“Oh, that’s cool. How long have you two been together?”
I laugh. “Oh, no-no-no. It’s not like that at all. We’re just really good friends.”
“You wish you could have this!” Michael yells from the kitchen door, winking in the direction of Colin.
Emma, who had been outside chatting with Sydney, pops back in the store. “You ready to go?”
“Sure,” Colin says, gathering up the books he purchased. He starts to head to the door, but stops a few steps from the table. “Could I…umm…take you out for a drink sometime?”
I walk over the cash register and grab one of our business cards, scribbling my number on the back of it. I hand it to Colin, who smiles seeing the number. “I’d love to. But, if we’re being transparent, I’m leaving to teach in Dublin at the end of the summer for possibly the next year.
“Well, I guess we’ll need to make the next few months count then.”
***
I’m leaning a stack of chairs from book club on the back wall when I hear the front door chime. Maybe Colin came back to bump up our impending date. “Sorry, we’ve just closed,” I say, as I turn around. It’s not Colin. It’s literally the last person I’m expecting to see.
Alex.
“Care to go for a round two?” I collect another armful of chairs and drop them with the rest. When I turn, Alex is still standing in the same spot. I feel my full body slump. “What do you want Alex?”
“I wanted to see if you’d apologize for your one-man show you put on the other day.”
A laugh escapes me uncontrollably. “You want me to apologize to you? For what…standing up for myself? Nuh uh. We’re not playing this game. You’re not guilting me into thinking I’m wrong. You can turn around and find your way out that door.”
He takes a few steps forward. “And do what exactly? Ignore each other all week until the trip to The Vineyard next weekend?”
I totally forgot we’re supposed to go up to Martha’s Vineyard to his family’s house next weekend. His sister’s engagement party was the center of the weekend, but it would have been the first time I was around his family for an extended period of time.
It was something I had been dreading for weeks. The few times I had met Alex’s family they were pretty cold towards me. I don’t think I quite fit their mold. His father, and now Alex, are lawyers, as is his sister’s fiancé. His sister is one of the top cosmetic surgeons in the state, and his mother is a former politician. They often talked amongst each other while I sat quietly at the table.
I remember one time his mother tried to engage in conversation with me, asking what I taught. I started to go into detail about my courses, and her response was that she found it curious why people would pay money to read made up stories.
Wait a second.
“You don’t honestly think I’m still going next weekend, do you?”
“Of course I do,” he says, closing the gap. “The guest list for the party was finalized weeks ago and we’re expected in attendance.”
“Oh, the guest list? We broke up Alex. I’m not going to go just to appease some fucking guest list. Take one of your friends.”
“We didn’t break up. We just had a fight. All couples fight Daniel. We’ll figure it all out once you move in.”
I look him in the face and, shockingly, find he’s dead serious. “Alex, I know you don’t like hearing this word. But, again, no. Not happening. It took a bit to realize, but you are a pretty fucking terrible human being. I’m glad we had dinner the other night. Really shone a light on that I had settled for far too long.”
I go to turn and Alex grabs my wrist. “No one talks to me that way.”
“And no one ever will again if you don’t fucking remove your hand off his arm.” Michael and Sydney are standing at the kitchen door, Michael holding a rolling pin in his hand. “Would be a shame if,” Michael points to the left corner, then the right, “the footage from those cameras were leaked to the public. Big hotshot attorney caught harassing and assaulting his ex at a beloved local business. Would. Be. A. Shame.”
Alex sneers in Michael’s direction, shoving my arm away from him. “Glad to see you need your ugly sidekick to finish yourbattles.” He turns and stomps across the floor, before opening and slamming the door shut behind him.
“You okay?” Sydney asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Oh, yeah. Despite what you saw, he’s all talk. Pretty sure you could kick his ass.”
“Oh, I definitely could.”
Michael holds up two bottles of Nobilo. “Wanna get drunk?”
