She welcomes me with a hug and a kiss. “So, what’s the emergency? Why did I have to step out in twenty degree weather and race to get here?”
She removes her coat and follows me into the living room. We get comfy on the sofa and I pass her a warm cup of coffee.
As she allows the coffee to heat her up, I let out a sigh. “I found him.”
She pauses in between sips. “Who?”
“The stranger. The guy from the bakery.”
“Who?”
I huff. “You know. I went with Layla to get éclairs that weekend and I ended up running into somebody. I had a strange sense of deja vu but I couldn’t place him.”
“Ah, that guy? That was like…what, five months ago? I didn’t know you were still hung up on that.”
“I wasn’t. Honestly, I forgot about the whole thing, mainly because of Easton, but that’s not the point. I saw him yesterday.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“Well, no not exactly. He’s a patient of mine.”
She gasps. “Wow, a patient?”
“Yes! And get this: he’s one of the firefighters from the building collapse.”
“Holy shit! That’s insane. Is he all right?”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. But that’s not all.”
Her brow arches. “There’s more?”
“I’ve know him since I was seventeen.”
“How is that possible?”
“His aunt and uncle own the freaking bakery that I love. He used to work there in high school. Sometimes when I went to get pastries, he was there.”
“You mean, you’ve known him for ten years? How did you not recognize him before then?”
“Well, we never really talked much in high school. I was always in and out of the shop. I never stayed too long or anything. So, when I saw him again five months ago, I had the feeling that I’d seen his face, but after not seeing for him so long, I couldn’t quite remember.”
“So, how did you figure it out? That it was him all along?”
“It was his aunt. She was in his room when I walked in and I immediately recognized her from my last visit. She recognized me too. She called me ‘the éclairs girl’. And when I glanced at his name on his chart, I remembered him telling me his name in high school.”
“This whole thing is nuts. I can’t believe they’re the same person.”
“Ha, you’re telling me!”
Gia stands up and walks over the kitchen to grab two beers out of the fridge. She walks back and hands me a beer. “Here, this calls for some alcohol. Wait, you don’t work later do you?”
“Nope, I’m off today.”
We clink beers as Gia smiles. “Good.”
Gia and I spend the rest of the day at my place watching movies and sharing our love for Brad Pitt. She tells me that she’s realized she has feelings for bartender Brad, but is too afraid to do anything about it. I try to reassure her but she holds back. It takes courage to put your feelings out there and not everyone is courageous. I hope that Brad reconsiders his decision to quit, but I wouldn’t blame him if he stayed away. Gia had her chance but she blew it and she knows it.
Before we know it, it’s already late and I gotta get up early tomorrow so Gia gathers her coat. As she puts it on, she asks, “So, how are you going to handle things with Roman?”