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Chapter Seventeen
Anne
“I know you’re upset, but have you given any thought to what Andrew said? Was he right?” Trixi asked.
“Does it matter? He…lied to me,” I said firmly, still filled with anger.
“I believe the correct word would be secret.”
“What are you talking about?’ I asked.
“He didn’t lie. Because you never asked the question. He kept a secret, which is totally different,” Trixi explained.
“Not in my book,” I snapped.
“You’re being too hard on him. I’d like to believe that he would’ve told you what he was doing if you had given him the chance. And by that, I mean if I hadn’t called you about the damn rumors. So really, this is all my fault,” Trixi said.
“Now you’re being ridiculous. If you didn’t tell me, someone else would’ve. But that doesn’t change what he did.”
“But you haven’t answered my question. Was he right? Are you able to move The Treasured Chest? I mean, without risking everything?”
“It’s so much more than that. It states that I only have to run The Treasured Chest in the black for one year. It never said where or what that would be. So yes, Andrew uncovered something very important.”
“And you still can’t forgive him?”
I want to. But how can I trust him again?“It’s better this way, Aunt Trixi. No matter what, this was going to end anyway.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute. I heard it in your voice when I called. You sounded…happy. I mean, the type of joy that I heard when you told us you had gotten accepted to Boston University.”
“You can’t even compare the two,” I said.
“Of course I can. Let’s see. Oh, both Andrew and the university are in Boston,” she said.
“And I’m here.”
“Exactly. But think about what Andrew told you. The Treasured Chest can relocate anywhere, even Boston.”
“I’m not moving to Boston to run a strip club. I want to be a paralegal there. Who would hire me in that city after running that club?” I asked.
“You’re forgetting the part that it’s the name of the business only that needs to stay intact. Imagine what you could open The Treasured Chest as? Oh, how about an antique shop. I love going to those.”
“I don’t,” I stated firmly. “And I’m not moving to Boston. I don’t want to be there.” Anymore.
“If you ask me, you’re the one lying about what you want and your feelings. That’s worse than anything Andrew did. And trust me, Anne, it’s not healthy either. All you end up doing is living with regret,” she said.
Right now, I regretted telling any of this to Aunt Trixi. “Okay. I like him. And, yes, I’d like to be in Boston, instead of here in Bermoose. But we don’t always get what we want. You of all people should know that,” I sighed.
“You’re right. And that’s what gives me the right to tell you not to make the same mistakes I did. Carl and I wasted so many years never getting past something stupid. If we had, then maybe we would’ve gotten remarried.”
“Aunt Trixi, you and Uncle Carl loved each other very much. I hardly know Andrew.” That became evident when he finally told me the truth.
“You never know a person totally. Hell, you don’t ever really know yourself, either. All you can do is be open to what the other person brings to your life. If it’s negative, then walk away, but if find you’re more with that person, your hopes your dreams become theirs, then you’re with the right person and you should hold on to them tight. You will have found your soulmate.”
Soulmate?At one point I would’ve considered using that term regarding me and Andrew. But obviously, only one of us had those feelings.
Aunt Trixi made it sound so simple. But that wasn’t the case with Andrew and me. I’ve said things that I meant at the time. Granted, it was in the heat of the moment, but when I had told him I never wanted to hear from him again. Never wanted to see him again, it came from my core. I had been hurt. Hell, I still am.
Andrew doesn’t care. He hasn’t tried to reach out to me. And from what I knew, he wasn’t in Bermoose anymore anyway. He gave up on obtaining the club and left me behind, too. He has his life. I don’t belong in it.
