“My brain is in about a thousand different places,” I said. “Actually, it’s in two. With Ava and away from Ava.”
“Why do you say that? What’s going on?” he asked. “I thought you said things were going okay with the two of you. Business looks like it’s doing great, too.”
“Business is doing great, and that’s kind of the problem.”
“I don’t understand,” Brian said.
“Ava and I finally sat down and had a real conversation the other day. We never talked about why she left or why she never came home. But the other night we got a chance to really put it all out there. She told me the reason she left was that losing the baby was so hard on her and she didn’t know how to deal with it. Of course, I can completely understand that. It was hard on me, too. Neither one of us handled that whole situation well.”
I told him about the whole conversation and everything that came up. Brian listened quietly, making his way through his beer as he did. When I was finished, he didn’t hesitate. He looked me right in the eye and asked the question that was at the root of all this.
“Do you think the two of you are going to get back together?”
I sagged against the back of the seat and waited while Jesse came up to the table and set our food down. He eyed me suspiciously but didn’t ask any questions. He probably figured he would hear about it all soon enough anyway.
“We can’t,” I said. I figured the simplest answer was the easiest rather than trying to go into any deep exploration of the emotions right off the bat. After all, it wasn’t really emotions that were making the situation complicated.
“You can’t?” he asked. “What do you mean?”
“I made a promise to Tom. When I told him Ava was the one I hired to help out around the bar and that things were going so well, he made me promise I wouldn’t try anything with her. That nothing would happen between us while she was working here.”
Brian looked around, exaggerating the movements of his head as he swept his eyes around the bar. “Do you see Tom anywhere around?”
I let out a short laugh but shook my head again. “You don’t get it. I see Tom everywhere.”
“That’s a bit concerning. Maybe you should talk to somebody about that,” he said.
“Not like that. I mean he’s the one who bought this place. He is the reason it even exists. So, he’s always around.”
“And he always will be,” Brian said. “You’re not going to change that. Tom wouldn’t put your parents at risk because his brother decided to have a relationship. His grown-ass brother, by the way. You’re an adult who wants a relationship with another adult. He’s not going to have a fit over that. And if he does, that’s his issue and he’ll get over it.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said.
“Look, you work hard. Too hard. You do everything for everybody else. He doesn’t have any room to begrudge you having a relationship. Especially one that is as perfect for you as Ava is.”
Brian was right. I understood where Tom was coming from not wanting it to have my personal life interfere with the bar. But I couldn’t just let him completely control my life that way. Not when it came to something as important as Ava and how I felt about her. Besides, he was never around. He didn’t have to know. Not until I was sure things were solid with her. Then, I would deal with it from there.
“Thanks for opening my eyes,” I said. “You’re right.”
Brian grinned. “So, you’re going to go for it? When?”
I took one last sip of my beer and wiped my hands on a napkin. “Right now.”
I headed for the bar. Walking behind it, I took Ava’s wrist and gently pulled her over to the side with me.
“Mason?” she said, sounding confused. “What’s going on?”
“Will you go on a date with me?” I asked.
She blinked a couple of times, looking even more confused before she finally answered. “I… sure.”
Her voice sounded apprehensive, and I took a very slight step forward, wanting to be closer to her but not intimidate her.
“I know I’ve been weird, but that’s done. I’m done not going after what I want,” I said.
She nodded and offered a hint of a smile. “How about lunch tomorrow before work?”
I smiled back. “Sounds perfect.”17AvaI woke up already nervous. Why was I so nervous? It wasn’t like this was the first time I went on a date with Mason. Our first date was years and years ago. I was much younger then. Much more naive about the world, and yet I wasn’t anywhere near as nervous as I was that morning. All I could think about was how excited I was to see Mason.