Chapter Chapter Twenty Four #2
But twenty minutes came and went, and Knox didn’t show up. I bit the inside of my cheek, playing with my phone. I started to send him a message but wasn’t sure what to type. What could I possibly say? “Hey, are we still on? Did we break up? What in the hell is going on?”
As I waited for him in front of the school, it dawned on me that he simply wasn’t coming. I knew what that meant.
I was in a state of disbelief as I drove home, a million questions filling my mind. My eyes were red and stinging.
I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. Maybe I’d relax and watch Netflix.
I was bone-tired. Truthfully, being a teacher was my dream job, though it also sucked away all my energy.
I was rarely in the mood to socialize in the afternoons and evenings.
But I couldn’t sit still. That’s why I started to bake.
Hell yeah. I was going to use everything I had in the fridge.
I’d done that a few times on a whim, and it usually turned out surprisingly well.
I had all sorts of weird leftovers: a bit of mac and cheese, some minced meat, Spanish chorizo, spinach, and cheese.
I decided to use all the spinach and cheese.
While I took out the flour and everything else I needed, my phone beeped. I nearly dropped the bag of flour in my haste to get to the counter. Surely, Knox was—nope, it was my mom.
“You’re on speakerphone. I’m moving around the kitchen.”
“Baking?” Mom asked.
“Yup. Spinach and cheese pie.”
After a short pause, she asked, “Did you have a bad week?”
I stopped in the act of putting flour in a bowl and frowned at the phone. “What do you mean?”
“You make spinach and cheese when you’re upset.”
I blinked. “Really? I had no idea. I just found it in my fridge.”
“Darling, you’re one of the only people who buys spinach every week because you actually love it. And you also have cheese all the time. You just don’t put them together in a pie unless something went awry. Anyone giving you grief at school?”
I hesitated, unsure what I should share with my mom. After all, I hadn’t told her about me and Knox. We rarely spoke about my love life. “Not exactly.”
I finished filling the bowl with the flower, brought it to the counter, and then mixed in the butter. “Um, so, remember I told you some time ago that I was meeting Knox?”
“Yes. But that was quite a while ago.”
I sighed.
“You started dating him.”
I nearly dropped the bowl. “Mom, how do you know that?”
“Darling, I always thought you had a thing for Knox. And I always wondered why nothing happened. But it wasn’t any of my business, so I didn’t ask.”
Mom had never been nosy. Not even when I was a teenager. Whereas all of my friends sneaked behind their parents’ backs, she always said, “I trust you.”
“Yes. We did start going out.”
“So, he’s the one giving you grief.”
“Sort of, I think.”
“Darling, there is no ‘I think’ when it comes to men. When one is giving you grief, you absolutely know it.”
“You’re right. He is giving me grief. And I’m so confused.”
“About what?”
I loved making dough. It calmed me down.
“The reason Knox and I never went out is because he’s a bit of a ladies’ man.”
“Oh dear.”
“Yeah, and I’m... Well, you know I’m different.”
“Yes,” she said in a measured tone. “I don’t know anyone else who’s come up with two different scenarios for their dream wedding.”
Mom knew all about it, of course.
“Anyway, this thing between us started casual, since my plan to find my soulmate definitely wasn’t working out. But it became more serious, or at least that’s what I thought. He even asked me to move in.”
She whistled. “That is serious.”
“I know, right?” I threw the hand holding the pastry cutter in the air and got dough everywhere.
Oh well, I’d just clean up later. “He brought it up this weekend, and on Monday, sent me names of moving companies. Then today at school, he came and told me that if I wanted to date someone else, he didn’t have a problem with that, and that his offer to move in had been premature. ”
“What the hell?” Mom bellowed.
It felt good to hear her get angry on my behalf.
“That’s very weird and a jackass move,” she went on. “And out of the blue, he told you to date other men?”
“Not out of the blue. He overheard Agnes offering to set me up with her brother.”
“And he got his ego scratched,” she stated matter-of-factly.
“Not at all. I figured that he’d be all possessive or something, but he wasn’t. Just smiled and said that if I want to go on a date, he’s fine with it. Almost like he was doing it for my own good.”
“Oh, Amy. I’m truly sorry. I don’t have any advice. But I can commiserate with you.”
“Thanks. It does help.”
“Is there anything in your fridge for a happy pie?” she asked.
“I like spinach and cheese.”
“I know, but it gets you into a sad state of mind. Do you have anything sweet?”
I rolled my eyes even though she couldn’t see me. I always had something sweet.
“Know what? You have a point.” I washed my hands of flour and then put the cheese and spinach back in the fridge. I looked around and said, “I’ve got some cream cheese and honey. Oh, and raisins.”
“See, that sounds delicious.”
“You always say that you don’t give good advice, but I disagree.”
“Honey, I just encouraged you to make a better pie. Do you want me to come and hang out with you?”
“No, that’s okay.” I’d always liked to sulk by myself.
“I can cancel my plans.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to the movies.”
“With Helen?” Helen was one of her closest friends.
“Yes. A new flick she thinks we’ll like.”
Honestly, I was pretty sure they just went to the movies to have theater food.
“Have fun. And eat popcorn for me as well.”
“Will do, honey. Let me know if you need me, okay? I’m always here for you. Always.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
After hanging up, I was a bit regretful that I didn’t tell her to stop by. I could use a mom-and-daughter evening. But I didn’t want to be too needy and interfere with her plans.
I focused on the pie, taking out nutmeg, vanilla extract, and everything else I needed. I kept checking my phone from time to time. Surely Knox was going to say something—anything. It wasn’t like him to ghost me... unless he truly wanted to break up. But that couldn’t be.
My heart felt heavy.
As I finally put the pie in the oven, I took a deep breath. Who told their girlfriend to go out with another guy with a smile on his face? It wasn’t normal.
Oh, I was getting so angry at Knox! And my anger needed some fuel, so I decided to make myself a cocktail.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the right ingredients for a margarita.
I could just open a bottle of wine—although I was more of a cocktail girl, I wouldn’t say no to wine in a pinch.
I only had cheap carton wine, but it was better than nothing.
So, after putting the pie in the oven, I poured myself a glass and watched Netflix.
I almost called Knox just to give him a piece of my mind, but decided not to. If he thought I should date someone else, maybe I should.
The only problem was that I didn’t want to search for my soulmate anymore.
I’d already found him.