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And why the heck did Amanda’s name come up in all this?
CHAPTER TWO
AMANDA
It was the day of Elle’s wedding when I heard the news that Oliver was back in town.
It came as quite a shock to me, as Elle hadn’t mentioned anything about her brother coming home for the wedding, but I figured it was something to be expected. Hewasher brother, after all. Even if she routinely threatened to murder or dismember him, I knew for a fact that she loved him very, very much.
But I don’t know… It just felt weird that I’ll be seeing him after all these years.
After he left for London, we hadn’t spoken much. His wish was pretty strong, and I didn’t want to get in the way of him pursuing his dreams. About a year and a half after he left, my family moved to the city because Dad got a promotion at work. After that, communication just…stalled.
And then, radio silence.
I knew that we had decided to break things off before he left for London but we still maintained a kind of friendship before the line went dead. He had even invited me over to Europe a couple of times but…
It’s just not me, I thought to myself.
I could not imagine getting on a plane on my own and flying across an entire ocean to meet up with the boy I dated in high school – even if it’s Oliver. The thought of it alone paralyzed me.
It really wasn’t going to work. There’s…Oliver – a brave man who takes every risk. And there’s me – quite the opposite, I guess.
We were very young and not sure what we expected from our lives. He had ideas that didn’t match mine. I guess it wouldn’t have worked out between us in the long run, anyways. He seemed to like the fast-paced life in a big city like London, while I loved my simple and peaceful life here in Georgetown. I might not make as much money as a specialist doctor in a big city, but I loved my job as kindergarten teacher.
In addition, I had to stay close by especially since Grandma Margaret was diagnosed to have a bad heart.
I guess it just felt strange because when we broke up, it wasn’t that we didn’t love each other. We still did.
Very much.
We were just mature enough to admit to ourselves that it wasn’t going to work out between us that way and that it was better if we stayed out of each other’s way while we reached for our dreams.
Besides,I told myself.What’s meant to be will be. And with the way things played out, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.
After I moved back to Georgetown, I had settled nicely into my grandparents’ old house since my parents already sold our home when we moved to Greenville after my dad was offered a better position and much higher pay in another company over there. With Grandpa Frederick gone and Grandma Margaret in a retirement home, it was the natural decision to move in here.
It remained pretty much the same as when I remembered it from my childhood with its neat gable roof, picturesque veranda, and the flowering shrubs Grandma Margaret planted around it when she and Grandpa Frederick moved in. It was pretty cozy but I had to admit that it needed a bit of fixing. After Grandpa Frederick passed away five years ago, Grandma Margaret could hardly keep up with the repairs.
When I moved in, I wanted so much to fix the house but I never found the time. It was one of those things I constantly filed under the list of projects in my mind but never got around to doing. Besides, I would need help for most of it—it wasn’t something I could take on entirely on my own and I was afraid that I would end up botching the whole thing instead.
I sighed and padded over to the kitchen to make breakfast. Today was Elle’s wedding, and I shouldn’t be reminiscing about the “good, old times” with her brother. We might have shared a beautiful time together, but it had been so long ago.
Besides, I had a life of my own now, one which hadn’t involved Oliver Compton for the last twelve years. I’m pretty sure he felt the same way, and I’m probably just making a fuss over what is essentiallynothing.
I settled down with a bowl of oatmeal when my phone began to ring. The screen lit up with my boyfriend’s name and I grabbed at it excitedly. A last-minute business trip had called him away for the past couple of days, but he promised me he’d make it in time for the wedding.
“Of course, I’ll be there, babe,” he told me before he left, nipping at my earlobe. “But remember, it’s Elle’s day. Don’t upstage the bride.”
I smiled at the memory and picked up the call. “Hey, babe.”
“Hello, babe. Miss me?” his teasing voice filtered through the phone.
“Of course,” I replied, tossing a piece of bacon to my dog, Buddy. He caught it and finished it in like, five seconds flat. “I was thinking of showing you just how much after the wedding.”
“Well, about that—” he trailed off.
My heart sank at his words, but it has always been this way so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Dan had a high-paying job but it required him to leave town for days at a time.
