Page 56 of Rigid

“Single scoop, waffle cone, butter pecan, please.”

“Oh my God,” I said. “I should have got butter pecan.”

The clerk looked at me and then at Craig. “She’s going to be fun to be around, huh?”

“Oh, it’s not mine,” Craig said. “We’re just friends.”

“Oh.”

I paid for the ice cream, and we sat down at a high-top table. “I’m nervous.”

He took a bite of his ice cream. “About the daughter?”

“Uh huh.”

“Just be yourself,” he said. “If you’re you, she’ll love you.”

“You think?”

“I know.”

“I sure hope so.”

He took another bite. “So, are you ready for the move in?”

I shrugged. “I think so. I don’t know. I mean, not really, but kind of.”

“Indecisive much?”

I looked up from my cone. “What do you mean?”

“Yes, no, maybe.” He held his cone to the side and shook his head. “Make a decision, Sandy. Life works much better when you commit yourself. When you don’t, your heart’s not in it. And, when your heart’s not in it, you’ll fail. Every time.”

“Oh. So, if I tell myself I’m ready to do this, it’ll work out just fine?” I asked in a sarcastic tone.

“No. You can’t just tell yourself. You’ve got to commit.”

“How do I do that?”

“Believe? I think that’s the first step. Believing it’s what you want.” He took a bite of his cone and then looked at me. “I’m moving in with Mr. Biker, and I’m so ready for this. Whatever it takes to make this work, I’m prepared to do. I will not accept failure. You say that, and you mean it.”

“It’s that easy?”

He munched about one-third of his cone, and then nodded. “Pretty much.”

“I do want it to work, I just have my doubts that it will.”

He took a few more bites of the cone and then shook his head. “With an attitude like that, it won’t.”

“Won’t what?”

He poked the end of the cone in his mouth, chewed it, then swallowed. “Work out. If you’re sitting here doubting it, you’re setting yourself up for a failure. You’re destined to fail before you ever start.”

Ice cream ran down the cone and onto my hand. I grabbed a napkin and wiped it off. “I’m trying to be realistic.”

“Just because every other guy you’ve been with is a douche, it doesn’t mean this guy is.” He dabbed the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and then turned to the side. “Good?”

I nodded.