Page 46 of The Art of Falling in Love with Your Enemy
Thor wriggles himself free of my grasp and hits the ground running, launching himself into her arms.
“I’m not sure why he keeps running away.” Etta clips his leash on his collar and stands, tilting her head to one side and grinning my way.
“Maybe he’s trying to get us together, like if this was one of those rom-com movies, he’d be our meet-cute.”
“You know what a meet-cute is?”
“I have a sister who made me watch those movies a lot when we were growing up.”
“Do you quilt while you watch them?”
“You’re funny, aren’t you?” Across the street from us the Brickhouse Coffee truck is bustling and the aroma of coffee assaults my senses—and I’m seeing my chance to talk to Etta. “Want a cup of coffee before you go?”
“Sounds good.”
We cross the street, with me fighting the urge to wrap an arm around this woman protectively. As we queue in line, my stomach burns with nervousness. This is a conversation I want to get out of the way, and in order to drink my coffee and not throw it up, I think I’m going to need to come clean first.
After we order our drinks, I offer to wait for them while Etta finds a bench nearby for us to sit on. It’s not long before I have two large coffees in my hand and I’m sitting beside her under an old magnolia tree.
“So,” she begins, “I’m sorry I’ve been cagey about getting together since the retreat. I had a visitor at my place the other day.”
“Oh?”
“My ex.”
My fear of telling her about the bet is forgotten, replaced with a worrying tug named Steve. “How was that?”
She lifts a shoulder and lets it drop. “It was intense. I’m so confused as to why he wants things to be so chaotic between us, but I know I can’t do anything about it. All I can do is take care of myself and how I feel. I can’t control what he does.”
Taking a sip of my coffee, I nod my head and listen. As a man, it’s taken me a long time to realize that sometimes someone just wants to talk, and that time might be right now. So I’m gonna listen.
“I keep telling myself this will all be over soon, but if I’m to be honest, I’m scared of what the outcome will be,” she continues. “No matter what it is, we’re changed forever.”
She turns and looks at me. “I’m sorry, I don’t need to talk to you about my ex.”
“It’s okay.” I want to tell her I like that she’s confiding in me more. That I can feel some of her tension easing away when I’m near. I want to let her know that she can talk to me about whatever she wants; I’m here to be an ear or a shoulder or whatever she needs.
But I can’t until I come clean, tell her about that dumb bet I made with Tuck.
Now, serendipitously, I have a chance. I have a chance right now to walk her through the whole thing…and I think she’ll hear it and understand why I did it.
Right?
Beside me, Etta plays with Thor’s fur as she sips her coffee, her teal-blue eyes flicking to mine. I forgot about those peepers of hers. Like a vacuum, they suck me in and I’ve already forgotten what I want to say.
“Oh!” With a start, Etta jumps up and looks at her watch. “I need to get going. I forgot I have a mani appointment this afternoon I need to get to, but I need to drop someone off at home first.” She points to Thor sitting at her feet. “I don’t want to point a paw of blame, but…”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” I hop up beside her. There’s still a chance for me here and I intend to take it. “But you know, I’ve been wanting to get some time alone with you.”
She turns to me, her face full of concern, and puts a hand on my arm. “Is everything okay?”
I’m opening my mouth when Thor decides to jump up and launch himself at a passerby eating a hot dog. The next few minutes are a mashup of ketchup and mustard flying, Thor taking off and hiding under the park bench with the hot dog, and Etta shoving a ten-dollar bill in some stranger’s hand to pay for the hot dog her dog just ate out of their hand.
This woman. Is. A. Whirlwind.
“Okay, now I’m really late.” Etta makes sure the leash is securely clipped on Thor before she takes off, jogging to her car. She turns around and waves to me as she goes. “Talk later?”
I have no choice, do I? I wave and nod, watching her as she reverses out of her parking space and takes off down the street—at a reasonable speed, but takes off nonetheless.
