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“No,” she said. “That’s fine. I mean, I should see it as a contractor and all.”
He pulled his wallet out to show his ID. He always wore some kind of clothing that said Bradford Electrical on it.
“Here you go,” he said.
She glanced at it and grinned. “Thanks. Talk about a surprise.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t know you lived here now.”
It’s not like he kept track of her.
Sure, he’d had a major crush on her when he was younger. But she wasn’t interested.
He had to say, after he’d heard one of her bitch friends comment on him being nerdy and her never lowering herself, he’d been embarrassed and hurt.
But she’d sought him out later that day and apologized. Said those weren’t her words at all and was mad that they’d been said.
Not too many girls that age would have done that.
She had said she only thought of him as a friend, but the last thing she ever wanted was for him to think poorly of her. Or have anyone think words that weren’t what she felt.
That stuck with him for years. Maybe it was something he needed when his life turned upside-down and he moved out of the area and never saw her again.
“I do,” she said. “I moved here six months ago. What about you? Is this where you moved to when you left school at the end of the year?”
“No,” he said. “My parents split and I moved with my mother. I only visited after on holidays and summers. But my father hadn’t stayed in the area long either.”
No reason to explain the drama he’d lived for years. It wasn’t anyone’s business and he had a ton of regret he couldn’t get past.
He was trying, but it wasn’t as if he had anyone to talk to about it or to ask for forgiveness. The one he wanted it from was no longer around.
“So how did you end up here?” she asked. “Or should I leave you alone while you do your work?”
“I can talk and work. You’re the last place I need to check out and I won’t be long.” He moved to the kitchen first, saw the cookies on a tray and a timer going off on the oven for another batch. One more tray of balls of dough ready to go in.
“Do you want a cookie?” she asked.
Must be she caught his eyes landing there.
“I wouldn’t turn one down,” he said. “They smell awesome.”
“I’m working from home today. Figured while I was at it, I could bake some cookies and bring them in tomorrow.”
She picked up a spatula and removed one from the sheet pan and handed it over while she put the rest on a rack.
“Nice and warm,” he said, the heat in his palm. He took a bite and the melty chocolate pulled away from his mouth. Damn. Just like his grandmother used to make.
Not his mother. She never baked and if she did it wasn’t for him half the time.
But when he visited his father, he often stayed with his grandparents while his father was working. His grandmother would spoil him and make cookies all the time.
A nice nostalgic memory to have.
“Yeah,” she said, picking one up and eating it with him. “Have another. It’s just me and I’ll end up bringing most of them to work. No way I want them left in this house where I’d eat them all.”
He reached for another since he was hungry and they were too good to pass up. “Thanks. Doesn’t look like you’ve got a problem with eating sweets.”
She was still on the thin side as she’d been in school. The only difference was, even though her height was the same as the last time he saw her, he’d grown damn close to a foot.
