Page 83 of Trophy
“I love you too.”
And she knew he believed her too.
A month later Allison was peeking again at the note Rob had left her on his napkin this morning.
He still came to eat at Dora’s on weekdays, and he’d never stopped giving her notes. This morning he’d written,I love the way you laugh, like it’s something secret. I love everything about you. R.
She wondered if anyone had ever had a better boyfriend than she had.
Not that he was perfect. They’d gotten into a stupid argument last night because she was reading over her assignment for class a second time. He’d told her it was an easy class and she could probably pass without reading it once. But she wanted to do the best she could in school, so she needed to really know it. So they’d argued over dinner and then gone to their separate corners until bedtime, when they’d both finally said they were sorry and got to have some makeup sex.
But overall, in general, she couldn’t imagine a better boyfriend than Rob.
“How many times are you going to read that today?” Chelle asked, coming over to stand beside her with a knowing smile.
Allison blushed slightly and stuck the note back into her pocket. “It hasn’t been that many.”
“If you say so.”
“I guess it’s silly,” Allison admitted. “But it makes me happy.”
Chelle’s expression changed. “That’s not silly. And you deserve some happiness. So does Rob. You both have had a hard time and deserve to be with someone good. So I’m happy for both of you.”
“Thank you. I still can’t believe it’s really happening with him and that nothing serious is going wrong.”
“It’s the real deal. Anyone can see that. You know what comes next, don’t you?”
Allison gave Chelle a mock-stern look. “Don’t you dare start talking about that! It’s too early for it yet.”
“Maybe. But I’ve seen Rob’s face when he looks at you, and I guarantee that man already has a ring for you.”
Allison knew he had a ring. His mother’s ring. She was hoping that one day he would give it to her. She would say yes without hesitation.
But she hadn’t been lying to Chelle. She and Rob were still working out how to be together, despite all of their issues from the past.
They weren’t ready for marriage yet.
That evening she made dinner for Rob and his parents.
She’d wanted to spend more time with them, but she couldn’t always go up with Rob when he visited them once a week. Last Saturday she’d had a craft fair to attend—which had gone incredibly well and made her decide that she really needed a website—and the Saturday before she’d gone to visit Vicki.
So they’d invited his parents to dinner, and Allison was preparing the meal.
She made pasta and salad, and Rob bought bread and wine, and everything turned out just fine.
She really liked James and Tari, and not only because they were Rob’s parents. They were smart and funny and no-nonsense and had a huge number of stories to tell about theirlives. After she served cookies and ice cream for dessert, they all went into the living room to sit.
She checked her phone quickly as they changed rooms and was glad to see a text from Cali. The girl was doing better. She hadn’t gone back to that boyfriend, and she seemed to be behaving better overall. The episode had evidently scared Dee, who was genuinely trying to be a somewhat decent mother. Allison didn’t know how long it would last, but at least it was encouraging for now.
While Rob was making his parents laugh about an annoying customer who had come into the store yesterday, Allison went to get something she’d found in the basement the other day.
“Where did you dig that thing up?” Rob asked, staring at the guitar she handed him.
“It was in the basement. Chelle’s husband tuned it up for you, so it’s all ready to go.”
“What am I supposed to do with it?” He was smiling, but his question appeared genuine, like he had no idea what she wanted him to do.
“Your mom mentioned that you used to sing a few hymns that she loved, so I thought you could play her some now.”
