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“Not much to tell you, Mabel. I’m a pretty boring guy.”

“Now I don’t believe that for a second. You two met in school? How’d that come about?”

“There’s not much of a story there,” I chip in. “We had mutual friends.” I shrug.

“Actually, I do remember the day I saw you for the first time,” Sean says, looking over at me.

“You do?” I ask.

“You were wearing this dark pink dress with those ballet-looking flat shoes you always wore.” He smiles at the memory. “You were reading Pride and Prejudice and sitting under this tree at the front of the school. It was cold outside, and I thought you were crazy for wearing a dress, but you never cared for the weather. You always wore what you wanted.”

I can’t believe he remembers this. I have no idea what day he’s talking about.

“We met that day?”

“No, we met the next day. I wanted to talk to you but didn’t want you to think I was creeping up on you, so I actually used my girlfriend at the time as an excuse.”

“Now that’s an adorable meet-cute,” Mabel remarks as I chuckle under my breath. “So you’re a romantic is what I’m gathering.”

“You could say that,” he replies.

“Lucky you, Billie.” She nods approvingly as our waiter arrives.

◆◆◆

The rest of the night went shockingly well. Sean and Mabel primarily spoke to one another, talking about their lives. I think he actually enjoyed himself, and I can tell Mabel really liked him.

She bought a bottle of wine at the restaurant for all of us to share. Sean opted out, a wise decision. Mabel can get a little too honest when she drinks. Frankly, so can I.

Sean went back to his room, while Mabel and I settle into mine.

My room doesn’t have any wine glasses, so we just pour it into the clear plastic cups they have in the bathroom.

We sit down opposite each other in the reading chairs on each side of the window. It’s a beautiful view of Times Square. I really wanted Sean to feel the whole New York City experience. Despite my history with it, it’s one of the best cities in the world.

Mabel gets comfortable in her seat, pulling her shoes off and curling her legs up onto the chair.

“How are you adjusting back home? I’m so proud of you for reconnecting with your father. I know how much that killed you over the years.”

“Thank you, Mabel. I wasn’t sure if it would work out. I really didn’t think it would. But I truly believe now, it’s where I was supposed to end up. In Lakewood with my dad, and with—”

“And with Sean?” Her eyebrows raise knowingly. She laughs lightly, resting her elbow on the arm of her chair, placing her head into her hand. “He seems really wonderful.”

She has that look on her face, like she might start interrogating me. Even though I’m a grown adult, I’m still afraid of conversations with people who are older than me.

“He is. Always has been,” I say, sipping my bitter wine.

“The whole just friends thing is bull, right?” she asks, getting straight to the point.

I sweep my hair back and out of my eyes, not sure of what to say.

“It’s obvious that he doesn’t want to be just friends. The way he was looking at you, phew,” she adds, fanning her face with her hand.

She’s always been a bit melodramatic. Sometimes she acts like she’s twenty, not sixty. I wish she were my mom. She’s the closest I’ve ever had. It’s nice talking about guys with a motherly figure. Though, the fact that she’s my ex-husband's mother has not been erased from my memory.

“He wants to be more,” I confirm, not giving away too much.

“And you?”