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It takes me five tries before Laura finally accepts my answer that I would love to stay but have somewhere else I need to be.
Like back at the hotel so I can scream into a pillow for the rest of the night. Very important stuff.
I don’t even try to argue with her when she grabs a to-go container from one of the shelves before we walk back outside. She takes it out to the picnic tables, piling it so full of food she can barely get the lid closed. She adds a Styrofoam bowl filled with lobster bisque with a lid on top, along with plastic silverware and napkins, before handing it over to me.
“I wrote my number down on one of the napkins,” Laura tells me as I take the food. “Call me if you needanything.Or to just tell me how it’s going. I’m leaving for my honeymoon tomorrow, but if I don’t hear from you in a few days, I’m going to track you down and check in on you myself.”
I barely know this woman, and yet I know she’s serious. Not wanting her to miss out on any part of her honeymoon because of me, I promise her I’ll check in. And then I walk away from Laura Bennett, once again feeling like I was just run over by one of those perfect, TV sitcom moms I didn’t think existed in real life.
I’m a few blocks away from the Dip and Twist when my phone dings with a notification, pulling me out of my daze. Seeing it’s a new text from Ryan just brings the butterflies in my stomach back, along with a whole bunch of rage.Hefucks up, and now I have to deal with the consequences? This is bullshit. Knowing his stupid text is just going to tell me the roommate situation isn’t going to work out anymore, I start to put my phone back in my pocket, fully planning on ignoring it, and him, until the end of time.
But then another notification dings, and I figure maybe telling him off will make me feel better. Stopping in front of a souvenir store, I unlock my phone screen and click on his text.
Ryan:I’m sorry. I’m really, really, really sorry. I shouldn’t have run away like that. I just… That was a little bit of a shock, wouldn’t you say?
Ryan:This one time when I was eight, I heard about this movie calledSaving Private Ryan, and I really wanted to watch it, because, you know, it was about a Ryan. And my dad kept telling me no, saying I was too young to watch it, but I didn’t believe him. So, I found it on our TV on pay-per-view, and I snuck my dad’s credit card, and I rented the best movie ever! And then a few minutes into it, I realized I had rented something calledSaving Ryan’s Privatesinstead. What happened today was way more shocking than that.
“Who does he think he is, trying to be all cute?” I mutter with a shake of my head.
Even though I can’t stop smiling. I quickly wipe the grin from my face and remember I’m pissed at him, and I fire off a reply.
Me:You have a fucking girlfriend.
I watch the three little dots show up, disappear, show up, and disappear again. Right when I get ready to send him another text with every curse word I know, another text comes through.
Ryan:It’s… complicated.
Me:I’m going to punch you right in the face. What’s so complicated about it? You either have a girlfriend, or you don’t. It’s a yes or no answer, Ryan.
Ryan:I promise you that I absolutely do NOT have a girlfriend. I swear on the bible, my grandmother’s life, and the Ghostbusters Firehouse Lego set that took me twelve hours to complete.
Me:Why did you say it was complicated??
Ryan:Okay, not complicated. More like super embarrassing and completely mortifying.
Me:Well, now you HAVE to tell me.
Ryan:I will. I swear. Are you still coming over in an hour? We can talk then.
Me:You’re kidding, right?
Ryan:No, I’m not. I already got the guest bedroom all ready. It won’t be weird. I swear. We’re adults, and we can act like it, right?
“Fuck.”
Looking up from my phone, I spend a few minutes people-watching. I don’t know if I believe him, but do I really have any other choice? The hotel is sucking my bank account dry. I need to start painting again. I need to start making money and feeling like myself again. All this time without being creative, and I feel off-kilter.
No. Absolutely not. I can’t move in with him! He’s my brother’s friend, and I kissed him, and he has a complicated girlfriend situation.
I’ll just have to figure something else out. But I guess I can at least give him a chance to explain. He’s right. We’re adults, and we can act like it. I can be just as mature about this as he is.
Me:Fine. I’ll be there in an hour. Your explanation better be a good one, or they will never be able to find your body.
