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“Who is staying with her?”
“Simon’s parents came down to stay with her during the finale show.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday. Will Simon be home?”
My heart sinks. A part of me hasn’t even thought about it.
“I don’t know. But I don’t think I can see him right now and keep it together.”
“Forgive me for even asking, but I don’t really understand why you said no. I thought you were all in?”
“I was. I am.” I sigh, staring at the screen. I changed the channel to some show about a dog whisperer, and it makes me miss Waffle again. “Boris came to see me before the show went live and told me that Simon was going to say no.”
“And you believed the scumbag?” Desi’s eyebrows hit her hairline.
I know that she’s thinking I’m crazy for listening to him.
“No, but deep down inside, I felt like he could be right. I mean, he had a fifty percent chance of being right, and nowhere along this whole process had Simon changed his stance and told me we could work. He’s always been honest and upfront, telling me he didn’t have anything beyond the physical to offer me.”
“But then he said yes,” Desi says, prompting me to continue.
“Yeah. He said yes, which was surprising.”
“We all saw you leap off the couch.”
“Not my finest moment. But how real could his yes have been if he couldn’t open up to me beforehand? Was he just saying that for TV?”
“Simon doesn’t strike me as a person to lie for a show.”
“Yeah, maybe not, but I still would have liked to have an inkling of what was coming before it happened. I wish he had been open with me. Not changing his mind on a whim.”
“Isn’t that what you did? You were all in until a few moments before the show.”
I cock my head to the side, debating on Desi’s words. Part of me feels angry at what she said, blaming me, but the other part of me knows she’s right. I did change my mind.
“It was to protect myself. I had been so open, and what did I get in return? Nothing. I wanted to hear it from him, not from Janet. I wanted to feel those emotions with him, not in front of a live audience. I’m all messed up.” I shake my head.
“I’m sorry, babe. Maybe it was for the best,” Desi says.
She reaches to pull me into a hug, and I let her, wrapping my arms around her neck and squeezing.
“Maybe so,” I whisper.
I take a deep breath and open my car door. It’s time for me to make my way across town and get my stuff, say good-bye to Ivy, and grab Waffle. Part of me hopes that Simon isn’t home, and the other part of me wants to catch a glimpse of him, hear his voice one more time, wrap my arms around his neck, and touch his skin. I call that part pathetic.
My phone rings in my purse, and I sigh, seating myself behind the wheel. Then, I sift into the dark recesses of my bag to grab it. I frown as I look at the screen.
“I have two weeks before I go back for teacher in-service training,” I mutter to myself, swiping to answer as I close my car door. “Hello?”
“Hi. Alice Whitman?”
“Yes?” I insert my key and crank the car, letting it idle in the driveway of Doggy Style as I listen.
“Hi, this is Laura at Sunnyville Private School,” she says, and I nod like she can see me. “I’m the new administrator who was hired over the summer.”
“Oh, I heard we were getting a new one. Nice to meet you,” I say, pulling the mirror down to check my makeup. I know I’m being a little vain, but I want to look my best.
“You, too, and I’m excited to meet everyone officially in a couple of weeks, but I have an urgent matter that I need to talk to you about.”
