Page 24 of Dreaming of Dawson

I wasn’t aware I had been, but I join her in the kitchen, where she’s fixing us a coffee, and nod my head.

“I got the job.”

“The job?”

“Yes, the one Ryan was talking about… at Dawson’s Bar.”

“I—I didn’t realize you were going for it. Not definitely.”

I notice her slight hesitation and the worried look on her face. “I didn’t really have any choice. But you don’t need to worry. I won’t let it interfere with my work here.”

She shakes her head. “I’m not worried about that,” she says. “It’s just… oh, it’s nothing.”

I step a little closer. “No. Tell me.”

My nerves have returned. And with good reason. I’ve put aside my worries about working for a man who I find attractive. After all, working for him doesn’t mean anything else has to happen…regardless of the amazing dream I had last night. I’ve even decided to overlook his grumpiness and his drinking… at least for the time being. I’m willing to find out about them, and try to help him resolve his problems, anyway. The last thing I need now is for Peony to raise an objection and spoil everything.

She lets out a sigh and stares at the island unit, not making eye contact with me. “It’s just that my ex-boyfriend and Dawson’s ex-wife ran off together,” she says.

I put a few pieces together in my head. “My aunt told me his wife had left him, but I didn’t realize—”

“Yeah,” she says, nodding her head and looking at me again. “Dawson and I haven’t spoken since it happened.”

“Why not?”

“To be honest, I don’t know why Dawson hasn’t spoken to me.”

“Okay. But why haven’t you spoken to him?”

“I just feel kinda embarrassed, I guess. At the beginning, when it first happened, I didn’t know what to say to him. Then, after a few months, I met Ryan, and that just seemed to make things worse. I was happy, and Dawson wasn’t, and I thought he might hate me for that.”

“Why? It wasn’t your fault, and you had every right to be happy.”

“I know, and I’m not saying that’s how he felt. I’m just saying how I felt.”

“I see.”

“He was really hurt when Stevie left him,” she says.

“Was that his wife?”

“Yes. They’d been together for… well, forever, I guess. Certainly since high school.”

That must have been hard for him. I don’t know how old Dawson is, but I imagine he’s in his mid-thirties, which means he and his ex-wife were together for more than half a lifetime. I don’t know how you let go of something like that… especially if it wasn’t your decision.

Maybe by drinking too much to help you forget?

“Do you remember when we were talking about Tanner being a nice guy, and how good it was to see him happy after his divorce?” Peony says, grabbing my attention.

“Yes.”

“Do you recall I said his best friend was also a nice guy?”

“Yes, I do.” I put two and two together in my head. “Can I assume that was Dawson?”

“You can.”

I’m not surprised. The struggle is obvious, and I think it’s sad that he’s lost himself and can’t seem to find a way back. I’m also confused about why he and Peony don’t talk. Let’s face it, they’ve got a shared bond and it might have helped them both if they could have talked about what happened.

---