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After half-heartedly declining Mia’s invitation to come inside, she quickly changed her mind and shuffled into the living room to introduce herself to Alex. Then she proceeded to riddle him with a dozen fast-fire questions, the last pertaining to his “intentions” there with Mia. Which, of course, he didn’t dare admit. But he played along with her interrogation, entertained by it all.
“Margaret, please,” Mia pleaded with a groan. “Alex is just a friend from college who had a spell of bad luck tonight. He needed a place to stay, and we have a spare bedroom.”
“Of course you do.” Mrs. Harper’s silver puffball of hair nodded in agreement. “’Bout damn time you used it, too. Word of warning, young man: those bedsprings may squeak a bit. To my knowledge, they haven’t been used in quite a while.”
With a wink, she bid them goodnight. Mia mumbled something to her as she ushered her out, then leaned against the closed front door with a sigh.
“I’msosorry you had to endure that inquisition. Margaret is as curious as a cat.”
Alex laughed. “I’d say she asked so much because she cares.”
The elderly woman’s mind seemed as sharp as her tongue, dropping quick zingers about Mia’s ex—whom she clearlydidn’tcare much for—amid her questioning. Hopefully, Alex passed whatever test she’d just administered so she wouldn’t feel the need to spend the rest of the weekend playing Peeping Tom.
“Del and I adore her and her two sisters in town, too. They’ve been great mentors to us over the years. But sometimes neighbors just get a little too involved, you know?”
He nodded, but in truth he didn’t know. Alex didn’t have neighbors who looked out for him like that back in Indy. In all fairness, he hadn’t been home enough to develop relationships with them.
“Anyway, thanks for being a good sport. I doubt she’ll bother us again before you leave tomorrow.”
“She was no bother, really.”
He looked away, still unsure how to bring up that there were apparently no car rental places around here that were open on Sundays.Must be a small-town thing.Del had admitted to the oversight in communication on their way over to Mia’s, but she’d left before broaching the subject with her sister. Part of Alex wanted to tell her now, to get everything out in the open. The other part sensed she might take it better if he pretended not to know. Then, when they looked up the store hours online tomorrow, he could be just as surprised as she was.
More lies. This definitely wasn’t his usual MO. But he was relying on Del’s advice now: what Mia didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. Surely, her sister would know best. Besides, if she was that eager to get rid of him tomorrow, he could call an Uber supposedly to pick him up and take him to a bigger city that had a rental place open.
“Anyway, I really need to get started grading those papers,” Mia said. “You should have everything you need upstairs, and there are extra towels in the main bathroom for your shower. Feel free to take whatever you want from the kitchen—what’s ours is yours. And if you need anything that you can’t find, just holler.”
“Thanks again for giving me a place to stay, Mia. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Really, it’s only one night—no big deal. Besides, this is on Del, not you. She’s a sneaky one, sometimes.”
Alex felt a rock settle in the pit of his stomach. Had he made a mistake, trusting Del so easily when she offered him a way to get closer to Mia? Unfortunately, it was too late to back out now.
He headed upstairs to the guest room and set his laptop on Mia’s crafting desk. Though dark outside now, he could picture how cozy a space this was when daylight poured in from the front-facing window. He sat in her chair and pictured her reaching for this supply or that, trying to perfect her next classroom project.
Was she happy being a small-town elementary school teacher, or did her heart long for more? Bigger schools? Grander adventures?
His thoughts wandered to his own career. Working sixty to seventy-plus hours a week, year after year, hadn’t bothered him until learning that one of his favorite customers in Evansville was battling stage four colon cancer. Watching Tom Garrison whittle away before his eyes had been a wake-up call: Life was short and there should be more to it than work, work, and more work—a concept Alex was still struggling to adopt.
Though Tom had gone into early retirement to enjoy what days he had left with his family, Alex had kept in touch with him, gleaning life lessons from the sixty-three-year-old. He texted him now, praying he’d had a good day.
How you holding up, buddy?
Still breathing, so I’m calling it a win. Status update?
Alex grinned. Yes, they had shared a conversation or two about his regrets with Mia and the longing for her that’d resurrected after seeing her on television this fall.
Initial meeting was chilly, but her sister encouraged me to keep trying. Staying close tonight, will try again tomorrow.
Atta boy, Tom texted.And remember, with women, honesty is the best option. Lay all your cards on the table. If she walks, it’s on her, not you.
Honesty. Alex looked around the guest room he didn’t truly need. It was probably best to leave all this out of the conversation.Will do.
Feeling melancholy, he made a quick call home to his parents. His mother answered and was dismayed to hear about his “car issues” but relieved to hear Alex was all right. She promised to pass the news along to his father and wished him safe travels back.
Alex disconnected and set his phone down, needing to put some distance between him and the lies. What he envisioned would be one, had now snowballed into several. How many more would there be before it was all said and done?
However many I need to win her over.
