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“I shouldn’t have done it,” I said, finally ready to admit I had overreacted. “But all that stuff you told me about him. About how he treated Darcy. I couldn’t think of anything except making him pay.”
“Darcy doesn’t need you to fight her battles for her. She gave the guy a piece of her mind when she left.”
“I know. God, she’s probably so mad at me.” I brought the ice away from my eye and rested my elbows on the kitchen table. It was stupid to fight John like that. Darcy had tried to stop us, but I didn’t listen to her. Now she was probably furious with me, angry I had made some show of defending her when we weren’t even together. I had completely overreacted and embarrassed her in the process.
“I’m sure she’ll get over it,” Liz said. “She’ll probably be mad she wasn’t there to see that punch to John’s mouth.”
I smirked a bit and remembered the satisfaction I felt when I got that swing in. I certainly didn’t enjoy violence and I wasn’t in the habit of getting into fights. But if anyone deserved a good sock in the mouth it sounded like this guy did.
“I should apologize,” I said. I didn’t want to sit here all night with the guilt I felt churning in my stomach.
“Maybe you should give her a day to cool off,” Liz said. She glanced at the purple bruise forming around my eye. “And to let that heal.”
“It’s only going to look worse tomorrow,” I mumbled.
“Don’t you dare tell Alan you got in a fight!” Liz said, referencing my nephew. “The last thing I need is him thinking fighting is cool because his uncle is doing it.”
“What do you suggest?” I asked, laughing.
“Tell him you were playing catch and got a baseball to the eye.” I rolled my eyes at her, sure he wouldn’t believe it, but Liz doubled down. “He’s five! Whatever you say he’ll believe.”
I stood up from the table but had to grab the back of the chair when I did so. I felt a rush of dizziness that made me squeeze my eyes closed, sending pain through my face from the bruise.
“Are you sure you should go?” Liz asked, but I quickly recovered.
“I’m alright,” I said. “Any idea where I might find Darcy?”
Liz looked at me, as if debating whether she should tell me. If she had her way, I would stay home and rest. But I think she knew I wasn’t going to do that. If she didn’t tell me where Darcy was, I would simply drive around, trying a few likely spots to see if I could find her.
Finally, Liz sighed.
“We’ve been texting,” she said. “When she knew the office was clear, she went back to catch up on work.”
It was almost six at this point, but I knew Darcy was the type to work as long as it took. And I had taken up her whole afternoon making her show me properties. I suddenly felt guilty, knowing Darcy would be at the office late because of me.
“Think she’ll still be there in half an hour?” I asked, an idea forming.
“For sure,” Liz said. “Another offer came in for the hardware store, so she’ll review it. I’m not sure why she bothers, though. She’s just going to deny it.”
“A bad offer?” I asked.
“Not bad at all,” Liz said, shaking her head. “It’s pretty close to asking, which is saying a lot since it’s already listed too high. But none of the offers are ever good enough for Darcy. That place is really special to her, you know? It’s hard to put a price on something with so many memories.”
I nodded, remembering my most recent visit to the hardware store. Darcy took good care of the place, and it was easy to see how much she loved it. I understood why she wanted a good paycheck for something so special to her.
“Tell the kids I’m sorry to miss dinner,” I said. I grabbed my keys and headed out to the driveway, thinking of what I would say to make Darcy forgive me.
“I know I’m the last person you want to see right now,” I said when Darcy came to the door. A steady rain was falling outside, and I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head in an attempt to stay dry. Darcy had locked the front door since it was after five o’clock, but I saw her sitting at her desk through the glass. I knocked gently, not wanting to startle her, and she came over to unlock the door.
“I see things escalated,” Darcy said, sweeping her eyes up to the angry bruise that had formed around my eye.
“He looks worse,” I said, smiling at her. She smiled back, accepting my joke, but she didn’t make a move to open the door any further or invite me in. The rain fell around me, and I worried about the food in my hand getting wet.
“I brought a peace offering,” I said. I held up the plastic bag in my hand. “I figured you haven’t had dinner yet. Could we talk?”
She looked at me, trying to decide, but then she opened the door fully to let me inside, saving me from the rain.
“I won’t be long,” I said. I set the food on Liz’s desk and took off my jacket that was dripping with water as I hung it on the coat rack. I took the seat at Liz’s desk while Darcy sat back at her own. “I only want to apologize.”
