Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
STELLA
During the next week, Julia settles into her new home surprisingly well. She’s self-sufficient and doesn’t need much from me, but I do make sure she gets breakfast before she leaves for school.
Each night after dinner, she sits in the living room and does homework while Drew plays his guitar and I work on writing the mound of thank you notes I owe. No more of us cuddling under blankets or taking breaks to kiss. I get a lot further on my to-do list with our teenage chaperone.
Occasionally, I look up and watch the two of them. I love my bookstore and how it’s transforming to match my dream, but I love what the three of us have together more. We feel like family.
After Julia goes into her room, Drew and I say a long good night on the landing outside the door.
“I didn’t think we’d have to worry about disturbing kids for a few years,” he says one night after kissing me silly.
I hide my blush in his shoulder. Every time he makes comments about our future together, it makes me so happy I don’t know how to contain all my feelings.
Saturday morning, the music is loud in the bookstore.
Julia and I sing at the top of our lungs as we continue to clean and sand down the bookshelves.
Drew and Roger work to rebuild the staircase to the children’s book nook they took out earlier this week.
The sturdy stairs and banister are much needed upgrades.
I look around the store, excited about how far we’ve come. We open in three-and-a-half weeks. Once we paint, I get to do the best part: unpack the new books set to arrive in twelve days. I can’t even believe this is my life.
The bookstore’s door bell jingles merrily as it opens. I spin around to greet Lana with her daily delivery of bread.
Instead, I stop face to face with Mallory. She looks around with a huge grin on her face, like it’s Christmas morning and she’s taking in everything Santa brought. Caleb stands behind her and reminds me of a grumpy dog forced to follow behind his person.
Drew stops the music and for two seconds everything is quiet. Then Mallory throws her arms around me in a hug. I stand statue still, too shocked to reciprocate.
“You bought a bookstore and didn’t tell me!” Mallory says through her laughter. “I had to find out from Caleb’s dad, and boy is he unhappy with you!”
This is confusing on several fronts. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
She pulls back and touches the ends of my hair. “Your hair is so short! I love it! It suits you perfectly.”
“Thanks?”
She twists her head back and forth, making her long hair fan out behind her. “What do you think? Should I get my hair cut to match?”
Getting matching haircuts was something we did in college. The memory makes me smile a smidgen.
“Not this close to your wedding,” I say.
“Good point!” Mallory looks around the empty store. “You quit your job and bought a bookstore! Seriously, why wouldn’t you tell me?”
That is a stupid question, and doesn't deserve a response.
“What are you doing in Blissful?” I ask.
She points over her shoulder at Caleb where he still stands by the door. “He has some stuff to do here for his dad. I tagged along so I could see you!”
But after so long, why? I want to ask. I don’t; I’m afraid of the answer.
Drew moves to stand next to me.
“Hey, man,” Caleb says with a chin lift in his direction.
“Hey,” he responds. He lays a hand on my lower back. I’m instantly comforted.
Mallory’s eyes narrow as she takes in the sight of us together, but doesn’t comment. “We want to take you out for lunch. It’s been too long since we talked. You dropped off the edge of the earth. Poof! Just disappeared.”
I blink a few times in surprise. I’m the one who disappeared?
Mallory continues. “Where’s somewhere good to eat?”
I’m confused at what is going on, but decide I’d like to figure it out. Whatever it is she wants to talk to me about will probably be painful, but how much more can she hurt me? The worst has already happened.
I answer, “Corner Café.” Except I don’t want Caleb to come. I’ll be uncomfortable talking with her if he’s listening. “How about just the two of us?”
Mallory’s over the top smile falters.
I tug on my ear.
Drew is no dummy. “Caleb, Roger and I could use help with the stairs for an hour. Do you mind?”
He looks at Mallory, but nods, as if he’s relieved. “Okay, sure.”
“We’ll bring you all lunch in a bit,” I promise.
Once out on the sidewalk, Mallory loops her arm through mine. I don’t know how to feel with her familiarity. There’s annoyance. A little bit of anger. Surprisingly, some happiness. I’ve missed her.
Most of my books on the tables outside are gone. A few people are flipping through what’s left. My librarian heart is happy so many books have found good homes.
