Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
DREW
When I walk into Needly Park Library I’m surprised at just how big it is. It shouldn’t surprise me; I did live the first eleven years of my life in this city. Yet I’ve grown familiar with small town life, and this is busy, large, and loud.
In the middle of the building is a round desk with a woman sitting behind it.
Stella. I wipe clammy hands down the front of my jeans.
My nervousness at walking into her world is unwarranted, but I can’t shut it off.
It’s one thing to see her in Blissful. To get a glimpse of her here is to understand exactly what she’s giving up.
I can’t get Quinn’s visit out of my head. She moved from a big, loud, populous city to a small, slow, quiet town and couldn’t hack it. What if Stella’s the same? Until you’ve lived small town life, you can’t really imagine what it’s like.
When Stella told me she wanted to buy Blissful Books, I thought I would get the chance to show her I’m more than the hooligan kid from her past. More than the friend I’ve become.
More like a man she could date and fall in love with.
But now I fear she’ll get to Blissful, realize small town life isn’t for her, and move home to Tucson.
As I approach the desk, a young boy steps up to her and asks a question. Her answering smile is sincere. They chat as she works on her computer, then she stands and leads him to an aisle between bookshelves.
Her absence gives me a few minutes to come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t have come. I don’t belong in her world. Before I can turn around and walk out, she comes back. Her whole face brightens when she sees me.
“Drew! What are you doing here?”
“I was in the area and thought I’d come say hi.”
“But what are you doing in the area?” she asks.
I’ve thought about how to respond to this question if she asked because the truth might hit her hard. But lying feels worse, like it’s a secret.
“I’m on my way to visit GG, and after that to dinner with Caleb and Mallory.”
Her eyes lose some of their sparkle. Her smile looks the same, but now it’s fake. In our conversations since the engagement party, we’ve successfully not talked about Caleb and Mallory, so I expect her to leave the topic. Instead she faces it head on.
“I hope you kept your promise and didn’t make a big deal about what happened at the engagement party.”
I duck my head and rub the tip of my boot at a dirt mark on the carpet. “I didn’t do anything drastic.”
When I glance up, her eyes are narrowed. “What did you do that was nondrastic?”
“Not important."
“I disagree.” She holds up a finger. “Wait one second. I’ll have someone come out and take my place at the desk. How long have you got?”
I glance at the clock on the wall. I got off later than I wanted to because of Quinn. “A half-hour.”
Stella picks up the phone at the desk and a minute later, a woman comes out. She raises both eyebrows when she sees me.
“Clementine, thanks for your help,” Stella says. “This is Drew. He’s here for the day visiting from Blissful.”
I hold out a hand to shaker hers. “It’s nice to meet you, Clementine.”
She studies me, but speaks to Stella. “Stella, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Stella mouths, “Sorry,” and follows Clementine to the other side of the desk. They put their heads close together.
“I thought you were moving to Blissful to sell books,” Clementine whispers. “Not for a man!”
Stella glances over at me, and I look away, trying not to show that I can hear what was said. For a library, I’m surprised at how well sound carries.
“I am going to sell books,” she says to her friend. “He’s just a perk.”
There’s a beat of silence. “A perk. What exactly have you been doing on your weekends in Blissful?”
Stella’s laugh is full volume, and I have to turn my back to them so she doesn’t see my smile.
“His friendship is a perk,” she whispers. “There’s nothing between us. He’s seven years younger than I am. I knew him when he was a kid.”
That wipes the smile off of my face. I’m twenty-eight; no longer that kid. My hope that she’ll see me as more diminishes.
“Uh huh,” Clementine says. “The way you two were smiling at each other, I don’t think any of that matters.”
“He’s one of the only friends I have left.
I’m moving to Blissful because I love the town.
You’ll see when you visit. My friendship with Drew is making it possible for me to be brave and go after what I want.
You know how I hate change. I wouldn’t be able to do this without him.
And that has nothing to do with how handsome he is. Mostly.”
They giggle.
I make her brave, and she thinks I’m handsome. My hope rises.
“Okay,” Clementine says. “Go have your rendezvous behind the library. I’ll man the desk.”
“We’re friends. There’s no call for your innuendo.”
Clementine snorts. I like her, and wish there was a call for some innuendo. I would enjoy kissing Stella behind the library.
“Only friends?” Clementine asks.
“Yes.”
Stella comes up beside me and lays a hand on my arm.
“Do you want to go outside and talk until you have to leave?” she asks.
“I’d love a tour of the library. You can tell me what exactly it is you do.”
She walks me around, telling me about the displays, programs, books, and art. It’s obvious she loves the library, which makes me wonder why she's been unhappy working here. If she doesn’t last in Blissful, at least she has this to come back to.
But even as I think that, I want Stella to find happiness in Blissful, and not just because I want to date her. But because her friendship means a lot to me too. I’d rather have her next door than an hour away.
After my tour, she walks me out to my work truck. Unlike Caleb, who has multiple vehicles, I stick with the one. It’s older, but it runs great.
“How are you feeling about your move to Blissful?” I ask
“I have so much still to do before then, but I wish it were tomorrow. I can’t wait.”
She has as much enthusiasm for moving to Blissful as she does for the library. That’s a good sign.
She glances back at the library and then me. “Could I come with you to visit GG?”
“Don’t you have to work?”
“I only have an hour left, and I’m so close to my last day, I don’t have much to do. Mostly I sit at my desk in the back and try not to fall asleep.”
“I’d love it if you came with me. So would GG. She asks about you.”
She rolls her eyes. “About how my heart is healing after getting jilted?”
