Page 46 of Ropers Can't Tie Knots
“You can’t say no to a teddy bear. Please join me at the Happy Badger tonight and don’t be square.”
It sounds like a jingle from an old television commercial.
“Don’t be square? Who even says that anymore?”
The bear shrugs and hands me an envelope. “The one who hired me to say it, I guess. Have a great day.”
The envelope is thick, and with my arms full of flowers and teddy bear, I turn to find Penny about ready to burst.
“Go on. Get it out,” I sigh as she bounces around behind me.
“The bear has tiny glasses like yours and ohmygod this is the sweetest thing ever.”
I turn the bear around and notice the tiny glasses that are indeed just like mine, and this can only be from one person. Since he sat with me on the porch and witnessed me at my lowest, there’s been a different tension between us. We’re walking on eggshells, and I hate it.
Maybe this is his way of taking a step to move us past this and, dare I hope…build something more than the strange situation we put ourselves in.
“Is it from Hunter? It must be!”
Suddenly feeling overly emotional, I don’t want to share this with Penny right now.
“If I have a secret admirer, I’ll let you know.”
Rushing back to my office, I close the door and lean against it. The bear’s glasses are cute, I have to admit, and my mood softens as I inspect the bouquet ofcarnations.
He remembered my favourite colour, and yeah, he gets bonus points for that.
My hands shake as I set the flowers on my desk and peel open the thick envelope to remove the single-folded sheet of paper inside.
Gabe,
I know I’m shitty about saying the right thing and I want to apologize again. Properly.
Please meet me at the Happy Badger, 7 PM tonight. Give me the chance to be good for you and wear your dancing boots.
Hunter
Is there any way I won’t fall for this guy? A handwritten note for a date to apologize is not what I expected. In fact, I thought his attempt at an apology was what happened on the porch swing.
This feels like a spark of hope.
He asked for a confirmation at the end of the note, and I’m mid-text before I stop and just call him instead.
“Gabe?”
“You asked me to confirm the date, so I thought I’d call you.”
“Oh, right…Did you, ah, like it?”
The uncertainty in his tone thaws my mood.
“I did.” My fingers brush over the cute bear. “But I have to say, I didn’t expect this from you. A teddy bear and flowers from a singing bear are pretty sentimental.”
“The teddy bear had glasses like you,” he says quietly. “I wanted to show you that you’re on my mind a lot.”
“You remembered my favourite colour, too,” I whisper.
“I remember a lot about that day, Gabe.”
