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“And how does she come back to me?”
“Well, for starters, you need to work your ass off to get her to date you again. Send her fucking flowers or a teddy bear. Shit like that. Make her feel important, and don’t give up just because you’re not achieving overnight results. You either want the girl, and she’s worth waiting a million years for, or you don’t. You must decide for yourself.” He glanced down at his watch, “And that’s all the time we have for me stopping by to check on your pathetic ass. I’m happy to hear everyone loves you at work again, except the one person you went back to work for.”
He laughed while I shook my head and walked back into the house with him.
“I didn’t realize shag carpet was a thing anymore. It’s like you really tried to look like a broke piece of shit, eh?”
“Shut the hell up,” I said with a laugh. “It’s temporary, and I needed something quick.”
“That’s easy to see.”
“Hey, Jake,” I said before he snatched his keys off the counter and headed out the door, “I know I’ve already apologized for this, but I am so sorry for walking away while Ash was finishing chemo.”
His face became solemn. I felt like such a piece of shit, but I knew this was part of making amends.
“Yeah, you did apologize, but thank you for saying it again,” he said. “I won’t lie; after you left my wife hanging like that, I wanted to hunt you down in New York and kick your ass.”
I nodded, “Well, if you’d done that, perhaps I would’ve come to my senses a whole hell of a lot sooner.”
He grinned, “And save you the experience of learning all these humbling lessons on your own?” he offered with a cocky smile while glancing around my tiny-ass apartment. “Hell no. I hope you’re stuck in the lease for this shit motel for at least a year while Mickie makes you plead and beg, not getting laid for a minimum of two years—you know, just to ensure that your head is back on straight and the guilt trips and manipulations from your mommy and daddy don’t have their way with you again.”
“Trust me, my parents and I aren’t speaking with one another,” I assured him.
“And when you decide to take their phone call one day?”
“That’ll be a cold day in hell.”
“Listen, dude,” he sighed. “Each of us deals with our parents differently, but from what I can tell, your parents exercise a bizarre sense of control over you. Just be careful. If they didn’t give a fuck what happened to your life before you went back there to do their bidding, they won’t give a fuck when they pop back into your life and act like they care now. Fucked up families are just that…fucked up. And you’ve got to be solid about who you are and whether you agree with their ways of thinking.”
“God, I’d hate to think?—”
“Then don’t think, jackass, know,” he said with a grin. “Fucking know who you are and what you want. Because if you bring Mickie back into your life while you’re still making excuses for your parents’ behavior and not dealing with your issues, you’re going to fuck up worse than before.”
“That isn’t going to happen,” I said. “I’m going to get my girl back, and I don’t care if my family accepts her.”
“Good,” he chuckled. “Now, real cute place you got here, man. I can’t wait to watch you climb that ladder and get the life you fully deserve.”
“Well, grab some popcorn because it will be quite the show.”
Chapter Fifty-Six
Mickie
I exhaled, trying to figure out where I was supposed to put this life-sized teddy bear. Should I put it in the corner? No, I can’t do that because of the various vases of roses lining that wall. I couldn’t put it in my office chair because I would need that to consult with my new patient today.
The gourmet candy, truffles, and cupcakes lined the other three walls, and my office officially looked like a bakery merged with a floral shop on Valentine’s Day. I had no idea what the hell I was going to do with all this shit.
“Dr. Smith?” Presley said after three wraps to my door as she peeked in. “Holy shit!”
“Yeah,” I grinned. “There’s cinnamon swirl candy apples over there in the corner if you want some?”
“No,” she laughed. “What the hell is all this?”
“Don’t even start. What brings you in?”
“Well, I needed help with some charting, and if I weren’t allergic to pollen, I’d probably come in, but I can’t with all of this. Lilies, roses, daisies, tulips?”
I widened my eyes in humor. “Yes, and they all represent something about everlasting love, forgiveness, grief, or repentance. You name it, and my doctor’s office is a sudden florist shop for people to enjoy.”
