Overdue

Chapter Forty-Five #2

I didn’t tell him that I already knew she was older than us.

I didn’t want him to know I’d looked her up.

But there was relief and joy for both of us in getting to talk to somebody who understood, who didn’t need anything explained.

We’d both been stuck, we’d both had a hellish year, and now we were both thriving on the other side.

He told me how he and Holland had met on his very first night out and how they’d kept running into each other all year long.

He had never believed in fate. Now he did.

I was less certain about fate, but I felt grateful that time and proximity had been on Macon’s and my side.

“Do you think you’ll marry her?” I asked. It wasn’t interrogatory, like my sister’s line of questioning had been, and he didn’t take it that way. It was more like a continuation of our last conversation in the diner.

“I do.”

“ Cory ,” I said happily.

“I mean, not yet.” He laughed. “I’ve fucked up in a lot of ways this year. She needs to know I’m steady. But yeah. Marriage, kids. I see the whole thing with her.”

“That’s great,” I said, meaning it.

“What about you?”

There was a swing in my mood.

Cory quieted. “Sorry, Ig. You don’t have to answer that.”

I explained that I did want to marry Macon, but I feared it might not be what he wanted. That this was a conversation we needed to have soon, and I was dreading it. That I didn’t know what I would do if he told me that he never wanted to marry, but that the possibility was real.

Cory’s voice hardened. “Don’t you dare put that shit off. You have to have that conversation now .”

“I know, I know—”

“I’m serious. You need to talk to him about this. You can’t let this sit between you unspoken. Don’t do what we did.”

He sounded like my sister. They were right, and it was a horrendous feeling. Imagining losing Macon felt so much worse than actually losing Cory had been.

“Listen,” he said, trying to slow my visible spiral, “I don’t know what he’ll say. I don’t know his history. But I do know he’s always been into you. And I bet he would have pushed his boring-ass girlfriend out of the way to shove a ring onto your finger years ago if I hadn’t been in the picture.”

It hung in the air between us for a moment, and then I whispered dramatically, “She was boring, wasn’t she?”

“And self-righteous. I wouldn’t have wanted to marry her either.”

“You also didn’t want to marry me,” I pointed out.

“Yet I almost did just because you’re so great.”

I laughed.

We didn’t stop talking for the entire nine-hour drive, catching up and sharing stories.

It turned out that Holland had also obtained an unexpected cat this year, and Cory had also grown attached to it.

We shared photos, and I felt smug that Edmond was much cuter in addition to being better behaved.

But it felt strange and magical that even though our paths had diverged, they were still running parallel to one another.

The sky began darkening as we neared Ridgetop, and the mountain air was tinged with… something else.

SNOW , Macon texted.

I was shocked by the all caps. It’s snowing?!

Not yet, but it’s supposed to start later tonight.

Sounds like it’s waiting for me.

It’s not the only one , he said, which made my whole body tingle.

“It’s going to snow,” I said to Cory, and then he got excited, too.

Another text arrived, this one from Mika. Are you back yet?

Home in a half hour!

Come to the store , she said. I have a Christmas present for you.

Is it SNOW?

You heard! (No. It’s something better.)

“I think it’s the sales numbers,” I told Cory, sitting forward in my seat. “I think we hit our goal.”

“Why wouldn’t she just text that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she made a cake to celebrate?”

“Do you want me to drop you off at the bookstore or at Macon’s?”

I checked the time. “The store. It’s a late shift, so he’s still at work anyway.

” I texted the change of plans to Macon and asked him to pick me up at Bildungsroman.

By the time we arrived, my stomach was writhing—about the sales, but also about Macon.

It felt incredible that I was about to see him again.

And so daunting that I would have to confront him about our future.

Cory pulled up to the curb to let me out. I retrieved my suitcase from his trunk, and then he turned on his hazards to pop out and hug me goodbye.

“Oh my God,” he said, catching sight of something over my shoulder. “It is him.”

I turned around. Macon was on the opposite side of the street, waiting to cross. He was wearing his rumpled duffel coat, his hair was disheveled, and his work pen was still tucked behind his ear. He looked exactly like he always had—except now he was mine.

My heart soared.

“I mean, you told me it was him,” Cory said. “But yep. There he is.”

Macon was checking his phone and hadn’t noticed us.

“Ugh,” Cory said.

I smiled.

“Well, good luck,” Cory said. “I hope everything works out for you two.”

“You sure about that?”

