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She’d already given up on me.
But what she didn’t know was… I’d never give up on her.
Or on us.
twenty-four
Reese
Downtown was litwith white twinkle lights that crossed back and forth over the street. The light posts were covered in garland, and red and white poinsettias hung from above. Holiday music was piped through the speakers, and everyone was out shopping tonight. The snow had lightened up, and Finn and I had already found a few gifts for our siblings. We’d stopped in The Tipsy Tea and bought a few things for Gracie. As we strode down the street toward Reynolds’, Finn stopped in front of Cove Jewelry.
“Come on. Let’s go in and look,” he said.
“What? Why?”
“I want to look in here together. Humor me.”
I stepped inside when he held the door open for me. “Hey, Mr. Clark.”
“Well, if it isn’t my two favorite troublemakers.” The older man came around the corner and hugged each of us. He had to be in his early eighties now, and I swear the man used to be taller, but his smile was as big as ever.
“Who are you calling troublemakers?” I teased.
“Oh, I don’t know. The girl who mailed water balloons when she was eight years old. And the boy who ran naked through downtown in high school.” He laughed so hard that a few tears ran down his kind face.
“It was one water balloon. Finny here bet me that I wouldn’t do it. I waited until after Mr. Milford had picked up the mail that day. I don’t know why Alicia Rogers felt the need to turn me in.” I couldn’t hide the smile on my face, even if I’d been completely beside myself back then, convinced I’d have a police record and never go to college. Damn, we’d had so much fun growing up in this town.
“Well, Alicia Rogers’s favorite hobby is judging others.” Mr. Clark barked out a laugh.
“She’d been so proud, thinking I didn’t know the mail had already been taken out of the box. But when Alicia called the police… Holy shit balls.” Finn was laughing so hard, a wide grin spread across his face. “You made me promise to visit you every day in the slammer.”
“Well, I had a wild imagination back then. Luckily, they just made me pick up trash at the park for the next few weekends. It was a fair trade. And then this one…” I flicked my thumb at the charming bastard beside me. “He gets nothing but a slap on the hand for running naked through downtown.”
“I wore body paint, and I had a sling over my—johnson.” He smirked.
“I always knew you two would end up together,” Mr. Clark said.
“Yeah? How’d you know?” Finn asked as he walked around, looking at the jewelry in the glass cases.
“It was the way you looked at one another, even way back in the day. Like, as long as you were together, nothing else really mattered. Never saw you look at Dr. Barley that way, Reese.”
Awkward.
But also very true.
It had taken me a while to realize I was hopelessly in love with my best friend. I think I’d settled on a future with Carl because it seemed… easy.
Possible, even.
I loved him in the way I thought mattered.
And I’d thought my world was ending after he started dating someone else, and I was coming home with no plan.
But in the end, it had never been Carl.
After being home, I realized that I didn’t miss him.
I missed the idea of him.
