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And it all made sense. It explained why Max would say yes.
“You don’t wear a ring.” I pointed to my left ring finger that was also without jewelry.
She shrugged. “Hard to cook with it.”
Max poked his head out the door. “What’s the cause?”
Took me a second to realize he meant the luncheon and not Eric, who I’d never met but spent the last minutes thinking about. “Mrs. Muffy DelMonte wants to feed the starving migrants in Slomestikan.”
I expected a comment, but instead, he just nodded his head. “Tough situation there.”
It was. I’d certainly raised money for worse causes.
Four times.That was how many I locked and unlocked the door before I could leave it alone. I was really on the edge for needing to seek some help. My therapist and psychiatrist understood my personal limits. I wasn’t sure they agreed with them, but everyone understood I would call if I hit six lock-unlock events or if I couldn’t sleep for three nights in a row. Also, a whole slew of other things, but those were the bordering events.
I leaned my head up against the door. “Pull it together. Nothing is wrong. You did something bad. You can’t fix it, but you can try to make it right. That’s the best anyone can do.” I put my hand on the door. “Taking personal responsibility. You’re not a terrible person.” I hit the door with my open hand. It burned. “You should find a way to get a pet. It would be nice to come home to some kind of pet.”
Stepping from the door, I went to my kitchen and poured myself some cereal. That was all I could manage tonight. If I’d been Bridget, I would have found something funny to say back to him when he’d made the sex joke or stared him down so he exploded into ash right in front of her.
If I’d been Layla, he wouldn’t have said it. By now, he’d have understood, because she wore her heart on her sleeve, that she never meant to hurt him. All would be forgiven.
But I was Hope. Absolutely hopeless Hope, so lost in her string of self-worth issues and secrets that I could barely stand myself.
“Enough.”
I sat down at my table and ate my cereal. I would not think about the smells coming from Max’s kitchen that I’d distinctly ignored when I was there. What had that been? Something with garlic.
Nope, I wasn’t thinking about it. Not at all. No.
Later that night, lying in my bed, I was just about asleep when my phone dinged.
Do they even eat?
Did who even eat? I had no idea who had just texted me.Sorry. Who is this?
Max Broadley. Have you forgotten me already? You’re harassing me with your helpfulness.
I rolled my eyes.How did you get this number?I didn’t give out my personal one on the website. I had a business cell phone number public.
His texts were fast.You handed me your card.
That was right. I’d written on the special cards printed with my private line. It was more like a social card, for people I either wanted to be friends with or friendly acquaintances I could invite to things like Muffy’s events. It was sort of awful, but we all did it. I used person A, they used person B. Such was life.
You gave it back. In like three seconds, if I remembered correctly. In fact, I was pretty sure I still had the card in the pocket of my pants.
I can always remember numbers. It’s a gift and a curse. He paused before he texted back as I digested that information. Max Broadley. Rememberer of numbers. Restaurant owner. Veteran.So do they eat?
I rolled onto my stomach.Everyone eats. If you don’t eat, you die.
Do they actually eat a reasonable amount of food, or should I just make finger foods for them to pick at?
I thought about it. I’d never had a chef or a caterer ask me that question before. Usually, they just handed me a menu. Depending on my client, I either chose the food or asked them to do it.The second. They’ll never notice because it’s lunch that you didn’t do a whole sit down.
The phone rang, and I answered. He didn’t say hello and neither did I. We just had a few moments of silence on the line before he spoke. “I hate texting.”
It wasn’t my favorite thing either. “I don’t blame you.”
“I was thinking of eggs. Specialty eggs. And maybe some finger foods. With gluten free, dairy free options.”
