Chapter 8 Wes
I’m still fuming as Erick pulls up to help me fix yet another fence post at the park. He calls himself my friend, but couldn’t have given me a heads up about the complete mess of a situation I was walking into earlier today.
“That date was terrible!” I yell at Erick as he gets out of the car. “You could have told me that Courtney was like that. She poked Rose’s bird! Why in god’s name would you think we would have been a match? And sending me to Rose’s shop without even so much as a heads up? What the hell?” I look at him expectantly and hold up the fence post for him to nail in.
Erick laughs nervously. “My aunt thought you’d think Courtney was cute and was pressuring me to set her up. I haven’t talked with Courtney in a couple years—we’re not super close—and I thought you were just doing me a solid and not taking this too seriously. You even said yourself that she was leaving in a few days and you just wanted to ‘get out there.’ And as far as Rose goes, you haven’t mentioned her, aside from asking about her one or two times over the years. How was I supposed to know that was still a thing for you after all this time? Poor Rose though, is Wilfred okay?” Erick moves forward, dropping a new post in and grabbing his hammer, handing it to me.
“Yes, the bird will be fine. You even know Wilfred? Come on, Erick.” I can’t help glaring into the back of his head as he continues working. “It was horrible, I think she hates me, or at least she was upset seeing me again. And what do you mean you didn’t know about Rose? You knew we were together before I left, and that look you gave me when I was leaving the house today . . . I feel like you knew.” And by together I mean that I was only completely in love with her.
Straightening up, Erick holds his hands forward. “Okay, I knew it was Rose’s shop and thought that might be interesting for you to run into her. But I was more curious than anything else. You’ve been gone for so long and I didn’t think that it would be such a big issue.” He pauses and I deflate a little. It seems he had good intentions after all, just very poorly executed. And he’s right that I never clearly told him how I felt. Even I didn’t think it would feel like that to see her again.
After a pause, he adds, “So, maybe it wasn’t such a bad date after all, eh?” Erick bumps my shoulder with a smirk before picking up his tools and heading back to the truck. “Hop on in. I’ll give you a ride back to the station.”
“You’re right. It’s my fault too. I didn’t mention it because I’ve been too worried about seeing her again. It’s been so long, things have changed, and I was anxious about what she would think. I thought you said she had gotten over it?” Exhaling a long breath, I slide into the passenger’s seat and glance over at him, the rusty door creaking shut.
“She was really quiet after you left and then her dad died. I assumed you guys were still talking, and then, after a while, she sort of changed. She never asked me about you, but it seemed like she wanted to a few times. She had other boyfriends, went to college. She’s single now, though.”
My heart stutters and I have to pause before shaking my head and adding, “I didn’t talk to her. Not once.” Because I was a huge jackass and didn’t want to bring her into my stuff. But my brain catches on the fact that she’s single and my thoughts stop there.
“That’s surprising, I thought you said you really cared about her. Why didn’t you call her?” Erick looks at me confused, which I totally understand.
“I did really care about her. That was the issue. There was so much shit going on and I was so depressed that I just didn’t know how to talk to her, or anyone, for that matter. Don’t forget, it was almost a year before I even talked to you . And I was young. We were fifteen.” I bury my face in my hands, suddenly feeling lightheaded. “I thought I’d get my crap together and then be able to call her when I was doing better, but then her dad died, and with how I left, I figured I had ruined it.”
“I’m sorry, but man, why didn’t you bring her up, or ask me about her at all?” Erick gives my back a reassuring pat. “I would have understood. We’ve talked about everything else, so why didn’t you tell me?”
“It was too hard. I was dealing with everything with my family, and then I was scared you would say she had moved on with someone new and I didn’t want to hear about it.” I lean towards the window and stare out at the trees just past the path, blowing in the evening wind.
“After I heard her dad passed, I felt like I’d failed her. And after more time passed and I came out of my depression, it just seemed like it had been too long. I never knew if I would get back here again and was worried it would only cause her more pain for me to reach out. My mom said she had a boyfriend at some point . . .” Sighing, I sit up and look back towards the road, slamming my hand against the dashboard, my eyes surprisingly glossy. How did things end up this way?
Erick gives me an encouraging look to continue, to let it out.
“She was everything to me back then and I fucked it up. I assumed she’d have five kids and be married. But again, I was too nervous and too worried to even ask about her. It was like if I didn’t talk to her, didn’t acknowledge what happened, how I messed up, then maybe things would just stay the same. We could stay those same two kids before everything got messed up.”
“Well then let’s fix it. Get you that shot at talking with her again.” Erick smiles at me and I know I’ve won the jackpot in friendships.
“How? She’s clearly angry with me, and for good reason. But something happened for me today—seeing her again, talking with her. I don’t know, I felt something for her. Is that crazy though, after all this time?”
“Not at all man, let me ask around a little bit.” My gaze shoots over to him and he holds his hands up. “I’ll ask around delicately , to doubly make sure she’s not seeing anyone, and then see if we can find a time to have you guys accidentally bump into each other again. It’s bound to happen anyways in this town, she can’t avoid it forever.”
That’s true.
“As long as you’re being careful asking. I don’t want Mabel to find out about this.”
“Never.” Erick laughs and shakes his head and we continue on down back to the station.
“Hey, by the way, what’s the deal with you and Tonya? I know you aren’t into her, but what’s going on there?” Since we’re having this “man” talk, it seems like as good a time as any to clear things up.
“We went to dinner once and she seemed really into me, but we just didn’t have that spark.” He looks out the window thoughtfully and I wonder if there’s someone he’s thinking of who he does have that spark with. Before I can comment on it, he adds, “Not like you and Rose, apparently.”
“We’ll see. Also, I have to tell you that that’s the last time I’m doing anything for your aunt,” I say sarcastically. Wiping my eyes and looking forward, we can see the sun starting to go down across the water, bathing the park in shades of pink and orange. The waves gently rush over the rocky shore in the slight breeze and the mosquitos are just starting to come out. Summer is almost here.
“Understandable. If you had an aunt around here I’m not sure I’d do something for her either after what you just went through.”