Page 16 of David's Proposal

“I’m glad to hear that. Did you miss me?”

My joke doesn’t land.

“I want you to talk to Thea,” she says sternly. “Honestly, I don’t know what to tell her. The truth is, I don’t want to run into that man again. He’ll be at the wedding.”

“Mm-hmm…” I say.

I knew they’d met again.

“I’m listening,” I go on.

“That’s it.”

“So I can tell her whatever…?”

“Whatever makes sense, but nothing about him. It would look stupid if I told her the truth.”

You think?

I bite my lip.

“The thing is… “ she says in a softer voice. “Being with him in the same room would be a disaster. I can’t hide from him at a wedding. And he might bring a plus–one.”

“His ex?”

“I wasn’t thinking about his ex. Another woman, maybe?”

Okay, so let me get this straight.

He doesn’t matter, and she doesn’t want to see him again.

Please make it make sense.

“Anything else?” I ask as if taking someone’s food order at the restaurant.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For leaving like that without telling you or giving you the slightest warning.”

I soften inside.

“Well… I could’ve called you as well.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

She doesn’t sound so convinced my call would’ve gotten through.

“So, what do you plan to do this week?”

“What I usually do. Go to school, chat with my new friends, and think about where I want to go next.”

“Uh… Is that something new? You’ve never talked to me about going someplace else. Is there something wrong with Spain?”

“Nothing is wrong with Spain, but I don’t know. I’m not crazy about spending winter here.”

I clear my throat.

---