25. Mia
25
MIA
I pace around the living room, trying to gather my thoughts. My emotions are all over the place, and it’s hard to focus on anything else after the confrontation with Theo and his business partner, Steve. Theo’s words were sincere, and I want to believe him, but there’s a part of me that remains skeptical. Can I really trust him, or is he just another smooth talker looking out for himself?
I need to clear my head. I grab my keys and decide to head to the furniture store. The house is almost ready for guests, but there are still a few odds and ends I need to pick up. It’s a good excuse to get out and distract myself from my overwhelming thoughts about Theo.
As I drive, I replay the events of the last few weeks in my mind. Theo has made me start to melt.
The way he looks at me…his offer to help me even though I’m technically his competition…the way it feels when he runs his fingers down my body… They all make me feel like I want to spend more time with him, get to know him better, and see where things could go.
But I can’t fall in love with Theo. He’s off-limits. He’s still pushing for his resort, and despite his promises, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s just looking out for his own interests. I grip the steering wheel tighter, trying to push the thought of him out of my mind.
I’ve dealt with enough men who only care about themselves. The last thing I need is another man like that. I remember my friends’ advice and try to get my thoughts straight on the twenty-minute drive to the furniture store.
When I arrive, the furniture store is bustling with activity. I wander through the aisles, picking up a few picture frames, a couple of lamps, and some decorative pillows. I’m still fuming about Theo, but the act of shopping helps to distract me. As I’m browsing the shelves, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and see a notification from my front door camera.
I just installed it yesterday, and the proof that it’s working sends a little thrill through me. I imagine using it to see guests who are checking in when I’m not there and letting them into the place.
Setting my shopping basket down, I open the app and see Theo standing on my front porch, holding a small package. My heart skips a beat.
I can speak to him through the camera, but I don’t say anything. It’s like my heart is frozen as I try to figure out what to do. There is no manual for dealing with attractive jackasses who keep wanting to buy your property.
Finally, after he stands there for a full minute, Theo places the package gently on the mat. He glances around, looking almost nervous, before turning and walking back to his truck. What is he up to now?
I continue to watch the video even though Theo has pulled out of the driveway now. I zoom in on the package on the mat. It’s about a third of the size of the mat, and the box itself is brown and boring. It gives away no hint about what could be inside.
I finish up my shopping quickly. I need to know what he left on my porch. As I drive home, my mind races with possibilities. Is it another attempt to buy my property? A letter of apology? A peace offering of some sort? Or maybe something I ordered ended up on his property instead.
I try to think if I’m waiting on any deliveries from UPS, but the truth is that I’ve ordered a lot of things over the last few days. And my mind is swirling with so many details that I can’t remember if something was supposed to be delivered today or not.
When I pull into the driveway, I see the small package sitting on the front porch, just as the camera showed. I grab it and head inside, my hands trembling slightly. Why the hell am I so nervous?
If it’s another offer for the house, I’ll just throw it on Theo’s property and never speak to him again. With this resolve running through me, I set the package on the kitchen counter and stare at it for a moment.
You don’t have to open it . But as soon as the thought passes through my mind, I discard it. I can’t just leave the package unopened.
Taking a deep breath, I tear at the tape to reveal a beautifully crafted wooden box just bigger than my hand. There’s a note attached, written in Theo’s neat handwriting. It’s handwriting I remember from high school, and it hasn’t changed a bit. I unfold it and read:
Mia,
I know things have been tense between us, and I wanted to show you that I genuinely care about making this right. Inside this box are some mementos from our good days together. I thought you might like to see them.
Theo.
My heart starts racing as I think about what they might be.
I lift the lid of the box, revealing an assortment of items.
A folded piece of paper covers most of the items. I take it out and unfold it and am met with one of my own drawings. The edge of the paper at the top is ragged, like it was torn out of a sketchbook. I study the interior design I made for a house that Theo and I were supposedly going to live in when we graduated high school.
I’m filled with nostalgia as I study the nuances of the drawing. I even added picture frames on the wall with pictures of us in them.
I set the folded piece of paper aside and pull out the next item—a keychain. It’s a surfer keychain. I am surprised to feel so many emotions welling up in me as I study it. Theo gave me this surfer keychain when we first started going out. I was supposed to wear it on my backpack as a sign that I was taken. All the girls were doing it back then.
But when we broke up, I gave it back. It was big and dramatic, and it felt so embarrassing going to school on Monday without the surfer on my backpack.
I set the keychain aside and pick up the next item. It’s a little note. I don’t remember writing it, but it’s in my handwriting. It looks like something we must have passed back and forth in a class, each of us writing each other a quick line before passing the note back.
There’s one more thing in the box—a shell.
