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“You don’t have to say anything. Your face says it all,” Dad says with a little more of a smile.
“I don’t understand why telling her about the building is a positive, Dad. You knew we needed it for expansion.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “We would have figured something out without that building, Lath. You’re a smart man and one hell of a businessman. I saw it when you were working here part time after school and on weekends. You love this place and what it represents. If push came to shove, I knew you’d do whatever it took to keep the doors open – with or without the building next door.”
His words sit heavily in my gut as I take in his compliment, as well as trying to figure out his motives.
“There is a way for you both to have your dreams, Lath. You just have to figure out how.”
I close my eyes again, her face instantly filling the darkness. “I don’t know how.”
“Yes you do,” he says as he stands up. “Let’s go sign those papers. We have a big undertaking in front of us and we need to get the ball rolling. Plus, you have to figure out how to win back the woman you love.”
Sure, Dad.
Easy.
* * *
The next two weeks fly by in a flurry of tearing down walls and rebuilding new. Replacing the old front window into something more modern and more energy efficient is top priority, while trying to decide how to tell the woman I love I’m an asshole is the other.
No, wait.
Check that.
She already knows that.
I need to tell her I was wrong, plain and simple.
I stay late, trying to help get our expansion ready. The contractor we are using has made great progress these past two weeks, and now the plumber is coming in to update the plumbing in the small bathroom in back. We’re going to make this one a public bathroom for customers, something we don’t have on the larger, original side of the business.
The worst part is knowing she’s on the opposite side of the wall, and I can’t do a damn thing about it. I’ve caught sight of her a few times, entering or leaving her shop, but she doesn’t look around – doesn’t even give one over the shoulder glance at the building positioned between her business and mine.
The pranks have stopped. Those petty tricks between two sworn enemies, turned lovers, I’ve come to love and expect as part of my day…gone. It’s been almost three weeks without them, without her. Each day is hell, but it’s also one day closer to getting her back.
Will she have me?
That’s the big question, one I try not to dwell too much on.
Instead, I focus on what I can control.
The expansion.
I move to the front of the building. With my hands shoved in my pockets, I glance around the new space. This might very well be my favorite part of the upgraded building. The floors are hardwood, a deep, rich walnut that complements the freshly painted earthy taupe walls. The interior space is nearly complete, and then the contractor will work on refinishing the roof, and I’ll put the finishing touches on the room.
Flipping off the lights, I head back through the brick archway into our existing space. Dale is finished closing down the register, so I flip the last of the light switches, and gather the moneybag for tonight’s deposit. “I’ll drop it off. I’m gonna head out back and work for a while.”
Dale gives me a pointed look, but doesn’t say anything. He knows what project I’m referring to, knows how late I’ve been working into the night to get it all completed. But it beats the hell out of tossing and turning all night long in my piece of shit bed, wishing my arms were wrapped around Harper.
“I’ll take it, Lath. I’m parked on the side. It’ll be easier for me to head out the front and drop it in the night deposit box,” our faithful employee says.
“If you insist. I don’t mind, though,” I say, engaging the lock.
“You just want to walk by the undies store and catch a glimpse of the pretty owner,” he teases, knowing full well he’s one-hundred-percent correct.
I shrug my shoulder. “Maybe.”
Dale snorts. “Ain’t no maybe about it, boy.” Dale takes the bag from me and heads toward the front door. I follow so I can lock up behind him. Before he exits the building, he turns back and says, “You’re doin’ the right thing, Lath. She’ll see it.”
