9. Lars
NINE
LARS
“You’re absolutely sure?” Lars asked his mom again. “Two nights is a lot with them.”
“I’m sure,” she said through the phone with a chuckle. He’d called to tell her he would be there soon to pick up the girls, but she was insisting they stay another night. “They’re being good. Chloe’s keeping your dad busy outside and helping him rake leaves.”
“So she can jump in them?”
His mom laughed again. “Obviously. Allie joined them a few times too, but she’s mostly been coloring. I think she’d do it twenty-four-seven if we let her.”
Lars grinned as he took a seat on the arm of the couch. “She definitely would. Did she have fun at the art shop this afternoon?”
Harper had picked her up from his parents’ house to take her and Elliot to hang out during the Saturday classes, then she dropped her back off afterward.
Having another parent as a friend was such a blessing, honestly.
None of his other friends had kids yet, and while he and Mel had become friendly acquaintances with some through the schools, it wasn’t the same.
It was especially great that Allie now had a friend who loved the same things she did.
It reminded him of how he and Aaron had become friends in kindergarten, bonding through little league.
“She hasn’t stopped talking about how Vi helped her make pottery,” his mom continued. “Apparently, she made a flower vase. She’s excited to go back and paint it. Now, she wants to make more things.”
He sighed but said in amusement, “I’m going to end up with a pottery wheel at the house, aren’t I?”
“Probably,” she said, the smile clear in her voice. “Now, go out and do something fun. Meet up with friends, or just relax. We’re good here, promise.”
“Okay, well, I guess… just call me if you need me.” They got off the phone, but he had no idea what to do now.
He opened his texts with Aaron but hesitated.
It had been two days since Lars went off on him, and he wanted to make things right.
But then, he remembered how he’d decided he needed another close friend, someone who wasn’t Aaron or Melanie.
Heading upstairs, he went to the master bedroom and knocked on the door to the en suite bathroom. Mel had decided to use her free time to take a bath.
“Yeah?” she called out, clearly confused.
“Mom’s still insisting on keeping the girls another night, so I was thinking about going to Perrington. Wanna come?”
A beat passed before she said, “Nah, go without me. I’m going to read until I’m pruny and then maybe watch a movie.”
Lars frowned. He’d really hoped she would go with him. He missed hanging out with her and the others all together. But he also understood the rarity of having a night to oneself around here. “All right. I’ll see you later.”
“Have fun.”
Instead of texting someone to see what was going on tonight, Lars headed to Happily Ever Crafter. It was open for a few more hours, so he could hang out with whomever was working.
It turned out that all three women were here.
Charlie was coloring on the floor with Elliot, reminding Lars of how Aaron always was with Allie. “Hey,” she said, looking up with a grin. “What’s up?”
“I have an unexpected night to myself, so I thought I’d come hang out, see what you guys are up to.” He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and leaned against the front counter. “Thought maybe someone would want to get dinner or something.”
“Actually, Elliot and I are going to meet Colby at the diner here shortly if you want to come,” Harper said. “You know, if you don’t mind hanging with a five year old on your night off.”
“Of course not; that sounds great if you’re sure,” he said. “The girls are with my mom, and Mel wanted to spend a quiet night at home…”
He realized his mistake the second the words were out of his mouth, and he internally groaned as both Vi and Charlie looked at him with clear confusion. Vi glanced at Elliott before asking in an amused tone, “You didn’t want to… stay with her for quiet time?”
Lars sighed. He looked at Harper, the only one who knew the truth. She gave him an encouraging nod, and he knew it was time. But he didn’t want to say something in front of Elliot in case he told Allie. As if reading his mind, Harper said, “Elliot, let’s get cleaned up so we can go eat.”
“Okay!” He jumped up and started putting his pencils and paints away.
Harper joined him, telling Charlie she would take care of the mess. Charlie nodded and walked over to Lars. “What’s going on?”
