“You think you know me.”
“Stop it, Tyler.”
“Stop what?” I asked.
“The bantering. It’s old and worn out.”
“And yet you’ve had two chances to hang up on me and you haven’t.”
The call shut down. A beeping filled my car and I chuckled as I shook my head. Oh, Ana had always been spicy. It was nice to see that hadn’t changed. I reached over and pressed the call button twice, redialing her number.
The phone didn’t even ring in my car before her voice filled it.
“What?” she asked.
“Cute. Really cute, Ana.”
“I wasn’t going for cute, but okay.”
“You never go for cute, but you always are.”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Complimenting me and making me feel like it’s high school all over again,” she said.
“So you do still think about high school.”
“I think about the time you told me you were glad to go off to Harvard and get away from me, yes.”
Her words slapped me across the face and I closed my eyes. It physically stung to hear that drip from her lips. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t feel like shit for that argument. For not running after her or jumping into my car and racing down the road until she pulled over and stopped.
“I should’ve gone after you, Ana. I’m—”
“Save your apologies. It was nine years ago. But my answer still stands. I’m not having dinner with you.”
“What if I don’t pay?” I asked.
“I’m still not having dinner with you.”
“You can choose where we go. Any restaurant or fast food place in the city. Or outside the city.”
“No, Tyler.”
“Then I’ll take you out and you still get to choose where we go. Price tag isn’t a factor.”
“Are you throwing money at me to get me to go out with you?”
“Is it working?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then what will work, Ana? Because I can tell you right now, I won’t stop calling and I won’t stop coming by your shop. You can change your number overnight, but I don’t think you can change your storefront overnight.”
“I’ll call the police, tell them I have a stalker.”
“Then I’ll have Brandon come by.”
“And I’ll sic them on him as well,” she said.
“Tell me what it’ll take to get you out to dinner with me Monday night. I’ll do anything, Ana.”
There was a beat of silence before I heard her draw in a sharp breath.
“Anything?” she asked.
“Anything,” I said.
“Fine. Then this is how it’s going to go. We’re going to meet at Providence at six o’clock Monday night for dinner. You’re not picking me up; nor are you taking me home. You’re going to dress in something nice and so am I. You’re going to pay, you’re going to compliment me on how I look, and then you’re going to sit there while I hash out everything I was feeling and experiencing the day we fought before graduation. All of it. And you won’t interject and you won’t interrupt and you won’t have an opinion about it. You’ll hear it, you’ll digest it, and then we will eat in silence.”
“Silence,” I said.
“Yes, silence. You won’t give a rebuttal and you won’t get a chance to argue about it. Because you don’t get to break my heart and then tell me how I’m going to feel about it.”
The moment she said “break,” her voice matched her word. Hearing that falter punched me in the gut. She was still hurting, still aching from a fight eight years ago. And truth be told, so was I. The situation wasn’t ideal, and what she was asking was far less than what I had hoped for a dinner date. But, it got her out with me, which meant there was a possibility things could change once we were alone face to face.
Providence was a premier restaurant with a romantic feel to it. Anything could happen in a place like that.
“Okay. I agree to your terms,” I said.
“See you at six on Monday at Providence.”
“You can order whatever you want.”
“Trust me, I intend to.”
Then she hung up the phone.
Ana
“Brody! Catch!”
“Got it, Papa!”
My son ran after a football my father had thrown his way while Mom and I sat on their porch. We sipped on some limeade she had in the refrigerator as the sun beat down on all of us. My sunglasses were making my face sweat, but shielding my eyes was more important. I looked over at my mother’s glistening forehead and giggled as she ran her cool glass over her face
“Thank god I decided to go without makeup today,” she said.
“And you still look fabulous,” I said.
“Damn right I do.”
“Thank you again for watching Brody Thursday night.”
“You know we watch him every night around that time so you and Kristi can go celebrate your success. I hate that you didn’t stay out later, though. I figured that girl would keep you out until at least midnight.”