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After laughing for a minute, Dan rubbing his arm in mock injury, the mood sobers up again.
“Hey,” I ask. “Why didn’t you tell Andries? Isn’t he your best friend?”
“More than that. He’s like a brother to me. But… I’ve never seen him as happy as he was with you. He has all these morality issues that have been hammered into him by his parents, but his heart just isn’t like theirs. It’s why he’s a writer, and not the cunning businessman they imagined he would be. I think he just needs time, Roxie. Time to come around.”
Fingers tracing the whorls on the wooden bar, I don’t look up at him as I respond. “I don’t think so, Dan. I just talked to him. He told me he’s moving on from me. Getting a new apartment.He was even out having dinner with Tatiana before I confronted him tonight. I think he’s done with me for good.”
“He might say that, but I just don’t think it’s true. And don’t worry too much about Tatiana. She’s a cute girl, but not at all Andries’ type. I’ve always gotten big brother little sister vibes from the two of them until last year when Tatiana had the sudden realization that Andries grew up handsome. He’s not interested, though.”
“I have to give it to her,” I grumble. “She’s persistent, if nothing else.”
“I think you should be prepared for the inevitability that they might be friends for life. Where Andries is secretly wild at heart, too wild for his family, Tatiana is too sunny and innocent for hers. She’ll never fall into the scheming, underhanded work those families are all so fond of. I think she and Andries bond over being outcasts, even if they don’t know it yet. It’s friendship, not romance.”
I blink a few times, stunned at how much sense Dan, the goofy friend, is making. “I guess that tracks. Huh. I never would have thought about it like that.”
Dan loops his arm around my shoulder, and where I’d throw any other man off me like the plague, it’s comforting coming from him. Like he had just said about Tatiana and Andries… it was friendly, not romantic.
“I understand you, lady. My parents are self-made. We know what it’s like to crawl our way to the top through the mud, and it taught me that the world is much more nuanced than what these old money families realize. Once Andries calms down, and the anger is gone, there will be nothing left but the love he has for you. Then he’ll be ready to listen, and maybe even ready to give you a second chance.”
There’s a lump in my throat, so instead of answering him, I lay my head on his shoulder. The only sentence I can get pastthe tightness of the lump is, “I love him, Dan,” to which he nods understandingly.
We stay like that for a while, Dan silently comforting me while we drink. I feel better having talked to him; lighter, in a way. I have made progress tonight, even if it came from unexpected places.
I’m getting ready to throw the rest of my drink back and call it a night, when Dan’s phone, sitting on the bar beside him, begins to ring. The bar is loud, but he still picks it up and checks the screen, shooting me a quick, worried glance.
“It’s Andries,” he says.
“Go ahead. I won’t say anything.”
Dan answers, putting Andries on speaker phone. “Hello?”
“Hey, man. I know it’s late, but I need a favor.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
On the other line, Andries sighs. I can almost see him pinching the bridge of his nose. “Roxie came by. I’ve got to get out of this apartment. Can you call your friend in real estate tomorrow and see what’s on the market?”
Dan frowns, but tells him, “Yeah, no problem. But I have to warn you, nothing is going to be as nice as where you are. Aren’t your fucking floors heated?”
Andries laughs dryly. “We’ll see. Just tell me if you find something.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Dan pauses. “You doing okay, man?”
The line is quiet for some time before Andries offers an unconvincing, “I’m fine.”
“Okay,” Dan sounds skeptical. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Talk to you later.”
Dan sits the phone down, and we exchange looks. “He’s miserable,” he says.
I know Andries so well, like he’s a part of me, and I, too, could tell how messed up he was feeling. It’s nice to know I’m notsuffering alone, but I also don’t want the man I love to be hating his life. If he’d only give me another chance, neither of us would have to feel this way.
“I agree,” I say quietly. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“Can go either way, really.”
“Yeah.” I bite my lip, mind racing and body exhausted. “I guess it can.”