Lowering his voice, Lars said, “Mel and I are separated, but we’re still living together for the girls. Only Aaron and Harper know; we haven’t been telling people. We’re both fine and friends. We’re just no longer in love.”
“Dude, breathe,” Vi said with a chuckle. “And holy shit. What the hell?”
Charlie, on the other hand, glared at her cousin before telling him, “I’m sorry. That’s… a lot.”
He nodded. “Yeah, tell me about it.”
“That’s why she hasn’t been coming around with you?” Before he could answer, she added, “But we’re her friends too. If you’re still friendly, it’s not like we have to pick sides, right?”
“Yeah, but she’s been worried about keeping up appearances. She didn’t think she’d be able to hide the truth from you guys.”
Vi crossed her arms. “That sucks. I miss her.”
“She misses you too. We actually talked about it last week, and we decided to tell you what’s going on.”
Charlie smiled. “But you guys are good? Like, you’re really making it work?”
“Trying to,” he said in a teasing tone, even though he was serious. He considered telling them about the job too, but saying it out loud would make it real. Right now, he didn’t want to focus on that. He just wanted to have a decent night with friends, a few hours without panicking over the future.
She moved closer to hug him, and he welcomed the embrace. “If you need anything, please let us know.”
“Thank you,” he whispered, grateful for her, for all of them. He might not have known them quite as long as each other, but he’d met Charlie in kindergarten too.
Harper and Elliot returned, asking if he wanted to head over with them. He hesitated, wondering about Charlie and Vi, but Charlie waved him off, telling him to go have fun. They had to work a little longer.
He walked with Harper and Elliot down the block and a half to the small diner that reminded him of the one near Bennu University’s campus.
He’d spent a lot of time there when he would occasionally visit Brent on weekends, taking Mel and Allie to ball games.
He made a mental note to text his friend soon.
It had been a while since he’d heard from him.
With Brent’s busy baseball schedule, now that he was on a minor team on the East Coast, that wasn’t uncommon.
Though that ended a few weeks ago… Usually he and Kade returned to Indiana at least for a little while after the season ended.
Both of their families lived around here.
“Can I get pancakes?” Elliot asked as they entered the fifties-style diner.
“Of cou—”
“Mr. Colby!” the little boy shouted before she could even finish her answer. He ran toward Colby, arms raised.
Harper laughed as Colby scooped him up. “You’d think Elliot hasn’t seen him in forever.” She glanced over at Lars. “It’s been a day. He literally sees him at school almost every day, and he still reacts like that whenever we see him anywhere else.”
“It’s hilarious that he calls him Mr. Colby now too.” Lars grinned and joined them as she agreed.
Colby nodded toward him. “Hey, man.”
Lars didn’t miss the skeptical look Colby gave him.
He almost laughed. It was clear to everyone how much Colby liked Harper.
He didn’t have anything to worry about where Lars was concerned, but Lars wasn’t going to explain that right now in front of her.
Not when she’d made it equally as clear that they were only friends.
“Hope you don’t mind me crashing dinner,” he said, trying to sound light. “Had a night to myself and went to hang out at Happily Ever Crafter, so Harper invited me out of pity.”
“It wasn’t pity.” She chuckled as Colby greeted her with a one-armed hug.
“Of course not,” he said.
Lars doubted he would say otherwise even if it did bother him. The man was too nice. Harper slid into the booth, and Lars took the opposite side.
“Elliot, sit by me so we can play tic-tac-toe,” Lars said, knowing the waitress would bring crayons.
Colby set him down and gave Lars another suspicious look, as if knowing Lars did that on purpose so they could sit together.
As he took a seat, the waitress came by with menus and crayons.
After taking their drink orders and leaving again, Lars played with Elliot as promised, but he was also paying attention to the two sitting across from him.
He had questions for Harper but didn’t want to ask in front of the five year old. Instead, he waited for some sort of opening, which didn’t come until half an hour later when they were nearly done eating and Elliot asked Colby to go with him to the restroom.
