Page 10 of A Lesson For the Grump

Joseph, a.k.a her wonderful husband, would be here in a second if we needed. They had been together since high school, and he was one of the only football players who was ever nice to me. Marie and I weren’t really friends in high school, but we quickly developed a friendship after I came back to Maple Lane Falls.

“Deal. Let’s just go get a damned drink.” I take her arm in mine and pull her through the old doors of Tricks. The bar is mostly empty, as to be expected for a weekday, but Jonas, the bartender, quickly waves us over with a shake of his dishrag.

“What can I get you two fine ladies tonight?” He sets down the rag and immediately pulls out two glasses.

“How would Rob feel if he knew you were talking to us like that?” Rob is Jonas’s husband, a Maple Lane Falls transplant.

Jonas laughs, “Anything for the money.”

I nod my head as Marie and I find our seats at the bar. “Touche.” Sighing, I take a look at the shelf behind Jonas and point to a shelf closer to the top. “Amaretto sour for me, double.”

Marie gives him her order before turning to me, letting Jonas start on our drinks. “What gives, Sonny? It’s been forever since we had a drink like this.”

Groaning, I drop my head into my hands before shaking it. Marie laughs, and I hear our glasses get dropped on the counter in front of us.

“It’s him, isn’t it? Miles?” Marie squeals, and I look up just in time to see her take a big sip of her martini. “I knew it. He was looking at you like he wanted to eat you.” She wiggles her eyebrows when she sees me eyeing her. “I’d let him if I were you.”

I reach out and grab my drink, taking a large sip from the little stirring straw. I need the liquid courage. “Yes. Do you remember what I told you happened in high school?”

Her face falls as she nods, “Yeah. That was him? You two always looked so close, but…” Her eyes grow wide, and her drink drops to the counter, spilling some over the edge. “That’s why you left school.”

“Yep.” I let my mouth pop on the word before looking down and stirring my drink. Who knew voicing my thoughts would be this damn hard? “I couldn’t face him. I never let him explain and, well, he did tonight.”

Marie turns her whole body towards me, fully invested now that she’s latched onto some drama. “So, what happened?”

I tell her exactly what Miles told me: how he was waiting for me, only to be ambushed by Mercedes. How the kiss wasn’t reciprocated on his side, and it was all another mean trick done by the girl who terrorized me throughout school, and this time…it worked.

There are tears in my eyes by the time I finish, and Jonas already has another drink waiting in place of my empty one. “How does he not hate me, Marie? Instead, he…he wants me to stop running.”

Marie finishes off her drink and motions for another one. Her blonde hair shines in the low light of the bar as she shrugs her shoulders. “So, stop.” She gives me a soft smile when my mouth drops open. “Listen, he could have hated you right back. He could have forgotten you in the last seven years. Instead, he came when you called. He took a teaching position right down the hall from you and spent his lunch break staring at you from across the room. It seems like he’s right where he wants to be.”

“But - “

She interrupts me with a shake of her head. “No buts. Didn’t you say you ran out of there?”

I nod.

She reaches across the bar where my phone lay, grabbing it before handing it out to me. “Call him, Sonny. You’re too in your head about this. You love him, don’t you?”

My voice cracks as I say, “I have ever since I was little.”

Her smile goes wider as she shakes the phone in front of me. “Call the man, Sonny. Put him out of his misery.”

I hesitate before reaching out and slowly grabbing the phone. I look over to see Jonas watching me from the other side of the bar, having heard every word. He nods his head in support as Marie finishes off her second drink.

With shaky hands, I unlock my phone and pull up Miles’s contact. My fingers tremble as I press the call button and hold the phone up to my ear, my body growing colder with every ring.

Finally, the ringing stops and Miles’s voice comes over the speaker. “Sonnet.”

Marie waves her hands as Jonas leans across the bar, no doubt trying to hear Miles’s voice on the other end of the phone. I wave them both away and drop off the stool. “Miles. I…I’m sorry for running out earlier.”

Miles gives me a soft grunt before his voice comes back over the speaker. “You ran. Again.”

“I know. I just…I hated myself just a little bit, and I didn’t know how to deal with any of it. I still don’t.” His voice is silent on the other end of the phone, making me anxious to fill the quiet. “How do you not hate me, Miles?”

He’s quiet for a moment longer before his gruff voice finally fills the speakers. “I could never hate you, Sonnet. I hated myself for not going after you. For not telling you the truth sooner.”

I bark out a laugh and spin around, lazily pacing the area in front of the bar. “So, all this time we hated ourselves for no reason.” I take a deep breath before continuing, “I do miss you, Miles. Could we…be friends again?”