The pain of rejection is a universal one.
“So?” Miles sits on the tall stool on the opposite side of my counter. “How was it?”
While I go over the events of the date, I cut a slice of cake, put it on a small plate, and slide it over to Miles without even asking if he wants it. It’s payment, after all. A deal’s a deal.
Then I serve myself a piece and grab two forks. “It was quite the unforgettable first postdivorce date,” I say when the coffee finishes brewing.
“Geez, Claire, I’m so sorry,” Miles says. “He seemed more stable than that.”
“I think he was just sad,” I say sympathetically. “And it ended up being fine. I had a great time once Roger was gone.”
At that, Miles laughs. “Single in the city, huh?”
I shrug. “Things could be worse than that, I suppose.”
“We’ll do better next time.”
“What about you?” I ask. “I’m sure you didn’t stay home alone last night.”
“Uh, no,” he says. “I went out with a lovely woman named Hailey.”
“Blond?” I quip.
“Redhead.”
“Ooh...”
“Took her home early. She was kind of...” He pulls a face. “She talked a lot about TikTok.”
“How old is this woman?” I pin him with a glare.
“You made this cake?” He makes a show of chewing his bite.
“Smooth change of subject,” I say with a pointed roll of my eyes. “And yes, I made it. It was my grandpa’s favorite. I used to make it for him every Saturday night.”
“You two were close,” he says. A statement, not a question.
I nod. “He and my gram. They raised me.”
“And your parents?” Miles asks, and it occurs to me that hemight be the first person I’ve met in a long time who seems more interested in getting to know me than finding reasons to criticize me.
“Uh, my mother was in prison when she had me,” I say plainly. “Never knew my dad.”
I find it’s easier to state those two things outright. Again, like jumping into a cold lake. Best not to emotionally connect to it—it’s just a minor detail about my past.
His eyebrows shoot up, and he stops chewing. “Oh! Um...”
I nod. “Crazy, right?”
He swallows. “That’s heavy.”
I shrug. “It’s in the past. It wasalwaysin the past. Until I met John.”
“The ex,” Miles says.
“Yep.” I pause, thinking about him for a brief second. I feel the familiar hurt and anger start to bubble, so I move on. “His family is really wealthy, like,reallywealthy, and when they found out about my mom... it was an issue.”
“But you got married anyway?” He takes a drink. “He must’ve really loved you.”
