Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Aubrey
After getting home from another day of school, I set my things down, changed my clothes, and sat at my computer to begin listening to the essays I had my students email me. After listening to about ten of them, I was getting hungry, so I took a break and walked to my favorite Thai restaurant a few blocks away.
“Hello, Miss Aubrey. How are you this evening?”
“I’m good, Kai.” I gently smiled.
He took hold of my arm. “Come on, I’ll take you to your table, and Gwen will be right over. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Just water will be fine. Thank you.”
“Hey, Aubrey. It’s good to see you. Are you ready to order?” Gwen asked in a cheerful voice.
“Hi, Gwen. I’m going have the Pad Thai tonight with chicken.”
“Medium spice?”
“Yes, please.”
“Great. I’ll put that order in for you. Would you like a spring roll to go with that?”
“Sure. A spring roll sounds good.”
As I sat there and waited for my food, I thought about the conversation Ian and I had this morning about his date with Rigby. Things went so well that they were seeing each other again tonight. Rigby Jones was a financial officer over at Chase Bank, and he hadn’t been in a relationship in over a year, just like Ian. When he told me about his date this morning, his voice was excited, and I could tell he was happy. I got the impression that he was already head over heels for him, which I believed could happen after one date. After all, it did happen to me.
After finishing my dinner, Gwen boxed up the leftovers for me.
“Have a great night, Aubrey. Hopefully, we’ll see you soon.”
“Thanks, Gwen. Have a good night.”
Opening the door and stepping out, I walked down the street, tapping my cane. As I turned the corner, I abruptly stopped when my cane hit something or someone standing before me. That scent. It was him.
“Aubrey.”
“Ethan.”
“How are you?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for asking.”
“Did you just come from dinner?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied as I held up my container. “What are you doing over here?”
“I had a dinner meeting, and as I walked out of the restaurant, I saw you.”
“So you decided to stop in front of me?”
“I guess so.”
“I need to get home, Ethan. I have a lot of essays to grade.”
“Please wait. There’s something I need to say first.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry for what happened and what I said the other night. I just wanted you to know that. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
I stood there, trying to hold my composure as I inhaled his scent. He sounded sincere, and I accepted his apology even though he broke my heart.
“I accept your apology.”
“Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get home.”
“Please let Harry drive you. He’s just around the corner.”
“No. I can walk. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Mr. Klein,” I spoke as I moved to the side and walked away.
It was nice that Ethan apologized, but I wondered if he would have called and said he was sorry if he hadn’t run into me. A part of me believed he would because if he didn’t stop me, I never would have known he was in the same area. He could have just kept going, but he didn’t. I appreciated his apology, and it took away some of my bitterness towards him for saying what he did, but it didn’t change the fact that I needed to move on and forget about him, which I felt I could do now. It would be tough, but I’d overcome more challenging situations in my life and survived.
As I stuck the key into the lock of my apartment door, I heard Mr. Morris’ voice from down the hall.
“Hello, Aubrey. It’s me, Jack Morris.”
A smile crossed my lips as I turned my head in the direction in which his voice was coming from.
“Hello, Mr. Morris. How are you?”
“I’m great, young lady. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Thank you for asking. Are you going to see my Aunt Charlotte?”
“I am. We’re going to see a show on Broadway tonight.”
“Which show are you seeing?”
“Jersey Boys. Charlotte expressed an interest in it, so I got us two tickets for tonight.”
“I’ve heard it’s very good. Have a good time,” I spoke as I opened the door.
“Thanks, kiddo. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I gave him a small smile before walking into my apartment and shutting the door. After I locked up and put my leftovers in the refrigerator, I went into the bathroom and started the water for a bath. As I was relaxing and soaking up the lavender smell from the few drops of oil I placed in the water, my phone alerted me that I had a text message from Ethan. Drying my hands on the towel next to the tub, I reached over and pressed the message button on my phone as it read to me his text.
“I just wanted to tell you that you looked really beautiful.”
A sick feeling in the pit of my stomach emerged, and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to hear that from him. Maybe he felt that it was okay to toy with my emotions since he apologized. But it wasn’t okay, and I wouldn’t stand for it. I spent the last couple of days in the hurt phase, and now I found myself entering into the angry phase. How dare he say what he did to me. How dare he use me the way he did. I didn’t care how broken of a man he was; it didn’t give him the right.
“Thank you. But please don’t text or call me again. The damage is done. I forgave you. You made yourself perfectly clear on where you stood as far as I was concerned, and now it’s time for me to forget that I ever met you.”
I waited for a response that never came, which was fine with me. I said what I needed, and it was time to close that chapter of my life. Tomorrow, I would start a new chapter—one that didn’t involve a man named Ethan Klein.