AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t you regret being loyal to me?”
“No. I learned too much to regret it. Doesn’t make it hurt any less, but I don’t regret it. I probably would have wondered my whole life what would have happened if we got together. I don’t know if I would have moved on otherwise.”
“Have you? Moved on?”
She shrugged one narrow shoulder. “I’ve started to, I think. Seeing you with your family helps hammer in that it’s over. Mostly with an instinct to get out of this town. I think … I think I didn’t want to start over. But I’m starting to see that it’s the only thing I can do. Seems like the same for you. Presley told me you’re leaving.”
The sound of her name burned like acid in my chest. “I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Marnie frowned. “Didn’t sound like you were on the fence to me. Everybody’s been counting down to your leaving. It’s part of why Evan wanted to move up the vote, if I heard right.”
“You didn’t. God, this town and its gossip.” I eyed her. “Did you say something to Presley?”
“Only that I wasn’t surprised you were leaving. It’s kind of your thing.”
“I didn’t leave you.”
“No, but you’d already left me when I finally said the words. You were always running away. You did what you had to do, fulfilled your duties, then left to suit yourself. I just didn’t know there was anything big enough to change your mind. I probably should have guessed a child would do it, but I didn’t believe there was a universe that existed in which you’d have one.”
“Neither did I.”
A wan smile brushed her lips. She changed the subject. “How are you feeling after the march? I’m sorry. For what happened to you.”
“I’m fine, just mad. Your dad got what he wanted—I don’t know how we can get the votes we need anymore.”
“Goody’s is going to be good for the town,” she insisted. “Haven’t you seen the reports?”
“Those reports are doctored.” When she looked confused, I added, “You have to know that.”
“I’ve heard all the speeches, read all the literature. I’ve listened in on calls with Goody’s, been privy to a couple of meetings. It’s all above board.”
“We had another study done that paints a very different picture than Goody’s does. And there’s a strong suspicion that your father cooked the books to suit his bias.”
“Well, how is your study unbiased?”
“Because it’s the truth. Marnie, look at small towns across the country and see what happens to them when Goody’s comes to town. Imagine just for a second that I’m right. That within a year, Main Street would be a ghost town of half-empty shops. Just picture for one second that your father, in his push to get Goody’s into town, designed everything to win. What if he did plan to stop our march with his own rally, one he knew would end up in a fight?”
“He wouldn’t do that,” she insisted, but her doubt was unmistakable.
“You sure that he wouldn’t do whatever was necessary to get what he wanted?”
She didn’t answer.
“I’m not trying to turn you on him. I just want you to ask yourself if he’s telling the truth, not just to you, but to the town. Is he doing this for us or himself?”
“He loves this town. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt it.”
I sighed. “I hope you’re right.”
We stood for a moment in awkward silence before she finally spoke.
“Well, I hope you figure out what to do about … about everything.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry you were here for all of this, that you had to see it happen. I’m sorry for everything, even back to when we were kids. I wish I’d just let you go instead of coming back for more, knowing we’d just keep hurting each other.”
“It wasn’t just you. I loved you. Love you. And that made me stupid enough that I kept hoping one day you’d change your mind. That someday, you’d look at me like you look at her. And that was my fault just as much as it was yours. I may as well have been waiting on gravity to reverse.” She chuckled sadly. “But that was my lesson to learn. What was yours?”
I thought for a moment, sifting through the quagmire of my emotions before grabbing one sobering thought. “That I can’t force myself into a place I don’t belong.”
Again, she was smiling in that sad, wistful way that hurt so badly. I braced myself to take my licks—I’d earned them.
“Well, I’ve got some work to do …”
“Sure. Sorry to keep you,” I said, stepping back. “I’ll … see you around.”
“In this town, probably sooner than later.”
And with nods and polite smiles, I walked away.
The sun painted the sidewalk through the trees, and I walked through the shade, taking in the familiar buildings and faces and sounds.
