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“The better part of a year or so,” she blurted. “Maybe a bit longer than that, depending on how you look at things.”
Wanting her to feel comfortable enough to share, to know I wasn’t going to judge her and just wanted to listen, I said, “We’ve got the time, if you want to talk about it. I’d love to hear it.”
Indy inhaled deeply and kept her eyes focused on mine as she considered my words. Then she shared, “I did something really stupid and went against everything I believed in. I made a terrible decision, and it was the biggest mistake of my life.”
This sounded horrible, and it wasn’t exactly the conversation I thought would be ideal for a romantic dinner. But for some reason, I was beyond intrigued and desperate to know what she’d been through. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to know everything about her.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It started about a year and a half ago,” she revealed.
Indy then went on to tell me all about how she’d been working at a job she didn’t necessarily love, even if it was one that offered her security and stability. It gave her the ability to pay her bills and save up money for the photography classes she wanted to take. She told me how she had her own apartment and was, for the most part, happy with the life she was living.
Indy revealed how she’d been dating a guy for quite a while when he’d urged her to join him in his new business venture—running a cannabis dispensary—and how she’d agreed to it. She claimed it was the worst mistake of her life, something she deeply regretted.
And finally, Indy shared how things had been going exceptionally well for a long time with the growth of the business, even if her boyfriend refused to stop spending money. When things took a turn, and he still refused to pull back on the unnecessary spending, it put them in a horrible position.
She lost nearly everything, including him, and she had to move in with her best friend.
Throughout it all, she entertained my questions and spoke candidly about the situation. It surprised me that she didn’t seem interested in hiding anything, and I thought it said a lot about the kind of woman she was.
She’d made a mistake, somehow found a way not to place all the blame on her ex—someone I believed deserved all of it—and did what she had to do to try to rebuild.
“I know it probably seems horrible now, and it was likely the worst while you were going through it all not knowing where you’d wind up, but I think and hope there will come a time in your life when you’ll look back and realize what happened was all necessary. Like you said about that avalanche stranding you here—it was a blessing in disguise. Maybe the thing you think was the biggest mistake of your life was actually meant to be something else, something far more significant in a good way.”
For a long time, Indy’s eyes held mine in silence. The silence stretched on for so long I started to think perhaps I’d overstepped. But then, she finally responded, easing my concerns.
“That’s the first time anyone has ever made me look at it from that perspective,” she returned. “I’ve been living so much in the moment, mostly out of desperation, and the most I could manage to see was a few days ago. I think you’re right, though. Something about what’s happening now, between being offered this new job and meeting you, feels like something I should be grateful for. Maybe it wasn’t the worst decision of my life, after all.”
Nothing made me happier than to hear that.
I reached across the table, our empty plates sitting in front of us, and I covered my hand with hers. “I’m really proud of you, Indy. And you should be proud of yourself.”
“Thanks, Griffin. I’m starting to feel that way.”
Before I could say anything else, our server returned and asked, “How was everything?”
“Excellent,” I answered.
“Can I interest you in some dessert this evening?”
I glanced at Indy, saw the beautiful look on her face, and returned my attention to our server. “We’d love a dessert menu.”
He nodded and picked up our plates. “I’ll be right back.”
Once he was gone, I looked at Indy and said, “The celebration starts now.”
She looked all too eager for it to commence.
THIRTEEN
Indy
I was hanging on to Griffin, leaning the brunt of my bodyweight into his, as I threw my head back, laughing uncontrollably.
The strangest thing about all of it was that I wasn’t even sure I knew what I was laughing about anymore.
Griffin hadn’t lied.
