AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re not the first one to say that to me,” he said.
That should be enough of a wake-up call for him, but even though he was saying the words, I still don’t think they were registering.
“You might want to think long and hard about what you just said,” I told him. “We’ve been friends for a long time, but even I will draw a line at what I’ll take from you.”
“Understood.” He added, “I’ll send you the tickets and you’ll have them tomorrow. Enjoy the show.” Bob ended the call.
I had no idea what the tickets were for, and I really had no intention of using them. Still glad he was trying to make amends. It’s more than I expected.
Dressed and ready, I grabbed the keys to my truck and headed to meet Randi at the restaurant. She’d sent me a text earlier saying that it probably would be easier to meet there. Since I had been in the middle of laying a ton of stone, I agreed. Now I wish I hadn’t. I didn’t consider myself old-fashioned, but I liked to pick my date up and drop her off at home. Yet Randi’s independence is another thing I found attractive about her.
It didn’t take long for me to arrive, but her car was nowhere in sight. I waited outside for a few more minutes, and she didn’t arrive. I called her phone and she answered.
“Hi Sam, are you here?” she asked.
“I am. Are you far?” I questioned.
“No. I’m inside. My car decided to blow a radiator hose on the way here, so I had it towed to the shop. Hope you don’t mind giving me a ride home.” she said.
“I’ll be right there.” I ended the call and went inside to find her sitting at a booth. When I sat down, I asked, “Why didn’t you call me? I’d have come and picked you up.”
“I did call, but it went directly to voicemail. I figured you were busy or making another call,” she explained.
“Yeah. I was on the phone with Bob. He said he’s been trying to reach you, but only gets your voicemail,” I said.
“On purpose. I don’t want to speak to him. Not because I’m afraid of what he’ll say, but more afraid of what I will. I know he’s your friend, but I’m not happy with him at all. He messed with my business, and that’s something I don’t tolerate,” she said firmly.
“That’s pretty much what I told him. I’d like to think he learned something from all of this, but I’m not hopeful. Letting it go to voicemail is probably a wise choice,” I told her.
“Since we’re talking about Bob, let’s talk about the room. When can I come by and start packing up all that stuff?” she asked.
“I can do it myself. There’s no need for you to waste any more of your time.” Randi had told me she’d just picked up another client. I was positive that she hadn’t scheduled time to disassemble a room at the same time. “I promise to box it all up so nothing gets damaged, and you can use it in someone else’s home.”
“Sam, I can’t use that stuff in anyone’s home. It’s been opened,” she said.
“But I haven’t used it. It’s new,” I said.
“No. New is when I take it out of the package. I could never in good conscience put it in someone else’s room,” she explained.
“What are you going to do with all this stuff then?” I asked.
“It’s all going into the trash,” she stated.
“That’s a huge waste of money,” I said.
“Bob’s money. Not yours or mine. Just my time was wasted,” Randi said. She reached out and touched my hand. “Sam, can you do me a favor?”
“Of course. What is it?” I asked.
“Let’s not talk about Bob or the room. At least not tonight.”
“Deal. Why don’t we order and then maybe take dessert to go?” I suggested.
“That sounds great.”
Dinner went by so quickly and we each ordered a piece of blueberry cheesecake to go. When we arrived at her house, she asked, “Would you like me to make coffee to go with dessert?”
Normally I would say no because it was a Monday night and I had to be on the job site at seven. But I was also in no hurry to end this night either.
