kitchen.
“I was just…walking by and saw the place and…”
Eve smiled and came over to hug me. She absolutely knew I was full of shit, but seemed genuinely happy to see me.
“Come in. Let’s go sit at the bar.”
While she went around to the other side and made us both drinks, I checked out the restaurant. The place was really nice—tons of glass along the front that showcased the park across the street. The dining room had dark wood mixed with hot pink tablecloths and at least a dozen different, ornate crystal chandeliers. Oddly, it reminded me a lot of Eve’s personality.
“This place is really nice—kind of funky, yet traditional at the same time.”
She hopped up on the barstool next to me. “I’ve been here seven years.” She tilted her head toward a table in the corner. “Tom sat right over there for nineteen consecutive days until I agreed to go out with him.”
“What made you finally give in?”
“That night, the hostess told me he’d requested a reservation at the same table, at the same time, for a year.” She shrugged. “I figured any man who was that persistent was worth a date.”
I lifted the drink she’d set down in front of me. “A year, huh? I only have until Labor Day.”
Eve patted my hand resting on the bar. “I’m glad you just happened to be passing by. You know, my issues with Tom weren’t all that different than what’s going on in Val’s head. When I met him, I was thirty, and he was fifty. I joke that he’s old enough to be my father, but it was never the number that scared me. It was that we were in different places in our life. He was financially stable and thinking about retirement accounts. He’d made all of his mistakes and learned from them—he knew what he wanted. I, on the other hand, had just maxed out my credit cards buying designer waitress uniforms for a restaurant I didn’t know if I’d be able to pay the next month’s rent on, and I’d picked the last guy I dated because he had dimples—even though he was an unemployed, wannabe actor.”
“What made you get over the differences?”
She smiled and laughed. “I’m not sure I have. I still think four thousand for a Chanel bag is a better investment in my future than an IRA. I doubt we’ll ever see eye to eye on lots of things. But after our first date, he became my go-to person for stories. Silly things—I used to call my parents or Val to tell them something funny a customer did, or I’d call them to vent about my landlord raising my rent. Up until then, I’d never shared the small things that happened each day with anyone I dated. I’d get dressed up and go out on a date, have a solid time… I thought those dinners and nights out were life—but they weren’t. Life is the little things that happen between the fancy outings.”
I nodded. “I get it. But Val and I aren’t really in that different of a place in life.”
“Val thinks you’re supposed to be in a different place. She basically missed out on dating and everything that comes with being single in your twenties because she had Ryan so young. Plus, she’s gun-shy about relationships in general. Her ex-husband really burned her. She was a good wife—loyal and trusting. She didn’t see it coming when he cheated on her. And the fact that the woman was a young girl—she’s got to be thinking if her husband can do that…think about how things will go when she’s in her fifties and you’re still in your thirties.”
My shoulders slumped. “Are you trying to make me feel better? Because you’re doing a pretty shitty job.”
Eve smiled sadly. “I’m sorry. Unfortunately, my only advice to you is to be patient. The more she enjoys each day with you, the more she’ll realize what’s important. She needs to figure things out on her own, and that’s going to take some time. But I can promise you one thing…she’s worth the wait.”
***
I didn’t like the way she’d handled shit.
I didn’t want to be just a summer fling
I didn’t like being hidden from her ex.
But Val had never been intentionally hurtful.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same thing.
I’d tried my hardest to make her feel like shit.
I’ll be over to fuck you at eight.
And for that, I owed her an apology.
I knocked and waited, looking down at my feet.
Val’s smile