Chapter 28 #2
My head is full of thoughts as I wander around the city, letting Newton lead the way.
I think of swimming in the lake with Owen and when he found his grandmother’s ring after it slipped off my finger.
I remember gazing up at the stars through the telescope, and gazing at his face as he excitedly told me all about those far-off worlds that fascinate him so much.
I’m so lost in the nice thoughts and the sad reality that it’s over, that I don’t realize where we are. When I raise my head, I see the new Temporary Ink tattoo parlour across the street.
It looks great.
Really great, actually. It takes up the entire corner unit with floor-to-ceiling windows wrapping around both sides.
Above the door is a massive Temporary Ink sign with their logo all lit up.
Hanging under that is a large banner that reads GRAND OPENING TOMORROW NIGHT!
Temporary Ink. Because Forever Is a Long Time.
I cross the street with a lump in my throat.
Newton and I walk up to the building and peek inside, looking at the exposed brick on the wall and all the matte-black finishes.
There are sixteen tattoo stations placed in neat rows, each with its own chair and station, all of it clean and modern and expensive-looking.
I picture each chair filled with someone getting a tattoo without committing, making a promise with an escape clause.
I sigh at how unromantic it all is. Tattoos for the commitment-phobic. Ink for people with an exit strategy. Permanence with an undo button.
A heaviness settles in as I realize that Owen is probably right. Everything comes to an end eventually, even the greatest of romances. I just wish ours had lasted more than a weekend.
I look up at the huge sign and realize that maybe it’s better this way. Maybe there is no magic in this world. Maybe committing forever is overrated and it’s best to look out for yourself.
I spot a sign on the front door with a photo of the three Lavoie brothers, so I wander over.
Jason and Ryan are smiling and Owen is in the middle with a blank face, his arms by his sides.
That doesn’t stop his brothers from wrapping their arms around his broad shoulders and hugging his stiff, awkward body.
My throat gets all scratchy as I stare at his face, remembering how easily I could make him smile. I liked that I was the only one who could make him smile so hard it would reach his eyes. I hope he can find someone else who can make him smile like that.
“You’re the girl, right?”
I turn as one of the brothers walks over. “Excuse me?”
“Scarlett Montgomery,” he says with a sly wink. “That’s you, isn’t it?”
I nod. “Guilty.”
He laughs as he comes over, shakes my hand, and pets Newton.
“It’s Faye, right? I’m Jason. You did an amazing job over the weekend.”
I jerk my head back in shock. “Seriously? I blew my whole cover. The whole thing exploded in our faces.”
“Yeah, but Edward felt so bad for Owen about getting catfished that he agreed to sign the contract. We got the deal.”
“Congratulations,” I say. “I guess Temporary Ink is going to conquer the world now.”
“Yeah,” he says with an excited laugh. “That’s the plan.”
“I’m happy for you guys,” I say with a sad smile. “Especially for Owen.”
“Thank you for being so good to him,” Jason says sincerely.
“It was easy.”
He laughs. “I doubt that. Nothing with Owen is ever easy.”
“Maybe not easy,” I say softly, “but definitely worth it.”
“Yeah,” he says, nodding. “There’s a good heart under all that rough, prickly exterior. You might get cut trying to reach it though.”
“You’re good brothers to Owen,” I tell him. “He loves you two very much, even if he only shows it in his own Owen way.”
He smiles warmly. “Well, thanks again. We owe it all to you. You did a great job. Seriously.”
I sigh. “I tried.”
“I think my brother had a bit of a crush on you,” he says with a chuckle. “That’s how good an actress you were. It broke his heart to find out you were married.”
“I’m not married,” I say, wondering what it means that he didn’t tell his brothers the truth. Who knows with Owen? “I was engaged a while ago, but I… broke it off.”
“Oh,” he says, tilting his head in confusion. “Does Owen know that?”
I shrug my shoulders as I try not to cry. “Yeah.”
He pieces it all together and sighs. “Owen’s never handled his feelings very well, Faye. He usually ignores and suppresses them until they explode out of him like a volcano erupting. Still water runs deep kind of thing. He doesn’t seem like it, but he’s a very passionate person.”
“I know,” I say. “It’s what I liked most about him.”
“Jason,” some worker calls out from an open window. “We need you.”
Jason looks over his shoulder and then back to me. “I have to go, but it was nice meeting you, Faye.”
“It was nice meeting you too.”
“Come to the grand opening,” he says as he walks backward. “Owen will be happy to see you.”
“I don’t know.”
He nods. “I do. I don’t know what you did to him in Muskoka, but I can tell he’s trying to be a better version of himself. Can you believe he’s personally writing to each of the women that Love Bot catfished?”
“He is?”
I’m both shocked and not shocked by that. Either way, it makes me smile to know that I had a small part in his transformation.
“I think you should give him another chance,” Jason says. “He might surprise you.”
“Maybe,” I say, waving as he leaves.
I would like to see Owen again, and one thing is for sure…
Owen is always capable of surprising me.
He’s proved that time and time again.