Page 29 of Mav

“No, he didn’t even see her coming.” Now, I’m feeling bad that I stormed out without waiting to see what would happen. But I’m so edgy about relationships now that I didn’t want to see any betrayal.

“Okay…so, the woman walked up and threw herself at him, then kissed him, and he had no say in the matter? Now, I can see you are not realizing this is serious. But think about it, if it had been a man walking up to a woman and doing that, it would have been seen as assault, wouldn’t it?” Sheriff Forest asks me and I consider it a moment, and have to admit he’s right.

“Yes, I suppose you are right.” I give a sheepish look to them both.

“I hope you won’t hold this against Mav ‘cause he’s a good guy. One that would be an excellent partner for anyone that commits to him. He’s been wanting to settle down for a while and I think you both would suit each other. Maybe get past this, Blake, and give him a chance,” Sheriff Forest states, and gives me a pat on my hand which was resting on the table in front of me.

“I’ll think about it,” I respond, but the Sheriff’s comment has made my anger slide.

Once they have left, I sit in the kitchen for quite some time thinking about what was said. I think it would be classed as assault if it was a woman, and just because it was a man, it isn’t any less significant.

Giving myself a mental shake, I get back to cleaning and while doing so, I wonder if I can give Alf or Heather a call aboutthe meals and my house being cleaned once Yax has gone. No, maybe it would be best to speak to one of them during work hours.

My phone rings and I pick it up and see Ed’s name displayed. Now I’m surprised as I gave my number to Ed in case of an emergency. Taking the call, I quickly say, “Ed, are you okay?”

“I dropped my plate. Do you have a spare meal?” Ed sounds like he’s going to go into a fit of temper any minute.

“Since I haven't had a chance to eat, how about I get some food and we can eat together?”

“Yes, that would be great, thank you.” Ed has calmed a little, I can tell.

“I’ll see you in around an hour. Is that good for you?”

Ed chuckles. “Yes, that is fine. I’ll see you then, bye.” I look at my phone because boy, did he go quickly, he never gave me the chance to say goodbye.

An hour later, I’m at Ed’s carrying an order I purchased from none other than Club Whisky. They don’t usually do takeout, but when I explained to Tony, the Chef, that it was for an elderly gentleman who had dropped his plate, he was more than happy to bag me some fried chicken, ribs and fries. I was more than grateful, and I’m sure he didn’t charge me as much as it should have been.

Twenty minutes later, I’m wiping my chin with a paper napkin when Ed chuckles. “I don’t know how you got this, Blake, but it’s the best meal I’ve had in ages. Apart from the meal you made, of course.”

I grin because he added the latter on to get himself out of deep water, but I don’t care. As long as he’s eaten well I’m not worried he thinks a chef cooks better than I do. “I didn’t know where to get food from, to be honest Ed, then I thought about the meal last night and decided, why not just ask. They could only say no, and if that was the case, then I would have gone to the grocery store and found something to cook for us both.”

“We should do this again sometime.” Ed looks at me hopefully, and I grin while nodding that yes we should.

“Let me clean up, and I’ll make us a drink.”

“Thank you, Blake. It was good of you to do this. My hands are giving me a little pain and the plate just slipped out of my hand. I cleaned up so you wouldn’t have to do that.” Ed is looking at the floor in front of the stove and I can see that it’s not as clean as it could be, but I’m not going to embarrass him. I will be here tomorrow anyway, and I’ll make sure it’s cleaned correctly then.

“Well, you did great. Thanks for doing that. Now go into the living room and I’ll finish up here and come have a drink with you before I have to go home and finish my chores.”

Sitting in the living room, we talk about anything and everything. I give him a little of my life's history, and he tells me a little more about his wife. It’s a very relaxed moment, and I’m enjoying Ed’s company more than I’d like to admit.

My phone pings and I look at it and roll my eyes when I see Bitty has sent me a message. “Excuse me, Ed, I have a message from a friend who is more of a mother these days.”

Bitty: I’m coming over to speak to you.

Blake: Oh, is it important?

Bitty: Of course, it is or I wouldn’t come over on a Sunday!

Blake: OK.

“Is everything okay?” Ed asks, and I look up with a puzzled look, I’m sure.

“Well, it’s my adopted mother, Bitty, and she is coming over to my house to see me. Supposedly to speak to me about something important,” I respond.

“Bitty? Is that the Bitty who is friends with Amelia?” Ed asks, and I look at him, surprised.

“Yes, that’s the Bitty.”

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