“Are you okay?” Harper asked once they were gone.
With a sigh, Lars said, “Was it hard for Elliot when you left your ex?”
“Very. Those first couple months at my parents’ house, he constantly asked why we couldn’t go home to his dad, and I didn’t know how to explain.
” She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “That’s why I’m terrified of him being so close to Colby.
Elliot’s obsessed with him… and it doesn’t take a genius to know it’s because his dad wasn’t attentive.
Apart from Wyatt, he’s never really had a positive male role model. ”
“He latched on fast,” Lars said.
She nodded with a sigh. “So fast. I didn’t expect it, and now, it’s not like I can keep him away to prevent him from being hurt. It’s too late. Besides, Colby’s such a great guy, and he’s so good with Elliot… I love that for him. It’s just scary.”
He could only imagine. “I’m worried about my girls. We’re not going to be able to hide this forever. Allie’s already asked why her mom and I don’t share a room anymore; she caught me coming out of the spare bedroom one morning.”
“What’d you say?” Harper asked with a wince.
With a soft laugh, he said, “Mel told her it’s because I snore too much and it wakes her up.”
Harper chuckled. “I mean, that works for now, but yeah, the older they get, the more they’ll realize something is up. Plus, what’s going to happen when you guys start dating other people and get in a serious relationship?”
He tilted his head back and groaned. “I didn’t even think about that.”
“I’m sure you two will figure it out. Just take it one day at a time, and make sure to communicate.”
Lars clenched his jaw and focused on his glass of water to avoid her gaze. Because for the first time in over six years, he wasn’t confident that things would work out. In the past, he and Mel had always been a solid team. But if she took that job…
He needed something stronger to drink. “I don’t suppose you could find a babysitter and would want to go to The Tavern after this.”
Colby and Elliot returned then, and Colby ruffled the little boy’s hair. “The Tavern?”
Harper looked at her oblivious son. “I don’t know…”
“I bet Charlie would hang out with him,” Colby said quietly, sitting once more. “It’s been months since you’ve done anything social.”
She bit at her bottom lip, as if considering. Colby leaned in close and whispered something into her ear. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink before she cleared her throat, glancing once at Lars before pulling her phone out of her purse.
“Fine, I’ll text her.” Mere seconds later, she got a response. She looked at Elliot, who was making a tower of little jelly containers. “El, you want to go hang out with Charlie and Vi some more?”
“Yeah!” he said without hesitation.
Colby’s smile could’ve lit up the room. He seemed more excited than anyone, and Lars couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he’d whispered to get Harper to change her mind.
Not five minutes later, Charlie walked into the diner, having left Vi at the shop. She picked up a couple to-go orders, including an extra milkshake, which she handed to Elliot before heading out with him in tow.
“Ready?” Harper asked, appearing almost giddy now.
“Absolutely.” Lars nodded and made his way toward the door.
The sun had already gone down, bringing with it a crispness to the autumn air. Colby pulled off his jacket to put around Harper’s shoulders as the three walked together. They were talking and laughing, appearing lighter, more relaxed than before. But Lars was stuck in his head.
He had no idea what to do about the London situation. The truth was, he knew how important this was for Mel, and he wanted her to be able to follow her dreams. But why did that have to be in another country? Why was the job an ocean away?
They were nearing the bar when a couple of guys stumbled out together, clearly lost in their own world. Beside a car, the two men stopped. One pushed the other against the side and began kissing him thoroughly, their hands exploring.
“Damn,” Harper mumbled in amusement.
Lars and Colby both chuckled under their breath, but Lars choked as recognition finally hit him. The man against the car turned his head with his eyes shut, the other one sucking on his neck. And in that movement, Lars could finally see who it was.
“Holy shit,” Harper hissed, stealing the words right out of his mouth. All three froze in the middle of the sidewalk. “Is that…”
The two men quickly climbed into the car without even noticing their mini audience and took off.
Swallowing, Lars whispered, “Yeah. That was Aaron.”