Page 99 of Falling for Her

“Yeah, the parents were out of town. They had to come back early. Needless to say, no one is happy.”

“I bet.”

“Okay, I’ll let you go. Don’t forget it’s Scooter’s retirement get-together at Thatcher’s tonight.”

“Fuck,” I swear. “Okay, I’ll be there.”

I don’t really want to go out and socialize. But Scooter earned his retirement ten years ago and agreed to stay on as fire chief. I’ve known him my whole career, and he’s a good guy. Not to mention, staying in the house alone is torture.

I hang up and look to see if there are any new texts from her. But the latest is still the one that came in the day before she left, when I went to the grocery store.

Finley:

I hear that whipped cream is good for dessert and other things.

Finley:

And by other things, I mean body parts.

Me:

I figured that.

Finley:

Are you going to get some?

Me:

I already picked up two cans.

Finley:

Two cans?

Me:

Yeah, one for you and one for me.

Finley:

Fine, but if you waste yours, I’m not sharing mine.

I smile and put down the phone, remembering that we had to change the sheets when we were done, and did it laughing.

I wonder what she is doing right now. Does she miss us or even me?

That last day, when I kissed her goodbye, I wanted her to tell me she would call me. I wanted her to say she would just be going home to do what she needed to do and would come back. I wanted her to come back to me. But she had to take that step. It sounded like her whole life, everyone has decided everything for her. She’s finally getting to decide what she wants. So I couldn’t tell her to stay. It has to be her choice. If she wanted me, she would be here. But now the writing is on the wall. This town is too small for her. And she didn’t want me.

I feel the need to vomit and wait for it to pass before I head upstairs and throw on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. I run my hands through my hair and then turn off the lights and head out.

The parking lot at Thatcher’s is full, so I have to park all the way down Main Street near Brock’s mechanic shop. I can hear the music coming out of the bar from there.

When I open the door to Thatcher’s, I see that it’s practically jammed. I spot a couple of the guys from the station, and I hold up my hand to say hello to them as I make my way to the man of the hour. Scooter sits at a table with Captain next to him and Hudson on his other side. There has been talk of Hudson taking over for him, but nothing has been announced yet.

“Hey.” I hold out my hand to Scooter, who gets up and comes over to me, forgoing shaking my hand, instead giving me a big bear hug. I look over at Captain and Hudson, who just chuckle and shake their heads.

“Thanks for coming,” Scooter says, slapping my chest before going back to his chair.