I laugh, not expecting her to know GG so well. “Yeah. How did you guess?”
She shakes her head as she takes a step back. “I need to let my manager know I’m leaving. Give me a few minutes?”
It’s impossible to look away from her as she walks inside. I wipe sweat from my forehead with the back of my sleeve, and not because it’s hot, though it is. But because I like Stella, and now I’m terrified I’m going to lose her to the city like I did Quinn. My ex’s visit has screwed with my head.
Five minutes later, Stella’s back with her purse slung over her shoulder. “Are you okay to drop me back here after? I can drive separately if that’s better.”
“I don’t mind.”
It’s when we’re buckled in and I’m pulling out of the parking lot that she asks, “What exactly did you do that was nondrastic?”
“I was hoping you’d forget about that.”
“Nope.”
“And you’re sure you want to talk about this? Because I’ll tell you the truth.”
She pauses, but then nods. “Yep.”
“I had a private conversation with Krystal at the engagement party and told her what I thought of what she’d done. I haven’t had it out with Caleb or Mallory.”
Though I want to.
Stella glances over at me. “Thanks, Drew. I appreciate it.”
“Mallory started a group chat with everyone. It’s more annoying than anything. If your name comes up, I make sure what they’re saying is nice. I’ve had to call out Krystal a few times for lying. I rather enjoy that.”
I glance at Stella. She’s staring out the window at the passing buildings, so I can’t see her expression. Are we thinking the same thing? That the fact-checking should be coming from Mallory?
“Thanks for sticking up for me. You’re a good friend.”
I rub the back of my neck. “Sorry to drag down the mood.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve made peace with what happened. Or I’m trying to. But it seems you’re sad about something else. What’s up?”
I let out a long breath. “I have an ex-wife.”
She isn’t surprised, which surprises me. I’m wondering who told her about Quinn, when she says, “I saw pictures of your wedding on Facebook. Lauren’s posts.”
I forget sometimes that there are still pictures of me and Quinn together. I deleted all that existed on my end.
“She’s in Blissful for the weekend for Apple Jamboree and stopped by to talk to me at the hardware store. I haven’t seen her in two years. I believed her when she said she hated the town and would never come back. Apparently, she regrets the divorce and wants to date me.”
We sit with those words between us, until Stella asks, somewhat hesitantly, “Are you still in love with her?”
“That’s a hard no. Not after what she put me through.
” I let out a long breath before getting to what’s really bothering me about my ex-wife’s visit.
“It’s not Quinn that’s made me so upset.
Well, it is, but mostly it’s my dad. I don’t know how much you remember from when my family moved into your neighborhood, but my dad decided one day he didn’t want to be a husband or father anymore.
He packed up and left without a backward glance.
It was years before I saw him again, and he treated me like an acquaintance, not a son. ”
“That’s awful.” Her voice holds empathy.
I give her a side glance. “Honestly, if I hadn’t had Roger as a dad at the time, I probably would have decked him. The thing is, I promised myself I would never date someone capable of leaving me as easily as my dad left us. But I did, and then I ended up marrying her.”
“There’s no way you could have known.”
I pull into the assisted living center's parking lot and into a stall.
“Maybe. It was hard to realize I was living the life I spent so many years promising myself I would avoid. I hope Quinn’s weekend in Blissful makes her remember how much she hates the place and she flees back to California never to return. On that happy hope, shall we go see GG?”
“Yes, let’s.”
I’m a few minutes late, but GG forgives me when she sees Stella. Just like Stella gave me a tour of her library, GG has to give her a tour of the facilities. GG has a comment about everything and everyone, keeping us laughing.
The only downside to the visit is how many times GG refers to us as boyfriend and girlfriend. Then she introduces us as engaged. The next person she stops to talk to, she says we’re newly weds. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell her to stop, she ignores me. She is that stubborn.
Stella doesn’t seem to mind. A few times she’s unable to hide how humorous she finds the situation and laughs.
When I drop Stella back at the library, she hesitates before saying goodbye. If I hadn’t promised my mom I’d go to this wedding party dinner, I’d bail and spend the rest of the evening with her.
“I’ll see you next week in Blissful,” I say.
“Yep. I’m coming up on Thursday, as soon as the papers are signed.”
“You’ll let me know if I can help you move? I can come help any day, any time.”
“Thanks, Drew. But I have it all under control.”
She really does not like to accept help. Every time I offer, she shuts me down.
Well, I guess she’ll be surprised when she arrives in Blissful next week. Sometimes it’s better to skip asking and go directly to the doing.
When I get to the restaurant for dinner, I’m pointed to a private dining room in the back.
I’m running a bit late and expect Caleb to be annoyed at my tardiness.
Instead, I walk into the room and only half the wedding party is here.
The groomsman and Lauren stand along the wall, watching as Krystal and Caleb try to comfort a crying Mallory.
“What’s going on?” I ask my sister. “Where are the rest of the bridesmaids?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. There’s some kind of drama brewing between them. I don’t think they’re coming and Mallory’s rightly upset.”
“So, what do we do? Stand around and watch the drama?”
As if he heard my question, Caleb walks over. “We’re canceling tonight. We’ll try again in a few weeks. Sorry for making you all come out. If you wait a few minutes, the food’s been paid for. They’re boxing it up now.”
Once we have our box of food, Lauren and I go to our aunt Peggy and uncle Neal’s house. We have enough to feed us, them, and Brody.
It’s a much more enjoyable night that I’d have had otherwise, though I do feel bad for whatever’s going on with the bridesmaids. Because of how Krystal treated Stella, I have a suspicion tonight’s drama has something to do with her.