Chapter 14 #3
The line goes silent for a few moments. Then, Ben’s incredulous voice—“Hi? All he said was hi?”
“I mean, he asked me how I enjoyed the game.”
“Like it was a regular Sunday?!” Ben exclaims.
Mia follows up with a gentle, “How was it for you?”
“I guess it was strange, but familiar. Strange that he didn’t even ask what brought me here, familiar in that it’s…us.”
“Hmm…interesting. So, he invited you to his house?”
“Yeah, and it’s actually been…pretty great catching up.” I pause, pulling in a shaky breath. “I think he regrets what happened between us.”
“I’m happy for you, Grace,” Ben says warmly.
“You owe me twenty dollars,” I hear Mia mumble to Ben.
I roll my eyes. “Anyway, he has pictures of us here from childhood on his wall, like more than a few pictures.”
Ben cuts in. “Okay, I feel like we’re back in a criminal law situation now…”
“Let me finish! He’s been really sweet, but you know how my emotions are all over the place when it comes to Danny.”
“If by ‘all over the place’ you mean you’re deeply in love with him, then yeah, your emotions are all over the place,” Ben deadpans.
“Wait, what?”
“Huh?”
I blink. “You think I’m in love with him?”
The pause that follows my question is long enough for me to know they are working out who is going to be the one to break the news.
Mia’s voice softens as she gently explains, “We know you’re in love with him.
It’s been ten years, and it’s very clear that you’ve never gotten over him.
When you see something that reminds you of him, you tear up.
You haven’t talked about what happened with him once.
Sometimes it feels like the two of you somehow just broke up. You’ve never closed the wound, babe.”
My stomach floods with that anxious feeling you only get when a friend reveals a harsh truth to you.
Ben interrupts. “We’re just happy you’ll finally be off the dating apps. You don’t take them seriously anyway. You meet a guy and put him through an extremely strange set of impossible requirements. None of them ever pass. You’re like a reverse maneater.”
“Hey!” I exclaim defensively. “Henry passed.”
“Henry was three years ago, and he lives in China now.”
“Well, we still dated,” I protest.
“I think you should stop bragging about dating Henry. He was a drug user, Grace,” Ben says flatly.
Sighing in frustration, I reply, “So, he vaped here and there. It’s not a crime against humanity.”
“Vaping kills—”
I groan, preparing for a lecture I’ve heard before.
“Plants. Vaping kills plants.”
Tired of our antics, Mia cuts in. “Keep going, Grace.”
Ben pipes up. “Yeah. You found his creepy shrine, then what happened?”
“It wasn’t creepy! It was…special. It was nostalgic.”
Mia, ever the romantic, sighs dreamily. “So, why are you calling us in a panic then?”
“Well, I’m in the guest room, getting ready for bed because I’m staying here.” I frown. “Did I mention that?”
Chiming in, Ben says, “This conversation is really taking a sharp ‘nightly news’ turn. I didn’t think Dan fit the profile, but it’s always the ones you least suspect.”
“Anyway, I’m in this guest room, and I just happened to notice under the bed—”
“You were snooping,” Ben says.
“I wasn’t snoop—“
Mia interrupts. “My client is innocent on the grounds of ‘she’s just a girl,’ Your Honor. Please continue, Grace.”
“Thank you, Mia. So, I found a scrapbook. Obviously, I looked in it—”
“Obviously,” Ben drawls.
“And a Columbus Dispatch article about the grand opening of my animal clinic was inside.”
“Whoa,” they respond in unison.
“Whoa,” I agree, collapsing on the guest bed.
Ben smacks his lips. “Welp. Turns out he’s just as in love with you as you are with him. Congrats!”
I shoot up into a sitting position and resume panic mode.
“So, this means he kept up with me all these years? While I was actively avoiding him, avoiding all of his successes, he was following mine?” My throat feels scratchy.
“It’s a lot for me to process, you know?
And, if he knew where I was and what I was doing, why didn’t he reach out?
Was it just an ‘I’m happy for her’ type of thing? Or was it more?”
“Grace,” Ben says gently. “I think you’re interpreting his feelings before he has a chance to explain them.”
I bring two fingers to my temple. “What do I do? Is this just a closure thing, where we catch up and part as friends? Or do you think it could be…?” I trail off, not knowing how to finish that sentence exactly.
“After all this time, you do whatever feels right to you, Grace. What feels right to you is the best decision.”
Mia’s kind words quiet some of the noise in my head, and I sigh in relief. “I needed to hear that, Mia. Thank you.”
“And thanks to me, too,” Ben adds.
“You did nothing. In fact, you actively stalled this conversation several times,” I point out.
“Sure. Alright, well, keep us posted, please! WiFi has been spotty in our neighborhood, so this nugget of information will keep us occupied for a while.”
“Glad to be of service,” I say dryly.
“Indiana misses you, Grace! Come visit your old vet school stomping grounds soon. We’d love to have you stay with us,” Mia offers.
“Miss you, too. Love you, weirdos.”
As I end the call, I take a deep breath. You got this.
I return the scrapbook underneath the bed, finish getting dressed, and brush my teeth. As I place my clothes in my bag, I wish I’d remembered to pack courage.