Page 10 of Basil

“I have that charity golf thing at The Golf Club in Newcastle.”

It was an invitation-only event, and only the crème de la crème of Seattle’s IT elite would be there. I was thrilled when they contacted me, as it meant I had made it.

“But you don’t like to golf,” Summer had said when I told her.

“This is about networking not golf. The event is just an excuse.”

“Have a great time there.” Drew went on tiptoe again and this time I moved my face so her lips brushed against my cheek. “You sure you don’t want me to stay the night, Basil? You look…well, pale and?—”

“Just tired,” I cut her off.

“Basil, she’s not worth it.” Drew opened my front door.

How would you know?I wanted to ask. She hadn’t spent time with Summer. She didn’t know how much fun she and I had together. She didn’t know how Summer soothed my fears about failing at work. She didn’t know how absolutely perfect it was to make love with my girlfriend.Ex-girlfriend?

“Goodnight, Drew.” I gently ushered her out and pressed for the elevator.

“Basil, are you?—”

“I need to be alone,” I said as gently as I could because I wanted to scream the words.

Where the hell was this equanimity and care when you were telling Summer that she needed to grow a spine?

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

I barely slept that night.

It wasn’t the lingering anger buzzing beneath my skin. It was the silence. No sound of Summer breathing beside me. No familiar shuffle of her moving around in the early morning. Just nothing.

By the time the sun rose, my irritation had dulled into something else.

Maybe I’d been a little harsh. Perhaps she did have a point about my friends—they all had bitched about her the minute I’d said she’d packed up and left.

I should never have told her to grow a spine like she wasn’t already stronger than most people I knew. She grew up a foster kid and had despite all the shit she’d been through only some of which she’d told me about, she still believed that people were decent and good things could happen to her. Her positivity was one of her most attractive qualities.

I went to the golf event and barely noticed who I was talking to. My attention was on my phone, and I was waiting for Summer to reach out. I knew Sundays were busy for her because she had a lot of foot traffic at Sage & Sunflower—but she always texted me.

That damn store of hers.

She didn’t take weekends off, which annoyed me. She opened her store five days a week from ten to five and on weekends from eleven to eight. She closed the shop on Mondays and Tuesdays because she taught yoga at The Breathing Room. That meant we had only the weekend evenings to spend together.

Every evening, Basil, don’t make it sound worse than it is. She came over and cooked, or you went to her place, and you got a home-cooked meal with excellent company.

Being with Summer was the best stress reliever for me. The minute we were together, just the two of us, it was peaceful. This made me wonder about the times we argued—seemed to always be when my friends were around.

I gave up on Sunday night and texted Summer:How are you?

No response.

The next morning there wasstillno response.

She was pissed as hell, I was sure of that. Now I’d had enough time to consider all the shit I spewed at her, and I knew I was deservedly being ghosted.

6

I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS

BASIL

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