Chapter 30
THIRTY
REID
Tyler and I walk over to the Irish pub at the end of Main Street after work on Friday.
It feels like we are about to go on a blind date.
My nerves are heightened, and it feels like I float through the large wooden door to the pub.
The air inside is cool. Thankfully, the sun is starting to heat the valley, and it’s only a matter of time before we are sweltering in the summer.
Tables are starting to fill up with folks of all ages, huddled around tables and the bar, chatting and laughing.
I scan the room looking for a tall girl with straight black hair and a shorter girl with a tangle of blond curls.
I spot Clark, my client from last weekend, and give him a wave as we wander around the bar.
“Is that them?” Tyler asks, and I swing my head around.
He’s pointing to a pair of ladies sitting at a booth in the corner. They are sitting on the same side, and Annika has her head in her hands while Chloe is shaking her shoulders.
We walk over to the table, and they don’t notice us approaching right away.
“Hey!” I say. Annika snaps her head up, and a bright, wide smile appears on her face.
Chloe turns to look at me with a smile, then I see her eyes move to Tyler, then back to me, then back to Tyler.
“Hi, hi, Reid!” Chloe says and jumps up, giving me a hug. “Please join our booth. We got the best one in the place.”
I slide into the booth so I’m sitting directly across from Annika, and Tyler sits next to me, across from Chloe. We just stare at each other, smiling for a bit until Tyler clears his throat.
“Oh, this is my friend, Tyler. He works with me at Parker Wellness,” I say.
“Nice to meet you, Tyler,” Annika says, giving him the same bright smile, she gave me. Just as a familiar ache bubbles up, she turns her dark eyes to meet mine, giving me a smirk, my favorite smirk. “How long have you been in Auburn Hills?”
“Me?” I say, pointing to my chest.
She laughs. “You, Tyler, Chloe, anyone really, just so we don’t sit in silence the whole time.” Tyler laughs at this comment.
“I like you better already,” Tyler says, and I kick his foot.
He clears his throat. “I mean, I grew up in Auburn Hills, lived here my whole life but went to college in Eugene and lived there after I graduated for like a year, but I moved back about three years ago. So let me know if you need an Auburn Hills guide.”
I see Tyler give Chloe a wink. I think I see Chloe blush a bit but turn to Annika quickly to hide it.
“Why did you move back? Miss it too much?” Chloe asks.
“Sure, you could say that,” Tyler replies with a forced smile.
“I moved here two years ago, right after graduation,” I say, taking the attention off of Tyler so he doesn’t have to delve into his history. “My uncle took me under his wing, and I did some fast-track training. I’m still learning as a PT, but I love it here.”
“Well, Chloe and I just moved here a few weeks ago. I got a job offer, and we decided to move up here,” Annika shares.
“I already heard the short version.” I look directly at her. “What’s the long version?” She gives me a tight smile and squints her eyes.
“The long version is, I hated my major and worked at a marketing firm after college, hating my life, so I went home one day and panicked, applying for jobs in the middle of the night.”
“She didn’t tell me any of this, by the way. She kept it all to herself.” Chloe jumps in. Annika gives her a side-eye and continues.
“Anyway, a few weeks later, I was getting rejection emails, but then one came in asking for an interview. They didn’t bring up the location until after they offered me the job. After talking to my mom for, like, three hours, I decided to go for it.”
“And Chloe came with you.” I nod along, following her story and admiring her ambition to drop everything and chase a dream.
Chloe takes a deep breath. “I didn’t have a lot of options. I’m not going to get into it, but I broke up with my longtime boyfriend, so I was kind of in limbo. It made sense to join Anni.”
I scan my brain from our past experiences and remember the bleach blond guy Chloe dated, wondering if it is the same guy.
“It’s so fun that you live here too, Reid. What a coincidence?” Chloe says.
“I don’t know if it is,” Annika says. “I don’t believe in coincidences. Things happen, shitty or not. I have a feeling we were always meant to come up here.”
Tyler taps his fist on the table. “Chloe! Do you want to go to the bar and order some drinks and snacks for the table?”
“Sure,” she says with a bright smile. They slide out of the booth and walk to the bar.
