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Grant put the kettle on, and soon they were all sitting around the table with grilled cheese, sliced veggies, and steaming cups of tea. Joy brought her mug to her mouth and blew on it. “All right, honey, as much as I adore you and you’re always welcome here no matter what, I can already tell something is up. Spill.”
Rayma heaved a heavy sigh and slumped into her seat. “Jordan’s back in town.”
Joy’s blue eyes went wide and quickly drifted to Grant. “Did you know?”
Grant shook his head and shrugged. “Why would I know?”
“Because … because …” Joy sputtered before tossing one hand into the air. “I don’t know why, but it feels like something you would know. Maybe he texted you to go for a beer or something.”
Grant shook his head. “He hasn’t. And I didn’t know, because if I did, so would you.”
Joy frowned for a moment, then nodded and gingerly sipped her tea. “I take it you’renothappy that he’s back then?”
“He’s got a girlfriend.”
“Ah.”
“Or at least he did when I ran into him on Friday. Then he showed up on my doorstep today and said they broke up. He claims it wasn’t because of me, but we both know damn well it was. And I just don’t know what to do. Or what to think.”
“Are you worried about the woman he broke up with?” Grant asked, holding a half-eaten sandwich in his enormous hand.
“Jordan says that they parted amicably. That she got a job offer in Nova Scotia and told him to get back together with me because he loves me. But I don’t know …”
“Jordan’s not one to lie,” Joy pointed out. “If that’s what he says happened, then I’m inclined to believe him.”
“Yeah, I am, too. But still. He thinks that just because he’s back and dumped his girlfriend that we can just pick up where we left off. Forget about the last three years, or the fact that he ghosted me, that we’re different people now. I mean, I’ve lived a lot since we ended, since our last conversation, our last text.”
“I know you have, honey, and I’m so proud of all you’ve accomplished and done. But Jordan’s probably lived a lot, too. And now you can bring those new experiences and stories, along with fresh perspectives about the world into this new relationship, right?” Joy grabbed a baby carrot off her plate and bit into it. “Unless, you’re truly over him?”
“I’m not and you know it.” Rayma rolled her eyes. Grant chuckled softly.
“Then what’s really stopping you from giving it another try?”
“I just don’t want to get hurt again. He hurt me so badly when he just stopped all forms of communication. I can’t put myself through something like that again. I won’t. Add in the fact that he expects me to be this open book, meanwhile, his pages are stuck together with Krazy Glue. It’s not fair and I shouldn’t be expected to justaccepthis double standard.”
“Does he know he hurt you?” Grant asked. “Does he know this is what you need of him?”
“Yeah.”
“Then I doubt he’d do it again. Maybe he’s changed and is a more open person now?”
Rayma dismissed that notion with a stiff head shake. “But he could hurt me in another way. And the fact that I love him, that he’s the only man I’ve ever loved, if he hurt me again, in any way, I don’t know if I have the strength to recover from itagain.”
Joy rolled her eyes and waved her hand around. “Oh fuck that noise. Of course, you do. It’s not like he drove a machete through your chest, or will cut off your legs with a rusty chainsaw.”
“Well, that was unnecessarily graphic and morbid,” Grant murmured.
Joy ignored him. “He’s aboy. But he’s not a stupid boy, unlike some of those other bozos you’ve dated. He would learn from his mistakes. And we all make them. We all end up hurting the people we love once in a while. It’s unavoidable. It’s also what makes us human. The difference is whether he does it to hurt you intentionally or unintentionally, whether he owns up to his mistake and whether he genuinely apologizes. And as far as strength goes, girlie, you’re the strongest bitch I’ve ever met. So don’t give me thatI don’t know if I have the strength to recoverbullshit. Or you can get the fuck out of my house right now, because you’re not the Rayma Young I know.” She pointed to the door, then casually sipped her tea while lifting one brow over the rim of the mug challenging Rayma to disagree with her.
“The queen hath spoken,” Grant said, his face wreathed in smiles.
“Damn straight she has,” Joy said. “That is my royal decree.”
Grant rolled his palm sideways in front of his chest and dipped his head in a mock bow. Joy dipped her head in acknowledgment before her face broke out into a big grin.
Rayma rolled her eyes.
“You know I’m right, honey,” Joy said. “You’re just too stubborn to see it.”
