Page 147 of Sharkbait
“I know. He just…” I watch the sun rise higher in the sky as an idea forms. “Somewhere along the line, he became way more than that.”
So much more than that.
He’s everything.
“Gail? Thank you so much for this. But there’s someone else I need to call.”
“Make it happen, baby,” she says. “Make. It. Happen.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
James
"I’m gonna miss you, buddy.” Wally slaps me on the back and pulls me in for a hug.
“Guys, you know this isn’t goodbye forever. I’ll be back to check in on the business, and I’m sure you two will be throwing a wedding bash or popping out a baby I’ve gotta meet sometime soon, won’t you?”
“Whoa!” Mabel says. “Give us a minute, will ya? We’ve been dating less than six months!”
“Well. When you know, you know, right?” I say and give Mabel a squeeze.
I thought I knew.
I’m back at the airport about to head through security, and while I’m touched by the crew that sent me off—Wally, Mabel, my pal Kathleen and even Alec are here—I can’t help being disappointed someone else didn’t make it.
“I’m sorry she’s not here,” Mabel says softly in my ear before I release her.
“It’s okay. I respect her decision. She knows what she wants.”
And what she doesn’t want.
“Look out for her for me though, will ya?” I ask.
“Of course,” Mabel says sadly.
Kathleen puts a hand on my shoulder. “What did I tell you, Jamesy? Any girl who can’t recognize the wonderful man you are isn’t worth your time or energy.”
“I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out, kid,” Alec says. “You two seemed like a great fit to me.”
“Boyo, are you telling me Alec met this girl, and I haven’t?”
“Intimately,” Alec says under his breath.
Kathleen narrows her eyes.
“She was coming down off a high and grabbed Alec’s balls,” I explain. “No big deal.”
Kathleen gasps. “Are you sure this girl is the right one for you, boyo?”
I thought she was.
Alec waves off Kathleen’s skepticism. “She wrote me a very nice card after the incident. Poor kid was really embarrassed and apologetic.”
“We were making a plan for her to join me at a meeting,” I say to Kathleen. “And I was looking forward to you getting to know her, but… well, sometimes things don’t work out, I guess.”
It’s not that I had high hopes Louise would change her mind and use that plane ticket after all, but I did think she’d find it in her heart to say goodbye. Over the past two days, it’s taken every bit of strength I have inside me to resist reaching out to her. But she very clearly asked me for space. And being that I didn’t exactly honor her wishes the first time she asked me to keep my distance way back in the summer, I had to give it to her this time.
I open my arms to Kathleen for a hug.