Annika lets out a sigh and smirks up at me. “Despite the way you and I ran into each other, I’m happy to see you again.”
“Me too.” I smile. “I’m looking forward to our new friendship.”
“Is Tyler your only friend here?” she asks.
“I’ll have you know, I’m very friendly and know a lot of people here,” I say.
She chuckles. “Yeah, I know. Everyone loves you, Reid. You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, Tyler is my closest friend here. Sometimes we hang out with his buddies from high school. Everyone in the town, well, most people in town, are friendly. Don’t tell him, but he kind of feels like an older brother. I go to him for advice and to get a warm meal.”
Annika nods along, her gaze following my words, waiting for me to continue.
“I moved here and only knew my uncle. Tyler had been working at the center for about a year, and he took me under his wing right away, showing me the town. We went to a few places. He took me to Carol Breads about a month or so into me living in Auburn Hills, and that’s when I met Carrie.”
Annika’s face scrunches at her name. “Right, redheaded Rapunzel?”
I laugh. “Exactly. We started dating early on, and I started spending more time with her. Tyler and I still would hang out, go on hikes, or check out a new band. If I went out with Carrie, we would hang out with her friends. Tyler never really stuck around.”
“Why not?” Annika asks, turning her head and looking at Tyler at the bar.
He’s leaning on the side, chatting with Chloe. He has this weird look on his face I haven’t seen before and is giving Chloe a goofy smile.
“To be frank, he despised Carrie. He was thrilled when I told him we broke up. But since we did, I realized I didn’t branch out to make other friends.”
Annika’s eyes bug out. “Well, Tyler and I have hating our best friend’s ex in common.”
“Was Chloe dating that same guy since freshman year?”
Annika nods several times, turning to Chloe and Tyler. “On and off since freshman year. It was a messy breakup, but I think it’s for the best. I hope it is, at least. I’m a little worried about her. I can tell she’s lonely.”
“But she has you.”
“She’s always had me, and she always will. But it’s different from having a friend to having a companion.” Annika looks back at me.
Tyler and Chloe slide back into the booth, interrupting my conversation with Annika. Tyler slides a beer to me, and Chloe gives Annika a clear red drink with a cherry on the bottom.
“Is that a dirty Shirley?” I ask. We raise our glasses and say, “Cheers” to the new friend group.
“Mhm, it’s my favorite,” she says, meeting my eyes, taking a sip of her drink.
A month passes, and Friday happy hour at the pub becomes a tradition that our new friend group keeps up each week.
We take our beers and cocktails to the same corner booth.
Chloe gets a basket of mozzarella sticks which Tyler always steals one or two, and Annika and I split the nachos.
Tyler is very punctual every Friday afternoon, making sure we are out the door and on our way to the pub when Annika and Chloe arrive.
I almost think Tyler is more excited about this new friend group than me.
But even I find myself looking forward to our casual chit-chats.
We talk about things we’ve been up to since college, Annika keeps us clued in on what’s going on in pop culture, and Chloe shares new book releases.
Last weekend, we drove up to Medford and tried out a new brunch spot. If any of us wants to do anything, we ask the group chat if anyone is up for it. So far, we’ve all tagged along to each other’s plans.
We all reluctantly went with Tyler to his climbing gym after he had been begging us for weeks now. Annika, Chloe, and I all had to take a class to even use the gym while Tyler did his usual climb. I’m not sure if it’s my thing, but Chloe seemed to have a good time and said she’d go back with Tyler.
Most recently, Chloe sent the group chat a series of cat gifs followed by, “I’m at the animal rescue with Tyler. I’m adopting a cat.”
Annika and I pulled up to the shelter at nearly the same time, and it was clear they were getting a cat.
Good thing Sheela is such a chill landlord.
Chloe had a small white fuzz ball cradled in her arms, her face soft with bliss.
Tyler was scratching its little head. Of course, he went with Chloe. He loves animals more than humans.
I recalled our conversation at the bar about Chloe needing a companion.
I didn’t think she meant a cat, but having a little buddy can’t hurt.
Tyler and I met them at their house after, bringing a little cat bed we picked up on the way back.
The little fur ball was bouncing all around their living room.
We sat on their couch and chairs, staring and giggling at the kitten.