Page 68 of Finding My Forever

“You guys spent the week together, kissed, and then he just let you leave? No talk to you soon or we’ll see each other soon?”

I shook my head and stuck a few stems of baby’s breath in the vase and walked it to the fridge. Sky slid another order across the table. I scanned it and groaned. Another dozen red roses.

“What did you say? Did you fight him at all?”

Did I? Did I vocalize my feelings? Did I do everything to try to salvage our relationship?

“I could have done more.” The realization was like pouring salt into an already painful wound. “I should have told him I had developed feelings for him. What did I have to lose? If he didn't feel the same, I would have left the next day and been here, sad. Now, I’m here and I’m sad, and he doesn’t know how I feel.”

Sky set down the flowers she was working with and stared at me. “That’s the most honest thing I think you’ve said in a long time.”

I shrugged and gathered the supplies for my order. “It doesn’t change anything though. I’m too late.”

“Why don’t you call him or send him a message?”

I laid out the flowers and checked the vase for dirt or cracks. “Because it’s been three days. If he felt the same, he would have reached out by now.”

“April, I know you’re smarter than that.” She shot me a look before continuing. “You can make the first move. You can still tell him.”

“I can’t do it.”

She slapped both hands on the table, scaring me into silence. “April Benson. Listen to me! You met your soulmate last week. You fell in love last week. You have three weeks to say I love you to each other or that necklace around your neck that you and I have been talking about since we were in preschool will turn into nothing but a pretty decorative piece. I will not stand by and let that happen when I know you can do something about it. I’m not asking you to hire a plane to write in the sky for him. I’m not even asking you to call him now and tell him how you feel. All I want is for you to contact him. Start with a hello, tell him you miss him and the city, and see where it goes.”

I was frozen in place. Sky was not one to raise her voice. I’d be surprised if my mom didn’t come back here and see if we were okay. She wasn’t wrong though. I didn’t need to make a dramatic proclamation to him. I just needed to talk to him. See if maybe he missed me too.

“Okay.”

She eyed me. “Okay?”

“Yeah, you’re right. Pouting across the country isn’t going to change anything. I’ll text him after work.”

“Do it now.”

“Why?”

“So I know you’ve actually done it.”

I ignored her and finished the order in front of me. I could feel her eyes on me the entire time. After I set the vase in the fridge, I wiped my hands off on my apron and pulled out my phone.

I waved it and pulled up his name. What could I say to him? I wanted to say something funny or lighthearted but what if that wasn’t enough? What if we fell into a habit of skimming the surface? I wanted our relationship to progress at the rate that it had been moving in New York. That wasn’t possible though. That had been the result of a series of perfect events.

Just do it. I wrote a quick message telling him I was thinking about him and what today was before sliding my phone in my back pocket.

“You did it already?”

I nodded and grabbed another order. Ugh. White and red roses. Did every guy share the same brain? Maybe mom should start making other recommendations, not that they would listen.

“What did you say?”

“I said It’s been a week since we met.”

“What? That’s it? That’s no way to start a conversation. That’s a statement. It doesn’t require a response.”

I shrugged. Conversation had come so naturally for us. I didn’t think it had to be forced now. We continued working for the next two hours in near silence. I didn’t want to check my phone every three seconds so I kept it in my pocket until our shift was over.

When I pulled it out, I couldn’t tell who was more excited to check, me or Sky? The screen lit up revealing a message from Beth, but nothing else. I opened the message but it said the message had been delivered, but not read. Maybe he hadn’t seen it yet. I did the math in my head. He would probably be at rehearsal right now. The thought allowed me to breathe again.

“Nothing.”