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“Oh.” Blaze’s smile fades. “I guess it didn’t work out if you’re not still engaged…?”
“That’s an understatement.” I focus on the grill. “No, it did not work out.”
“What happened?” Blaze asks. I like the no-nonsense way she asks, not looking for juicy gossip or smothering me with pity. It’s just… friendly.
I put the spatula down and take another pull of my beer, wondering what to say next.
And then I just tell her.
“We started dating about three years ago when I was living in Hartford. Moved in together almost two years ago. Got engaged. I was working for the fire department, and she had a job in sales. I thought everything was going great. Then one day, I got a call at work from a collections agency. I hung up, but they kept calling and saying I owed thousands of dollars. I thought it was a scam of some kind, but a friend told me I should check my credit report to make sure no one had stolen my identity or anything.”
I pull in a deep breath, remembering the sucker punch feeling when I saw that credit report. “Turned out someone had opened up five credit cards in my name and run up over a hundred thousand dollars in debt.” I stare at the back fence. “Then it turned out that someone was Christine.”
“Ouch.” Blaze winces. “What was she spending the money on?”
“All sorts of things. Nice furniture. Clothes. Vacations. I was pretty naive. I mean, I didn’t make that much money, but she made more than I did, so I never really questioned it. Plus, she’d tell me her parents had paid for things as gifts to us.” I smile ruefully. “In retrospect, I should have asked more questions, but I trusted her.”
“Well, of course you trusted her,” Blaze replies. “Why wouldn’t you?”
I shrug. “I don’t know… I feel pretty dumb for not having looked into things sooner. I just took her word for everything.”
“Most people don’t check their credit reports on a regular basis,” she points out.
I snort. “You better believe I check them now, religiously. My credit score is still shot even though it wasn’t my fault. Gonna take a while to get it up again. That’s the real reason I don’t have any furniture at the moment. Gotta save up and pay cash for everything. Which I guess isn’t the worst thing in the world. ”
“I see. I’m sorry that happened to you, Jeremy.”
Blaze’s voice is gentle and sincere, and it strikes me that this is the first time she’s called me by my given name. I like the sound of my name in her voice. Jeremy.
I’d like to hear her say it again.
I drag my thoughts back to reality. “Hey, what can you do…” Jackie trots over to me as if he knows I could use a little support. I bend down to rub his head, grateful for the distraction. “Sorry.” I force a chuckle. “Don’t know why I’m bothering you with all this nonsense.”
Blaze rolls her eyes. “God, you’re such a man.”
“Can’t help it. I was born this way.”
She smiles back. The mood around us keeps shifting, but now it feels relaxed and comfortable. I feel lighter, as if telling Blaze what happened with Christine has lifted a burden I was only half aware that I was shouldering.
“Have a seat,” I tell her. “Burgers are done.”
A few minutes later, we’re sitting at the little wrought-iron metal table eating burgers and salad.
Blaze swallows a big bite of her burger. “I have to admit, this is excellent.”
“Better than your friend Nikko’s?”
She tilts her head. “I think you might give him a run for his money. Though to be fair to Nikko, I’ve never had his burgers.”
“Well, I’m flattered anyway. Your salad is delicious.”
“Just lettuce and vegetables,” she replies, but she looks pleased. “My specialty is hot chocolate, but it’s not exactly a summer-dinner-on-the-patio thing.”
“Hot chocolate, huh? Remind me to stay on your good side at least through next winter.”
“It’s worth the wait. Speaking of summer, do you have plans for the Fourth of July next week? The firefighters are usually in the parade.” She takes another bite of her burger.
“We will be this year too,” I reply. “We’ll be driving the hook and ladder.”
