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Sir. That always wounded me. The word was respectful, but it also reminded me I was in my forties. “A burger, medium, no onion, and fries are fine.”
The waitress took our menus and shortly came back with our drinks. Once she popped the cork and poured our glasses, she moved on to the next table. Phoebe still sat way too stiff. She reached for her glass and took a hefty sip.
“You’re a bad influence,” she said.
I shrugged. “I’ve been called worse.”
“Oh, I know.” She finally cracked a smile, and it felt like the biggest fucking victory. “Don’t let me drink too much. I need to be able to function tomorrow.”
“I don’t know. The last time you drank too much, I had front row seats to a lovely strip tease.”
She smacked a hand over her face. “It’s been killing you not to bring that up, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“I was drunk. I don’t know what I was thinking. Can we just pretend it never happened?”
“You can pretend all you want, but the memory of you in that black lace set will forever be imprinted on my mind.”
“I hate you.”
I could have asked if that was why she left me, or why she avoided me for fifteen years. But she had enough weighing on her at the moment. We’d have time to talk about all that shit later. For now, I needed to get her to relax and try to forget, even if just for tonight, that she’d have to face her stepmom tomorrow.
“You still keep in touch with Shelly?”
A genuine smile touched her lips, then bloomed. “Of course. She’s married now. Three kids, two dogs, and a hamster named Buttercup.”
“Buttercup?”
“Yup. I get pictures sent from her daughter Lola.” She reached into her bag and slipped out her phone. She tapped the screen a few times and turned the screen to me. A little blonde girl with no front teeth, holding a hamster up, stared back at me.
“She’s adorable.”
“I might be biased, but she really is.”
“And what about you? You never wanted kids?”
“Somewhere along the way, I blinked and life flew by. It’s hard to believe it’s been eighteen years since college.”
Not exactly the best way to brighten her mood, but she’s talking, sharing, and I didn’t want her to stop.
“What have you been up to that time has flown by?”
“Working mostly.”
“How long have you been with Green Mountain?”
She ran her finger along the top of her glass. “Ten years this September.”
“What about the other eight?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I traveled? Literally roamed from one country to the next, never having a permanent residence. When I returned to the states, I’d stay with Shelly.”
My glass stopped halfway to my mouth as I stared at her. I wouldn’t have believed her. Not when the girl I knew wouldn’t even go into a fast-food place by herself. But the person looking back at me wasn’t that girl anymore. “How’d you support yourself?”
“I worked every odd job I could get. A lot in hotel services, which gave me the edge for this job. But I also sold my mom’s house. I lived off the money for years.” She took a sip of her wine, her gaze drifting somewhere distant that only she knew. “Before she died, we had made plans to travel. Cross all these places off her bucket list. When she died, I was lost.”
“I know.” I’d held her in my arms so many nights, never letting go and never wanting to. If she needed to cry, then I would be the void for her to cry into. Her mom’s death didn’t just make her lost; it absolutely devastated her.