He gave me a cheeky grin. “Hey, I can dislike the guy and still want you to be happy.” As Macon began to cross, Cory waved with his whole arm and shouted, “I got it from here, buddy.”

Macon startled to see us.

“Yeah, she says she’s still in love with me, so I’m taking her home.”

I punched Cory in the abdomen, laughing. “You dick.”

“Hi, Cory,” Macon said.

He strolled toward us, calm and unthreatened. I raced toward him and launched myself into his arms. He wrapped them around me tightly and kissed me passionately.

“Hi,” I said, gazing up at him.

“Hi,” he said, gazing down at me. He didn’t let go. I don’t think he wanted to, but I also sensed that part of it was for show.

Cory laughed. “Bye, Iggy.”

“Bye, Cory. Thanks for the ride.”

He got into his car, turned off his hazards, and sped away with a rude series of honks and a middle finger out the window.

Macon was still holding me. He looked delighted.

“He supports my choice,” I said, “but he also doesn’t like you very much.”

“As somebody who was in that exact position for many years, I know how he feels.”

I beamed and kissed him again. “I missed you.”

“I missed you .”

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you still be at work?”

“Library closed early,” he said. “Snow.”

I laughed. “Oh my God! You got the email early?”

He laughed, too. “We did.”

I burrowed deeper into him, breathing in his familiar scent. “Don’t ever let me go.”

“Okay.”

He held me.

“Actually, it’s cold,” I said. “Let’s go inside. But you still can’t let go.”

“I promise I will never let go of you.” As our bodies broke apart, he took my hand. With his other hand, he grabbed my suitcase. I shifted so I could hold on to him with both of mine.

“I have news,” he said in a tone that announced it was good. “I got the job.”

“What? Macon! That’s amazing.”

“I found out last week, but I wanted to tell you in person. I start in January. We’ll be working near each other again. And I can come for lunch, like you said.”

“We can walk to work together!”

“Or maybe I’ll get a bike, too. But at least I can drive you on rainy days now.”

“Or snowy ones,” I said.

“Or snowy ones.”

We were standing on the Roman’s mosaic. “I’m so proud of you, and I want to hear everything about it. But first, I need to get warm and see what Mika wants.”

“You do,” he agreed.

I gave him a look that said, You know what this is about?

He smiled and let go of my suitcase, not my hand, to open the door. The bell rang above our heads. We entered the bookstore, and my coworkers cheered. “There she is!” Mika ran up to us and hugged me. She laughed when Macon and I did not drop hands.

“The store looks great,” I said. I was overjoyed to be back.

Everybody was staring at me with an eager, expectant look.

“What?” I said, and then—for the briefest moment—I thought Macon was about to propose. Even though he was not aware of the discussion I’d been having inside my head for the past week. Even though proposing in public was not his style.

But then I heard it: a rhythmic heartbeat, deep and stately.

My eyes brimmed. “Is that what I think it is?”

Mika took my free hand, and together she and Macon led me to the corner where the grandfather clock had been placed.

“But… this is too much. Doesn’t Carla want it?”

“She called me last week. She said our store looked great, but the sound was all wrong.” Mika was smiling and still holding on to me, too. “She also mentioned that the clock would be too loud for her new condo. Macon picked it up and brought it here a few days ago.”

I pressed his hand—it was another good surprise that he’d been keeping from me—as I said, “She found a condo!”

“She did,” Mika said. “Looks like you’ll be helping her move next month.”

I laughed with a groan. “It’s gonna be a long time before I have another day off, isn’t it?”

“You just had nine of them,” she said. “It’s my turn.”

“You didn’t tell her to look closer,” Stephen said, as everyone else gathered around.

“Oh!” Mika said. “Look closer.”

I was already looking, and I gasped. An index card was nestled into a groove on the clock. A large number was written on it. “Please tell me that’s what I think it is.”

“It’s what you think it is.”

I choked up again. “We did it.”

“We did.”

“Like, barely,” I said, laughing and pulling the card out.

She laughed and teared up, too. “Barely counts. We’re still in business.”

Macon squeezed my hand and let go, allowing Mika and me to fully embrace.

And then Stephen and Jo and Amelia Louisa joined in.

We cheered and shrieked and celebrated, and then, after showering them with my profuse thanks, I shooed them out the door.

It wasn’t quite closing time, but the store was empty. Ridgetop was ready for snow.

I carried the index card to my office, centered it on my desk, and snapped a photo for Kat.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH , she texted back, along with an ecstatic selfie.

I hugged my phone in lieu of the real person.