novels. They didn’t fit into the real world, with real people and real problems. And no matter how deep I delved into it, I couldn’t pinpoint any one pivotal moment that had ruined everything, and I wondered if maybe it had simply always been.
“How depressing,” I muttered to nobody, before looking up to see where Tracey had gone.
She was at the counter, looking over a flimsy takeout menu and talking to a guy behind the counter. He was cute. Blond. Tall. It didn’t take long for guilt to sneak its way in. I shouldn’t have been checking out another guy, not when I was still married. But an annoying little voice in my head told me it was fine. It had been months since I talked to Vinnie and months since he’d sent Moe with that letter. I never sought him out, because I understood his need to fix things, by himself, for himself. Hell, I was doing the same thing. But how much time can go by before you realize you’re not married anymore? How long can you remain faithful to someone, before you just have to let go and give up?
“You’re seriously gonna sit there and check him out?”
I jumped, startled by the voice, and I turned to face the melancholic smile of the man I used to know.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Vinnie said, wearing an apron and resting his chin against the broom handle in his grasp.
I gasped at him, unable to speak, as Tracey came back to the table. She was taken aback by my new visitor, and her eyes volleyed between us.
“You know each other?” she asked me, sliding into the booth.
“Um …” My lips pressed together firmly, as his eyes dared me to tell her the truth. “Tracey, this is Vinnie, my … my husband.”
Tracey’s eyes dropped to my hand, as if she hadn’t thought to check if I was wearing a ring. When she found it there, where it had always been, she all but gasped. “I didn’t know you were married,” she said, then turned to Vinnie, extending a hand. “Hi! It’s nice to meet you. I had no idea you worked here,” she added, looking at him, then back at me for help.
“Neither did I,” I said, not caring how that sounded to my friend, as I now angrily glared at my husband.
We were five minutes from my parents’ house, and I had to wonder, how long had he been here? How long had he been working in my vicinity without so much as a knock on the door, or hell, a phone call, or text? Had he been watching me? Following my every move? God, I had so many questions, there were so many answers I wanted to demand of him, but all I could do was stare, mouth agape and eyes watering. Because above all the questions, demands, and anger, there was the bittersweet truth that, had he successfully taken his own life, this moment never would have been.
“What are you ladies havin'?” he asked, propping the broom against the booth, and pulling a notepad from his pocket.
“What are you—”
“Andy,” he cut me off gently. “You'll get your answers, I promise. But you both look starving, so let me feed you first.”
I couldn't argue that, so I did. I let him bring out a basket of garlic knots and a bowl of salad. Then, after we'd polished those off, he produced two heaping bowls of spaghetti and meatballs that I couldn't imagine ever having the stomach capacity to finish. Everything was satisfying and excellent, and when we were done and nearly bursting at the seams, Vinnie asked if we wanted dessert.
“Oh, God,” I groaned, holding my hands over my stomach. “I think I'll die if I have anything else.”
“Nah, you won't,” he laughed, then turned toward the blond guy behind the counter. “Hey, Kev. Tell Marco to bring out the caramel gelato.”
“You got it, boss,” Kev replied, and disappeared behind the swinging kitchen doors.
Turning back to Vinnie, I raised a brow and asked, “Boss?”
His thumbnail tucked between his teeth and Tracey took that as her cue. “I need to get going,” she said abruptly, standing from the booth and grabbing her bag. “Thank you so much for dinner, Vinnie. What do I owe you?”
He shook his head and cut the air with a gesture of his hand. He was his father's son. “Don't worry ‘bout it. It's on me.”
She smiled and bowed her head graciously. “Thank you. And Vinnie?”