Page 50 of So Much More

Tears prick behind my eyes at this unexpected but welcome news.

“Andrea’s married?” I ask.

“No. Her mom is helping her raise Emily.”

“What else did you learn about her?”

“Not much, except she doesn’t have any other siblings. We didn’t have a lot of time to talk, but she told me a little about how she found out about you.” He explains what she told him.

“So her mom lied to her about our father, too.”

“Yes, unfortunately you two have that in common.” He sighs. “I’m so sorry I messed this up. If I hadn’t, you maybe could have met her this morning.”

Now I sigh. “That’s water under the bridge now, though.”

“Yes, but I got her phone number, if you want to call her.” He gives it to me, and I write it on a piece of scrap paper.

“Well, I’d better let you go,” he says.

I’m tempted to say goodbye, but instead I say, “Wait.”

“Yes?” I detect a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

“Will you tell me what happened? I think I’m ready to hear it now.” I also wonder if I’m wrong about that.

“Do you want me to tell you over the phone or in person?”

I think about it for a minute. The conversation would probably be best in person, but I don’t think I can be in his presence right now.

“On the phone.”

“Okay.” He sounds resigned. “Feel free to interrupt me any time you want to ask questions or scream at me.”

His statement reminds me he doesn’t know me as well as I think he does, which is a reminder I don’t know everything about him, either.

“I’m not going to scream at you,” I say, although I very well may want to. “That’s not something I do.”

“Sorry,” he says. “I shouldn’t have assumed that of you. Let me amend that to saying you can speak your mind at any time.”

“That I plan to do.”

“Good. I want to know your thoughts, no matter how much they might hurt me.”

Nausea settles deep into my belly at his words. “I have no intention of hurting you, Randall.”

“I know you don’t.” He sighs. “I can’t quite seem to say the right thing here.”

“Just tell me what happened.”

“I went to McConnell’s with Ash and Bobby. Tammy was our waitress, and I flirted with her, like I always do. Bobby told me I needed to stop, since I’m with you now, and I don’t know if flirting is simply ingrained in me or if I’d already had too much to drink, but I didn’t stop.”

My heart aches from what he’s telling me. But at the same time, I realize he didn’t have to tell me he didn’t stop flirting. He could easily lie to me, but he didn’t.

He continues, “I want you to know I’m not in the habit of getting drunk. The only other time I’ve been drunk in the past year is the night Colleen broke up with me. Anyway, I went to use the restroom, and when I came out, I ran into Tammy. I grabbed onto her simply to steady both of us, but looking back, I can see how she took it as something more after all the flirting. Then I told her I didn’t want her to fall and hurt her pretty face, and she kissed me.”

What he said doesn’t sound unforgivable. I don’t like that he got drunk or flirted with Tammy, but I think I can eventually move past all that. However, when it comes to the kiss, there’s one more thing I need to know.

“Did you kiss her back?”

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