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“Tonight? Mr. Becker–”
“Please?” I said. “They are short chapters. You see, this friend of mine, she’s leaving to go back to her hometown and if I don’t get this all figured out before she goes, she may never forgive me for the awful things I said to her, and then I’ll never forgive myself, and it’ll all just be a huge mess.”
Mrs. Kendal made a sound like she was clicking her tongue against the top of her mouth. “I get the sense that this author means a lot to you.”
“She really does.”
“And you’re clearly trying to use this grand gesture as a way of winning her back,” she said.
There was no point in lying. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“I’ll tell you what, Mr. Becker. I will read the chapters tonight, and I will get back to you on publishing them, but only if you listen to a word of advice.”
“Alright.”
“Don’t be the grand gesture, empty words guy.”
“The what?”
“All those romantic movies end right after the grand gesture. The girl takes the guy back, and then the credits roll. We never see what happens afterwards, but if the earlier behavior of the guy is any indication, then he just goes back to treating her like trash and all that he said in his grand gesture turns out to just be empty words.”
I frowned. “That’s a very bleak way of looking at things.”
“Bleak but realistic. So just don’t be that guy, okay? If you’re going to win her back, then make sure that you actually deserve her. Treat her well evenafterthe grand gesture, because if you really loved her, then you should’ve never treated her badly in the first place.”
I looked down at my lap. “I know that.”
“Good. Send me the chapters. Ask Cynthia for my email.” Then the woman hung up on me, and I was left sitting there feeling an odd mixture of guilt and excitement.
* * *
It took a lot of convincing, but eventually I got Lily to give up the name of the hotel where Stephanie and her mom were staying. I went there that night, after receiving an email from Mrs. Kendal, telling me she was very interested in reading the rest of Stephanie’s book, and that she was likely going to publish it, assuming the rest of the chapters were as good as the first few. I was so excited, I could barely contain myself. I ended up telling Lily all about my plan and she must’ve thought it was good enough to warrant me a visit with Steph because she told me not only the hotel but the room number.
I left Will with Ezra, who had just the other day offered to be more involved. Then I went to the hotel and didn’t hesitate for a moment before going up to Stephanie’s room. I knocked on the door and her mom answered.
“You must be Mrs. Lynn,” I said.
“And you must be Matt.”
“How’d you know?”
She smiled with only half her mouth. “You look like your picture. Don’t think I didn’t Google you before I sent my daughter to a new city to work for you.”
I laughed. “Protective. I like that. Speaking of your daughter, is Stephanie here?
She looked over her shoulder, but didn’t open the door wide enough for me to see into the room. I heard whispering and then the sound of the floor creaking as someone else came to the door. Stephanie replaced her mother in the open doorway and looked at me with a straight face. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” I said. I couldn’t help but smile. I was so happy to see her. “Can we talk?”
She sighed but stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind her. “What?” she demanded, folding her arms.
“Stephanie, I’m so sorry,” I said. “I don’t know if you got my message, but ever since you told me you were pregnant and I said all that terrible stuff, I’ve just been feeling like the worst man on the planet. I should’ve never responded that way, and I know that me showing up and saying sorry doesn’t make up for everything, but I was hoping it could be a start.”
She nodded. “It’s a start.”
“And there’s more,” I quickly added. “I was talking to Will earlier, and he said he was reading the chapters of your book that you gave him, and that got me thinking—I promised to help you get the book published and I intend to make good on that promise. So, I made some calls, and I found a publisher who wants to read the rest of the book. I think she’s really interested in publishing!”
Stephanie’s jaw dropped. “What? For real?”
