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“He wants to discuss a possible contract. He wants to see you in the next couple of weeks. That’s the message I’m here to give you.”
“Wait, there’s nothing else?” I ask, trying to hide my frustration. Maria calls me out here just to tell me that Andrew wants to talk in the next coming weeks?
“Yeah. Sorry, Andrew didn’t give me the details.”
“I see.”
We eat in silence, and after we finish, I set the plates to the side. Now’s the best time to ask questions, at least. I take a deep cleansing breath and begin.
“Where were you the last seven years? You left me at the altar. You said you wanted a future, a family together.”
It’s better to just pull off the Band-Aid now than beat around the bush. Maria takes a sip of her latte and smiles.
“I’m sorry, Robert. I had my reasons, leaving you like that. Seven years ago, I was a different woman. I was young, stupid, and didn’t even have a real career.”
“So, you left because . . . .”
“I just didn’t have my life together. Looking back, I know that’s stupid, but I was young. You were young too, just getting your company off the ground.”
“And?”
Maria leans forward, smiling. “I remember your dad always liked me, and I regret doing him and your family dirty like that.”
“Let’s get this perfectly straight. You regret hurting my family but not me? And you say it with a smile?”
“No, that’s not it! I just, I didn’t know why I even thought that was a smart move.”
“That makes two of us,” I retort.
Maria takes another sip of her latte, and then she shrugs.
“Well, you’re single, right? There’s always a chance to rectify mistakes.”
I don’t know what to say. Sara and I aren’t officially together. That was just to appease the family, at least to begin with. We’ve had some amazing times together. I really like her, but I’m just so confused.
“Yes, I’m single, but not even considering how you could possibly rectify what you did.”
Maria frowns and sighs. “Same as ever.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you don’t realize what you had and the potential to fix the mistakes.”
“Some mistakes are not fixable.”
What Maria did and the depression that settled in because of her actions isn’t something one can just forgive at the drop of a hat, maybe never.
I look at Maria. She’s pretty, but these last seven years haven’t been good to her. She’s not the same woman that I remember from back then, but instead an older shell of a person from before.
“Anyway, enough about that. So, you’ve just been living life, haven’t you?” she asks.
“Pretty much. After what happened, I couldn't bear to even consider dating until after I got my life together.”
Although I never asked her about her current life, she apparently felt compelled to fill me in. “Well, I been climbing the corporate ladder and then started to work for Andrew. He mentioned you during a business conference, and I thought if fate brought us together, I could talk to you about what happened.”
“I see,” is all I could muster.
“And it has. I’m happy, Robert, to finally have some peace of mind.”
