“You were right. Anything can happen. And it did.” He laughs, but the slight bitterness in his tone isn’t lost on me. Curiosity nips at my heels, but I push it away. Whatever happened, it sounds ugly and it’s not my place to pry. “Being single isn’t so bad. I’m not as active as I was back in high school. I get to enjoy every day as it comes.”
“That’s all we really can do.” This is not how I expect this conversation to go. I’m not even sure how I should feel. He’s single. I’m single. But we’re also both twenty-eight. It’s too soon for the pact to come into play and yet I wish we could resolve this somehow. “As long as you’re happy and comfortable, that’s all that matters.”
“Exactly.” The flickering candles add warmth to his brown eyes. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
“Between you and me, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. In the near future, I’m sure you’ll be some lucky girl’s hot husband.”
“Really?” Adrian leans in closer. “You think I’m hot?”
“Ah… I’m just repeating what I’ve heard other people say about you.” Please. Stop staring at me. You’ll make my face melt. “Anyway, don’t take my word for it. I know I’m going to be single for the rest of my life.”
“You’re aren’t seeing anybody?” He sounds genuinely surprised. I make a face, shrugging. Did he forget who he’s talking to? “You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope.” Being single doesn’t bother me. But saying it in front of him makes me sound pathetic. “Work is pretty busy.”
“Gotcha.” I brace myself for the inevitable motivation comments. There’s always online dating. You need to get out there and mingle. You aren’t too busy for love. Those annoying comments. “I guess we’re in the same boat.”
“Indeed.” And now, to shoot myself in the foot. “But at least we aren’t thirty and single. That means there’s still hope for the future, right?”
“Definitely.” He grabs his glass of water, raising it upward. “Things can turn around sooner than you think.”
Before I can ask him what that means, the server appears with our meals. My stomach rumbles again, the spring roll not enough to quell its hunger. Adrian digs into his food, enjoying every morsel. My lo mein is delicious and I try to eat as much as possible without getting any sauce on my blouse. I’m enjoying myself. Adrian seems to be enjoying himself as well. We are both enjoying each other’s company on this non-date.
I think I might be in the clear.
As Adrian pays for the meal, my body reminds me that I worked a ten-hour shift earlier so I need to get home and rest my bones. Once again, I try to take the bus to save him some gas but Adrian insists on driving me home. Even when I remind him that the “Old Folks Boonies” (North Glen’s nickname) is clear across town from University West, he doesn’t budge. I guide him through a maze of narrow streets, bike lanes, and roundabouts until we finally reach Granny’s house, a yellow brick Cape Cod smack dab in the middle of the street where it’s easy to spot.
“Here we are.” I look over to my house. “My tiny little place in this big city.”
“Sweet and cozy,” he observes. “Nothing like my place out in Queens Village.”
“Ooh, Queens Village. That place is where all the young professionals live. I hear it’s really vibrant and fun out there.”
“Maybe you should come visit sometime and find out yourself.” Did he just… ask for another date? “Here, let me help you out.”
“Ah, you don’t need to do that.” I watch as he unhooks himself and exits the car. A moment, later, he opens my door, holding out his hand. I chuckle at the old-fashioned gesture. Mom told me that my grandfather, who passed before I was born, did the same thing for Granny. Definitely an old-school gesture. Feeling timid, I unhook myself and take his hand. In one fluid sweep, he guides me out of his car, onto the sidewalk. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He looks so pleased with himself. “I’m not very bright but I can still be a gentleman.”
“Don’t know about that ‘not very bright’ part but I already knew you were a gentleman.”
“Glad we’re on the same page.”
The fatigue hits and I know I need to turn in for the night. But I’m not ready to leave yet. “You know, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but tonight was a lot of fun. If you want to hang out and be friendly again, I’m down.”
“As much as I’d love that…” Shit. What an ominous way to start a sentence. “There’s something I need to bring up first.”
“Oh? What’s up?”
“Umm...” His voice trails. I watch him with curiosity as he shifts from left to right, looking down at his feet. He’s nervous. And that makes me nervous. Because this means he’s about to say something I don’t want to hear. “Damn. I really don’t know how to say this.”
“Just come right out and say it.” This is it. Finally. The moment of truth has arrived. This is about the pact. It has to be. I’m ready for my judgment. “I’m sure I can handle it.”
Adrian looks me square in the eye. Okay. Here we go. “Do you remember that pact that we made on Senior Beach Day?”
“I do.” It’s been a source of painful anxiety for me, sir. The kind of pain I wouldn’t wish on anybody. “How could I forget? You basically asked me to marry you that day.”
“I did, didn’t I?” As he walks up to me, I can feel my heart sinking. This is it. This is the end. There’s a pint of ice cream at the corner store with my name on it. I’m not sure that I had my hopes up. Now, my hopes are crushed. “Well, I need to talk to you about it and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way.”
Don’t worry, I will. “Okay.”
His eyes are wide and I can see vapors of fear swirling above his head. I get it now. He wants to let me down gently. A gentleman to the end. “I’m sorry, but I have to break it.”
I’m sorry, but I have to break it. Ouch. I squeeze my eyes shut as my throat tightens, pain radiating throughout my entire body. I squeeze tighter, keeping any tears that threaten to fall at bay. I tell myself to keep breathing, to stand tall and lose graciously. I knew this day would come eventually. And now that it has, I can move on with my life. This is the closure I wanted. At least, the closure I thought I wanted. My heart aches, but it won’t ache forever. “It’s okay, Adrian, you don’t have to—”
“Because I want to ask you now, two years early.” Cue a loud record scratch as I snap my head up to look at him, eyes wild with disbelief. He meets them with a serious gaze—terrified but serious. What? What kind of soap opera plot twist is this? “I know this is messed up and everything, but I would love to keep my promise and marry you.”
Chapter Five
I have a set morning routine on my days off. I get up at around 7:30 to make breakfast for my mom and Granny before they leave for the day. Nothing too flashy: coffee and toast, scrambled eggs, fruit slices, that kind of thing. I chat with them a bit before Mom jets off to her job and Granny gets picked up for another fun-filled day with her friends at the Senior’s Center.