Teddy swallowed hard. “How does he know?” she whispered to the case of original GI Joe figurines beside her.
Of course, Everett didn’t know anything about Teddy. It wasn’t like he knew she’d stumbled aimlessly through life until hitching her wagon to a man. He wasn’t tailoring his message toward an adult woman; he was talking to a child. Also known as his intended audience.
But, oh, how Teddy identified with Keegan. She thought of some of the last words Richard had spoken to her.
You’ve always had a smaller life.
She flinched now, stung by the memory. She looked around the empty store and imagined how she looked sitting here all by herself, hunched over her laptop. Her life did feel small, and she wasn’t sure that she liked it.
“Hello, hello!”
Teddy quickly closed her laptop as Josie approached from the back of the shop, carrying a large box. Not that Josie would necessarily care that Teddy was watching something, but she didn’t think it was respectful to openly watch television when her boss was around, even if her boss was like a second, gentler, much less pressuring mother.
No offense to her own mother or anything.
“Hi, Josie,” Teddy said, grabbing the box out of Josie’s hands. No matter how often Carlos and Teddy told her to leave the heavy lifting to them, she refused to listen. She was seventy but had the attitude of a petulant seventeen-year-old.
She also had the energy of a seventeen-year-old. She went to Jazzercise three times a week, did an hour of yoga daily, brewed her own beer, had a robust metalworking hobby, and had Teddy over for dinner at least once weekly to demonstrate the skills she learned in cooking classes. Josie was more than twice Teddy’s age yet had a significantly more vibrant life, as well as more flexibility and a stronger core.
“I can do it myself,” Josie said, but let Teddy take the box and deposit it behind the counter.
“I know you can,” Teddy said. “The issue is that you shouldn’t.”
“Well, look what you did,” Josie said as she reached out and ran a hand over Teddy’s new hair. “It’s lovely.”
Teddy beamed. A compliment from Josie always made her feel like she herself was full of sunshine, like Josie’s persistent cheerfulness had entered her body through osmosis.
“Thank you,” she said, but then watched as Josie’s face changed from admiration to understanding.
“Wait,” Josie said. “What happened? This isn’t any old haircut. This is a breakup haircut.”
Teddy stifled a sigh. She knew she’d have to tell Josie about the breakup sooner rather than later—they talked about pretty much everything. But she didn’t want the workday to turn into a “Let’s Pity Teddy” party—she knew Josie would feel bad for her, give her one of those patented Concerned Looks she gave to customers who were having bad days, and then Teddy would be expected to explain what had happened.
“Richard and I . . . we broke up,” Teddy said as stoically as she could, steeling herself for the hug and the offer of tea. Maybe Josie would invite her over for dinner tonight because she was so concerned about Teddy’s mental state.
“Well.” Josie patted her on the shoulder, then walked away. “Good riddance, that’s what I say.”
She made it halfway to the stockroom before Teddy called out, “Um . . . what?”
Josie turned around. “It’s about time you dumped that deadweight. Rick the Dick. That’s what Carlos and I called him when you weren’t around.”
Teddy’s mouth dropped open. Carlos barely spoke a word to her, and now he was talking to Josie about Teddy’s romantic life? “You and Carlos think I dumped Richard?”
The idea was so preposterous that Teddy almost laughed. She would never have dumped Richard, with his big dreams and his passion and drive and hair that swooped like a Disney prince’s.
Josie walked back toward Teddy, eyeing her like she was a rabid animal who might strike. “Are you telling me . . . that the man dumped you?”
“Yes,” Teddy said, throwing her hands in the air. “What else did you think happened?”
Josie grabbed a plush Care Bears toy and hit Teddy on the arm with it. “I thought you finally came to your senses and kicked him out on his loser bum.”
Teddy rubbed her arm, as if the Care Bear had inflicted damage. “No. I did not. I thought he was going to propose, Josie. I made spaghetti and meatballs for him.”
Josie rolled her eyes theatrically. “Oh, Lord. Well, you know what? This is a blessing in disguise. Now you’re free and you’ve got a cute haircut to boot. It’s finally time to sleep your way around town.”
“I am . . . not going to do that,” Teddy muttered.
Josie shook her head. “You think you’ve got all the time in the world, but let me tell you: you get old enough, and eligible partners are a hell of a lot harder to come across. There aren’t a lot of men on the dating apps who are in their seventies, and frankly, I’m not going after the ninety-year-olds. I’m not into cradle robbers.”
Teddy crossed her arms and smirked. Josie was, she was pretty sure, exaggerating. She’d been married to the love of her life until he died of a heart attack ten years ago. Colossal Toys had been John’s shop, based on John’s interest in vintage toys, and Josie had continued running it after his death, bringing in all the toys John kept around the house and making the store more crowded than it was before. Put politely, he had been a collector, although Josie affectionately (and perhaps more accurately) called him a hoarder. Josie often referred to John as her “dream man,” and Teddy didn’t think she was looking for a replacement.
“Whatever,” Teddy said as she shook her head. “Sleeping my way around town, as much fun as that sounds, is the least of my concerns right now. I’ve got to move the rest of my stuff out of Richard’s, figure out a long-term living solution that doesn’t involve staying in Eleanor and Kirsten’s guest room–slash-closet, and—”
“And figure out what you’re gonna do with the rest of your life,” Josie said with a pointed nod.
Teddy winced. “I think it’s a little late for that. I’m an adult, Josie. The rest of my life is already happening.”
Josie waved her off. “You know how many times I’ve started my life completely over? This is the fun part, sweetie. This is the part where you get to decide what’s next, so it’s up to you: what are you going to do now?”
And then Josie shuffled off to the stockroom, leaving Teddy alone with the toys.
“What am I going to do now?” she asked the empty store.
The toys kept their thoughts to themselves.