I remember the shell. It’s a long, pointed shell, but more important than the shape is the coloring. It was a light brown color with black spots. I said that the brown represented Theo’s hair, and the black my hair. And the same way they looked beautiful together on this shell, we also looked beautiful together.
I hold the shell longer than all the other items. I can’t believe that Theo still has these things. It’s kind of embarrassing and kind of sweet.
Despite my resolve to shut him out of my life, I feel a pang of guilt for doubting him. Maybe he really is trying to make amends. Maybe he truly cares about me and my dreams. But can I afford to take that risk?
I’ve opened myself up to him so much. The last thing I need is to get hurt…again.
I decide to take a walk down to the beach to clear my mind. The air is cool, and the scent of the crashing waves is familiar and soothing. As I stroll along the sand, I think about the future. The bed and breakfast is so close to being ready, and I need to stay focused on that.
Theo is great, but I’ve learned that men aren’t always reliable. I’m not willing to give up a dream I’m so close to for a man who might turn his back on me.
When I go back inside, I head over to my computer. It’s time to upload the pictures of my place onto all the different places I’m listing it. I want to start taking reservations for August, even though it’s only the first week of June.
I keep glancing over my shoulder, though, at the wooden box and where it still rests on the kitchen counter. Finally, I get up and place the wooden box on a shelf in the living room. I don’t want to get rid of it, because what he did was sweet, but I also need to maintain some boundaries, healthy boundaries.
As the day goes on, I find myself checking my phone, half-expecting another message from Theo. But there’s nothing. I focus on updating the bed and breakfast’s webpage, adding the final touches and trying to look at the description like an outsider might.
Just as I’m finishing up, there’s a knock on the door. My heart leaps into my throat as I walk over, half-hoping and half-dreading that it’s Theo. But when I open the door, it’s not Theo standing there.
It’s just one of the neighbors from across the street. I’ve seen her off and on, out walking the dog, with a toddler in the front yard. Right now, the toddler is on her hip, and she’s got a tin can in her hands.
She passes over the container. “Cookies,” she says. “I think old-fashioned, welcome-to-the-neighborhood cookies are a good tradition to keep. I know you’ve been here a couple of weeks already, but I’ve been so busy keeping up with this one.”
I smile at the little girl on her hip. “Hey there! Well, thanks. I can always use some cookies.”
“I can’t help but notice you’ve been doing a lot of fixing up. Are you planning on reselling it?”
“No, actually, it’s going to be a bed and breakfast. Would you like a tour of all the newly renovated rooms?”
The woman looks at the toddler on her hip, then nods. “Sure, why not?”
I walk her through the house, showing off its best features. We end the tour in the sunroom. The little girl gets down and starts running around the room squealing. We both laugh at her.
“This is just perfect. We always have relatives wanting to come and stay with us, but our house is small. We just don’t have the room. Now, I can send them over here.”
I beam at the idea of customers. “I would love that.”
“Of course! It’s lovely, and I know they would love it.” The woman glances in the direction of the resort. “But that… I don’t know how I feel about that going up across the street from us. Two years ago, this street was quiet, but with that resort, people are going to be speeding down here. I’m worried that Isabel might get hurt.”
I watch the little girl’s reckless running, and I can understand her mom’s concern. “Well, there’s not much we can do about it. It’s being built now.”
The woman purses her lips. “I know. I tried talking to one of the men working on it and?—”
“Which one?”
The woman blinks and describes Steve. “Dark hair, slicked back like he’s some sort of multi-millionaire. He nodded and smiled, but I could tell that underneath, he didn’t really care what I thought. He cares about the money.”
I confess that they’ve been badgering me about buying my property despite my dream for what it could be. The woman clasps my arm, her face the picture of shock.
“Honey, you stand your ground. You tell them they can’t push you out of this home. It was your grandmother’s, right? I remember her, sweet lady.”
“You knew Grandma Mary?”
“Yes, we moved in five years ago. She was still living here then. She moved into an assisted care facility last year, right?”
“That’s right.” I’m barely able to get the words out, though, because I can’t believe this woman really knew my grandma.
“She was so sweet. Isabel and I used to come over and play once in a while. She loved watching Isabel learn to crawl, then walk. Now, she’s running. Mary was a wise, wise woman.”
I turn away so I can keep back the tears in my eyes. I don’t want to get too emotional, but this meeting feels like it was meant to be.
“Well, I’ll be right here, across the street. You let me know if you need anything. We women have to have each other’s backs.”
When the woman and her child leave, I realize I never got her name. But I’m not worried about that. We’ll have time for names later. I feel like I have a friend, an alliance in the neighborhood.
And right now, I could really use someone who has my back.
As I head back into the living room, my eyes stray to the box of mementos that Theo brought me. Did he think that would fix everything? It is tugging at my heart, but I’m not ready to move forward, not when I can’t trust that he cares about me more than his project.