I freeze, not moving a muscle. “What do you mean?”
“I saw Beau yesterday morning, actually. Kind of a fluke thing. We were both in the drive-through at the same time. He and I talked and made plans to meet up sometime. I assumed you two were together by now but he said you weren’t. He didn’t mention you had a kid, though.”
I remind myself that a lot has happened between Beau and me in the last eighteen hours. Yesterday morning we weren’t together.
This morning is a different answer to that question.
I wonder if Beau would have told Tyson that we were together if he’d have seen him today.
I wonder why he didn’t mention Zoey.
I wonder how he reacted to seeing Tyson after all these years.
“You two are planning to meet up?”
“Yeah. I…” He rubs the back of his neck and looks down. “I had some apologies to make. Long overdue apologies, as you know.”
“Did you tell him you were sorry for sleeping with Lizzy?”
“Of course I did. He actually said it was okay and that it didn’t bother him.”
I nod, knowing that’s the truth of it. Yeah, it bothered him a lot when it happened but a dozen years later and he no longer cares. Heck, I’m not sure he cared a dozen days later. He saw Lizzy for who she really was. Then again, I would say the same about what he saw from Tyson, too.
“And you’re getting together sometime?”
“We exchanged numbers. I told him I wanted you to come, too. He never told you?”
“No, he didn’t.” Though, last night when he was over we didn’t do a whole lot of talking. Seems we need to.
“Huh. I figured he’d let you know. So you’re a mama, huh?”
Grateful for the change in topic, I smile. “Yup. She’s five and full of spit and vinegar.”
“I’ll bet. Like her mama, huh?”
“Quite a bit, actually. She’s got a lot of Chris in her, too. She can be really shy at times. Likes her solitude like Chris did.”
“I was surprised to hear he was the vice principal at the school for that very reason.”
“Yeah, he definitely stepped outside his box on that one. But he was great. The kids loved him. Most of them attended his funeral even.”
“No shit?”
I nod, taking the frame from his hands and looking down at it. Chris’s smiling face is staring right at me. My heart clenches and I feel the too familiar sting of tears hit the back of my eyes. “It’s crazy how short life is. I guess we never know what our future holds, huh?”
I set down the frame and turn around, almost bumping into Tyson.
“I’m sorry, Addy.”
I shrug. “It’s okay. I mean, it isn’t, and I hate it for Zoey, but we can’t change what happened. All we can do is move forward.”
“That’s not all I’m sorry about.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, looking up at him.
He places his hands on my shoulders and I feel a twinge of discomfort but I beat it back because it’s Tyson.
“I got caught up in being eighteen and knowing I was heading off to a school that scouted me and one day I just knew I was going into the majors. I was a jackass most of the time.”
“What? No, Tyson. You were never a jackass. At least not to me. Aside from sleeping with Lizzy, that is,” I add with a laugh, stepping back. His hands fall from my shoulders and I try not to visibly breathe a sigh of relief.
“Nice.” He laughs, too, but it dies quickly. He takes a step back in my direction but this time lifts a hand to my cheek, running a finger down it before letting his hand drop to his side once again. “She was never the one I wanted.”
I know she wasn’t. He never hid the fact that he wanted me then.
Shaking my head, I cross my arms, hoping he understands that I’m not okay with all the touching. He and I might have been very close friends once upon a time, and even shared a few kisses. But twelve years change a person and he no longer has the right to touch me the way I can see in his chocolate brown eyes he wants to touch me. “Why’d you ruin your friendship with Beau over her, then? You know, saying it was because you were eighteen isn’t really a good excuse. There are plenty of people who manage to get clear into their golden years without