“What? It looks so real.” Val hands me back my phone.
“They’re actors,” I say with a shrug.
“That’s a valid point. And really, sis, now I’m wondering if you could ever trust him. He could lie to you so easily. But at the same time, he seems so genuine and good. I don’t feel like he would.” Her face was thoughtful as she collapsed on the sofa beside me.
“I don’t either.” I look back at our picture. “Wait. You said their relationshipwasn’treal.”
“Oh yeah. He ended it.”
“FOR YOU?” Val jumps off the sofa, and stares down at me in shock.
“Yep.”
“Oh, girl. This is your chance.”
“But I barely know him.”
“You’ve got the chance to get to know him.”
No. As much as I might want to, I’m not going to.
We go to Greenwich Market to shop and have lunch. It’s a mix of vendor stands and brick-and-mortar stores. I’ve seen glass art, prints of paintings, handmade clothes, and a booth containing truly intriguing flavors of hot sauce. We have snacked our way around the place. Mine and Micah’s favorite was the Coxinha. It was served to us by a tiny Brazilian woman. The chicken, cheese and spices were battered and fried. Peter said they looked like dinosaur tears, and they did. I mean, if a dinosaur were to cry.
I’m standing waiting on Val to finish her Chinese dumplings when an ice cream stand catches my eye and makes me think of Alex. Until then, I’d done a surprisingly good job of keeping my mind off him as we shopped, but it’s the waffle cones that take me back to him.
I feel good about my decision, but does that mean I can’t miss him? No. But I definitely don’twantto think about what might have been. I’ve made my choice and it’s for the best.
Still, I wonder what he’s up to today. Has he gotten another one of his aunt’s crazy riddles? I wish I wasn’t so curious about what’s in his grandfather’s box. Is it mementos? Is it gold bars? Is it empty with only a note that says “Sucker!”?
Would it be too inappropriate for me to ask him to let me know? Probably.
“You want my last dumpling?” Val asks, handing me her tray, already knowing I’d want it.
“Thanks.” I pop the bite in and wish I wasn’t already stuffed. I’d go get more if I had a place to put them.
We continue walking through the outdoor part of the market until a light sprinkle of rain turns into a downpour, forcing us—and everyone around us—into the nearest store: a shop containing antiques and collectables, and about twenty too many people for the small space.
I stand pressed up against the window with Val and Juniper. The boys were pushed to another part of the store.
“This stinks,” Juniper says as she attempts to step further from an older woman’s giant pocketbook.
“It surely won’t last long,” Val says.
“We can find something in here to distract ourselves,” I suggest. I look around and only see people crammed together. My eyes don’t land on a single item for sale that we can talk about. “Maybe there’s something outside?”
We all turn to look out the window, and there isn’t much to see. Through the curtain of rain, I can see quite a few people huddled under the awning in front of a jewelry store.
“There’s Alexander!” Juniper says in a near yell as she points through the rain toward the people.
“What?” There’s no way he’s here, huddled under an awning with strangers.
“Where?” Val asks.
“Look on the right, underneath the W. He’s wearing jeans, a black t-shirt, and a white hat,” Juniper supplied.
Val gasped at the same time my eyes landed on him. I’m not convinced; the rain’s heavy and the man is looking down. It sure looks like him, though, which is a big compliment to the man if he’snotAlex.
“You should go see him. How romantic would that be for you to run through the rain to get to him?”
