay?”
I loved him for caring. “I hope so. I’ll check in on her tomorrow, but we’ve been here a time or two. Did you talk to Bas?”
He shook his head. “I texted him, but he hasn’t replied. Poor Bas.”
“I really thought he might be the one.”
“He did everything right.”
That hung there with the implication that Evan hadn’t, but he had no idea how close we’d come to ending tonight the same way if I’d acted on my unfounded jealousy. Instead, here we were, embarking on something new, something unknown. “We do the best we can.”
Kyan personally delivered a couple of mugs oozing whipped cream. “On the house.”
I clapped with delight. “You are forgiven.” And I meant it. Kyan was a chaos agent with a cracked sense of humor and a quiver of Cupid’s arrows. He’d stirred up trouble, but he hadn’t caused any real damage.
Kyan bowed his head slightly then disappeared back from whence he came.
Evan stirred the melting whipped cream into his coffee like a heathen. He lifted his eyes and said, “So. About that list?”
Now that was a topic of conversation I understood all too well. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I have a few ideas.”
We stayed until close, hammering out the details, and then Evan walked me home, holding my hand the whole way, but we said goodnight without so much as a kiss, both of us understanding our real courtship would begin in exactly one week.
Evan and Elizabeth’s December Challenge
1. Go to a writing group
2. Listen to an audiobook
3. Watch a movie by or about your favorite author
4. Visit the Planet Word museum in D.C.
5. SeeMuch Ado About Nothing
6. Stay the night at a bed and breakfast
7. Go to a wine tasting with your best friend
8. Research how to land your dream job
9. Share your writing with someone you trust
10. Kiss someone you like on New Year’s Eve
11. Have a 100% honest conversation
