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Even with the beers in me, our conversation on Thursday was crystal clear in my mind.
* * *
“Okay, okay,” Carl said, lifting his head and finally locking gazes with me. “I gotta talk to you about something, bro. Something important.”
“What?” I said, not bothering to hide my annoyance. I still needed time to chew through everything that had just happened with Aspyn, and I didn’t have time for some bro heart-to-heart, and if this were about some bank or money shit, I was going to lose it.
The only reason I didn’t buy the land outright myself was I wanted a partnership with Carl as a way of paying him back for being there for me when I really needed it. If some bankers were screwing with him now, I was going to make sure they were sorry.
Carl took a deep breath. “I’m gonna ask Perri to marry me. Like, next time I see her.”
I stared at Carl, waiting for him to crack a grin and start laughing. To explain how it was all a big joke.
Part of me wondered if I’d misheard. I’d been expecting all sorts of things but not something about him marrying Perri.
“What?” I said. “Did you just say you were gonna ask Perri to marry you?”
He nodded forcefully. “Yeah. I talked about this with you before. You said I was being chickenshit or something.”
“I thought that was more of in the future thing.” I motioned with my hand. “Not a soon thing.”
“Well, time’s come, and I’m ready.”
“Uh, why? I mean, I get that you’re into her, but you’ve been into her for a long time.” I shrugged.
“I love her, bro. I really do.”
Again, no silly smile. Complete sincerity. “Sure, you mentioned that before, but why now? Why marriage? You guys are barely together again from your last breakup. You’re the one who talked about how stubborn she is.”
“So what? We go through that all the time. It’s no big deal. She needs some time alone, and sometimes I do. That doesn’t have anything to do with love.”
I stared at him. “So you want to get married? I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
Not that I was an expert on love or relationships. Hell, I was probably the last person who should be giving advice on that sort of thing.
Carl threw up his hands. “Bro, why the hell not? It isn’t high school anymore. We’re not little kids. Why should we wait?”
“I don’t know. Because you can’t keep a relationship going? You’re always hot and cold?”
“All that means is we still have a lot of feelings for each other. We’re not bored. That’s a good thing for a relationship.”
“But you still break up. That’s not a good thing.”
“We don’t really see anyone else when we’re not together, either. We did a little back in the day, but it’s been years since either of us have seriously looked for anyone else.”
I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I don’t get this. You’re constantly hot and cold with Perri, so you think you should get married? That seems ass-backward to me.”
“Bro, I already told you, I love her.”
I wanted to shake him. Didn’t he get this shit wasn’t that simple? Why was he acting like all you needed was love? Life wasn’t a song. I knew that all too well.
“Okay, okay, Carl. You love her, but does she love you?”
“Damn right, she does. I know she does.”
“If that’s true, then why can’t you keep it lasting with her?”
“Because she’s afraid.” He shrugged. “You know how chicks are. They think about shit too much.” He stared at me. “Kind of like you.”