Mallory doesn’t talk as we pass the next few storefronts, so I do.
“What does Caleb’s dad have to do with Blissful? And why does he care about me buying the bookstore?”
“He owns business property all over Arizona. He planned to buy the bookstore next year, but then you swooped in and stole it out from under his nose. At least, that’s how he tells it.
When Caleb’s dad mentioned it at dinner the other night, I didn’t believe him.
” She studies my profile. “I still don’t.
Why would you make such a drastic life decision?
You love the library. It defines who you are. ”
It irritates me that she assumes she knows me so well. Maybe she did once, but she’s not a Stella expert anymore.
“The last time we talked,” I say, “You told me to stop waiting for my life to start. So I stopped waiting and went after what I wanted.”
She snorts a laugh. “I didn’t mean for you to move to this tiny town and buy a bookstore! You always live life in the slow lane. That’s not bad; it’s just you. You’re perfect the way you are. Or, were.”
My irritation grows. “Really? That wasn’t what you were telling me months ago when you reneged my spot as maid of honor.”
She ducks her head, and her smile disappears. “Sorry. I’m doing everything wrong.”
We reach Corner Café and snag a small table inside by the front windows.
“I’ll order,” I say. “You save the table.”
I don’t need to ask what she wants because she always gets the same thing when we go out. When I return with her small fry, pumpkin shake, water (without ice), and chicken nuggets, she speaks as soon as I sit down.
“I’m sorry, Stella.”
Her smile from earlier is completely gone, and she taps her fingers nervously on the table top.
“That’s what you should have said the moment you walked into my store.” I fiddle with the fork for my salad, but don’t pop off the plastic dome. “I’d like to hear what you think you’re apologizing for.”
She rubs her forehead. “Sorry. I’m nervous. I’ve screwed everything up.”
I dip a fry in ketchup and bite off the end, more to keep my hand busy than because I’m hungry. “I’m listening.”
She chugs down half of her water. “I want us to get back to where we were before I messed up, but I don’t know how to fix this rift between us. Will you give me the chance to make it right?”
I chew another fry as I think about what she’s asking. She treated me terribly, but that doesn’t undo seventeen years of friendship. The apology helps. I miss her and I want to be friends again, but not in the way we were before.
“Yes.”
She lets out a breath she must have been holding and leans forward. “Thank you, Stella. So much has happened since the engagement party. If I could go back and do things differently, I would. After you stopped talking to me—”
Um, no. “I’m not the one who stopped talking.”
She blinks rapidly and swallows. “Let me try again. After the engagement party, Mackenzie started acting really weird. Krystal said it was because she was jealous, which I thought was odd. I was getting married. I didn’t win ten million dollars in the lottery.”
Her fingers continue to tap on the tabletop.
“Then it was Virginia, who was blowing me off all the time. Krystal said Virginia didn’t like the bridesmaid dress I picked out.
It sounds so stupid now. I should have talked to them directly, but I trusted Krystal.
And you know me; I’m not good at tough conversations.
Krystal and I spent more and more time together on wedding plans.
You’d think she was the bride because she’d keep pushing until I agreed with her on everything.
All the while, other friends avoided me, and I couldn’t figure out why. ”
I know where this is going, and I feel vindicated. For all the times I’ve talked to Mallory about Krystal, she never once took my experience seriously.
“Caleb honed in on Krystal before I did,” she says.
“I didn’t believe him at first, but he encouraged me to talk to my friends.
When I finally did, Mackenzie and everyone else thought I was saying horrible things about them behind their backs.
Krystal told each person a different story, and I still don’t know half of it.
It’s a huge mess. I moved out of her house and blocked her on everything I could.
She’s out of my life for good, and I’m left to pick up the pieces and rebuild friendships.
I just want to get married surrounded by my friends and family! ”
I’m empathetic to her situation. Krystal is my nightmare. I never expected she would become Mallory’s too. “I’m sorry you’ve gone through this.”
“You don’t think I deserve it?” She shakes her head and gives a sad smile. “No, of course not. Because you’re kind. You always give a person the benefit of the doubt. Or at least, I hope you do in this case.”
I’m not sure what to say, and let her continue.