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“Oh, and you’re going to problem-solve now? You’re going to take yourself out of the equation for the greater good?”
“No.” Dang her. She read me too easily. The thought had definitely crossed my mind. “I’m not taking myself out of your life. I promised you I wouldn’t do that again, and I’m way too selfish to do that anyway. I’m just thinking maybe we should not blow up your entire family by moving faster than we need to. Backing off is not the same as backing away.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
There was a pause, and then my phone buzzed with a text from her. A line of vomit emojis. I loved her so much. I put down my phone and rubbed my eyes. Why had I been such an idiot all those years ago?
“Isaac, listen to me.”
I picked up the phone again and brought it to my ear. “I’ll always listen to you.”
“Eddie is fine. He’s staying the night at my parents, and you’re invited to come over tomorrow and help him around the house and with some yardwork.”
“Am I going to end up stuffed in a vent somewhere?”
Carmen laughed. “No, because I’ll be there, too. Also, I have a feeling you and Eddie are going to be great friends. He’s got a hot head, but a really good heart.”
“I’m sorry I told you our friendship was dumb and made you feel like you were anything less than the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“I know that, Isaac. But I’ve moved past it, so you need to as well.”
“Be honest with me, though. Did I… send you on a course where you felt like you needed to prove yourself in a relationship? Where it was hard for you to be yourself?”
Carmen blew a long breath out. “I used to think so, but no. And before you protest, let me explain. I was a really awkward kid, and just because our friendship didn’t last, doesn’t mean it wasn’t there for me when I needed it. You made me feel seen and understood. I was told to shush a lot, especially at school. But that didn’t happen when we talked. You went along with my crazy ideas.
“If I had never met you, I still would’ve been a late bloomer. I still would’ve been like, ‘oh, wow, this is what it’s like to be noticed by boys, and if I do a little more of this and less of that, they’ll notice me even more.’ I still would have stumbled my way through some stupid relationships. I’m not mad at anyone for that. Not even me.
“So, no. You did not wreck anything. But yes, you did make me sad there for a while, and I may have used your face as a dartboard to make myself feel better. Eddie helped. He put some nice extra holes in your nostrils. That’s probably why he knows your face so well.”
“Dare I ask which picture?”
“It was your seventh-grade school picture. You looked pretty smarmy in that one.”
“I bet.” I laughed to myself, and the stress that had been eating me up inside eased in a way only talking to Carmen could do. “So, you’re okay?”
“Yes, but I could use a hug. Which is why I’m on my way to you.”
“You are? Don’t do that. I’ll come to you.” I got up and started looking around for my keys. It didn’t matter that I was in sweats and my hair was permanently standing on end from running my hands through it. We could meet at Steamers. I’d probably fit right in with the hipster crowd. Stress-casual-chic.
“Don’t get in your car. I’m pulling onto your street in just a minute. I’m sneaky like that. Here’s how this is going to work. I demand hugs in compensation for all your former mistreatment of me. Lots of them. Then we’ll be even forever, and we don’t have to dredge all this up again. Do you accept my offer, or would you like to counter?”
“I accept.”
I went to my front door and stepped out in my stocking feet, rubbing my hands up and down my arms against the sudden cold. I could see Carmen’s VW Bug cruising up my street, and we grinned at each other as she pulled into my driveway, parked, and got out.
“Hey,” I called out.
She ran up and hugged me around my middle, burying her face in my chest. “That one was better,” she murmured.
“That one what?”
“That ‘hey.’ It was less angsty.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
She let go and looked me over, her gaze stopping to linger on my white socks.
“You want to come in and slide on my wooden floors, don’t you?”
