11. Chapter Eleven #2
“Okay.” Maybe if I hurry and get this over with, it’ll be the fastest breakup before someone has their official first date, ever.
“First there was Colton. He was my college boyfriend, and we were serious. When we graduated, I moved to St. Louis to be close to him. He thought it would be more economical if we lived together. I didn’t want to do that before marriage, so he proposed.
Seemed like a good idea until…” Was that a car on the street? Maybe that’s Jack with our pizza.
“Until?” Hunter prompts, squeezing my shoulders.
“Well, I wanted to tell my family in person, so that weekend I drove up and told my mom. She gave me a look, and I burst into tears. I realized I didn’t want to marry him. So, I got back in my car, drove back to St. Louis and broke up with him.”
“Ouch.” He shakes his head.
“Right. A couple of years later, I was dating a guy from Galesburg. His name was Pete. We dated for about eight months, and then he proposed. Again, I said yes, told my mom, she gave me the same look, and I knew in my heart that I didn’t want to marry him.”
I give a deep sigh. There it is. I’m a pushover who can’t make the right choice with one of the life’s most important decisions.
“See,” I say, bracing for his rejection. “You don’t want to date me now. I understand.”
“No,” he replies.
Ugh, I knew it.
“Wait!” he laughs. “I didn’t mean no to dating. I meant no, that won’t keep me from dating you. The only thing I take out of that bit of info is that if I decide to propose to you someday, I’m going to your mom first.”
I’m so relieved. He’s probably jinxed our relationship from ever getting that far, but at least he’s willing to give me a chance.
“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Let’s go on that first date first.”
Hunter laughs. “Deal. Now, about those crackers.”
“Right.”
I shift to stand up, but Hunter pulls me into a gentle hug. He sighs against my forehead. Before letting me go, he places a soft kiss on my temple.
If I don’t watch it, I’ll fall in love with this man before our official first date.
I don’t know how Hunter does it. He works during the day, comes here after work to help me build my website, and then goes back to his mom’s place to paint or repair something until midnight.
Rinse and repeat.
It’s now Thursday evening, and Hunter says we will release the website to the world tonight. I’m giddy and nervous at the same time.
I made spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner, eager to impress Hunter with my limited culinary skills.
Hearing footsteps on the stairs, I open the door and call, “Hunter?”
“It’s me.”
He walks into my apartment with his laptop bag over his shoulder, a bottle of champagne in one hand and a bouquet of daisies in the other.
“Looks like you’re ready for a celebration,” I say.
“I am. As soon as we hit launch on the website, we’re popping the bubbly.”
We eat quickly and clear the table for our workspace. While Hunter is making the final tweaks to the website, I’m reviewing the inventory system against the detailed physical inventory I took this afternoon.
An hour later, we agree that everything is ready to go. We set a countdown clock on Hunter’s laptop, and when it counts down to zero, Hunter hits the launch button on the website.
We jump out of our chairs and do a happy dance in my kitchen. Hunter grabs the champagne from the refrigerator, and I get glasses.
We toast, sip, and Hunter grabs me in a tight embrace.
“We did it,” I say, the words muffled into his chest.
“Yes, we did. ”
He sounds somber, and for a moment, I think this is it: his job is done, so he’ll leave, and I won’t see him again.
I look into his eyes and see the warmth and care in them, and I know it was just my insecurity talking, my constant worry is that my partner-picker is still broken.
“What a relief,” I say lightly, pushing my doubts aside.
Hunter kisses my forehead and releases me, walking to the couch and plopping down.
I follow and sit beside him. “You look exhausted. Are you getting enough sleep, between helping me and your mom?”
“I’m fine. Just relieved. There will be more validation to do, reports to run, and processes to iron out, but I think you’ve got it from here.”
“I hope so.” I set my glass of bubbly on the wooden coffee table, an old steamer trunk and lean against him. “Thank you again for your help.”
“My pleasure.” He puts an arm around me and holds me close to his body.
I yawn, and he chuckles. “Tired?” he asks.
“It’s been a busy week. Are you going home this weekend?”
I don’t want him to go, but he said he was just staying this week to help his mom. He said that he’d knocked off most of her to-dos.
“No, I’m staying another week. There’s no hurry to get back to the city.”
I sit up and look at him, shifting my body so I don’t have to strain my neck. “Really? That’s good, I think. Is there something at home you don’t want to deal with?” Does he have a roommate problem ?
“No, things are fine there. It’s just my mom. I’m worried about her.”
“Oh.” He hasn’t talked about her this week. “What’s going on?”
“My dad left a few weeks ago.”
“Really? Why?”
Hunter leans forward, clasps his hands in front of him, and stares at the floor. “Says he’s done being married and wants to be single. He’s an idiot.”
“I’m so sorry, Hunter.” Reaching out, I put my hand on his. “I didn’t know. That’s heavy.”
This might explain the worry and angst I’ve been seeing flit across his face ever since last weekend at the festival.
“Yes, it is.” He lets out a long sigh. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to bring you down. We should focus on your website launch. This is a celebration.” He turns his head towards me and tries to smile.
“Hey. That was a task. A business task at that. What your family is going through is more important than a website. Let me know what I can do to help. You, or your mom, or your sister. I’m here for you all.”
“That’s all I need, to hear that you’re here for me. That means more to me than you know.”
He pulls me into a hug, and I try to convey everything I’m feeling right now through my embrace. Everything from gratitude to trust to deep friendship. What else could it be after knowing this man for over twenty-five years?
It’s been less than a week since reuniting, but I’m already feeling the start of something special between us.