Page 51 of In a Pinch

Theo turns around and shuts the door behind us, before making his way back to me. “You gonna make a move?”

“I’m having a hard time reading her. I don’t want to push it too fast. It’s different with her.” To put it plainly, I’m not used to giving a fuck about someone’s opinion of me. After years of being told I’m not enough, you learn to shell everyone out. I’ve built my walls and have only let in a select few. Somehow, she wiggled her way in, and I feel stuck now. I don’t want anything half-assed.

But I also know she’s in a weird spot—struggling to find her place and come to terms with life being different than she expected. I get it; I’ve lived it. I’ve felt like there was always something wrong with me when it comes to my family. Can’t say I’ve really conquered it, since my way of dealing has left me all alone. For the first time in forever, I don’t want to be alone, and that is terrifying.

Addie claps her hands and looks at Regina and Theo. “All right, guys. That’s it. Your friend duties have been relieved.” Given that she asked me to help with the bed, I’m hoping that I’m exempt from leaving her.

“Do you want to grab some lunch?” Regina asks.

“No, I think I might call something in, but I want to get unpacking. The clutter is going to drive me batty bananas. Plus, I need to figure out what I need from Target.” She looks around the room as if unsure where to start, then heads over to the kitchen to put away what she has there.

Theo looks to me like we are going to head out together, but I come up with a different plan. The desperation must show in my eyes because I make eye contact with Regina and lift my eyebrows as a silent plea for her to please be my wing woman. Her face lights up when the lightbulb turns on in her head.

“Come on, Theo. You owe me lunch.”

He looks at her like she has two heads. “How the hell do I owe you lunch?” Clearly, not picking up that I would like some alone time with Addie. Seriously, this fucker is the worst wingman I’ve ever met. He’s about as oblivious as a doorknob. Lucky for me, Addie is lost in her own world, opening up boxes to dig through.

“Because I said so.” Regina jabs Theo in the ribs and raises her eyebrows. The worddumbassis mumbled under her breath.

“You’re right, I do owe you lunch. Uh, I know a place down the block. We’ll see you guys later.”

Addie lifts her head and waves. “Thanks so much!”

“Okay, where can I help you?” Shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans, I look around the room and scope out the work ahead of us.

“If you can find the boxes with the hangers, that would be great. As soon as these clothes are mostly put up, that’ll clear a lot of space. I’m going to put this stuff away.” She holds up a box labeled ‘bathroom’ and heads that way.

Shuffling through boxes, I rotate them around to try to find the one labeled for hangers. She did a good job detailing what’s in every box. My hunt only lasts a few minutes, before I strike gold and get to work.

We work in silence for a while, before she remembers I am here.

She startles a little when walking back into the main living space. “Sorry, I zoned out for a bit there while putting stuff away.” She walks over to where I’ve been working for the past fifteen minutes. “How’s work going?”

“Pretty good. Chef has been slowly stepping away. So, pretty soon, I’ll be running the joint. What about you? How’s the new job?”

“It’s going great. Me and my boss, Mr. Becker, had a bit of a rough start, but I feel like I am finding my groove. There’spotential for growth in the future, but I’ve only been there for a couple months. So, I’m paying my dues for now. It was a good change for me, though. I like the challenge. Making new friends has helped me feel a bit more accepted, I guess.”

“Yeah, you and Regina seem to get along well.” At that, she smiles.

She makes her way to me and her pile of clothes. “Do you have a best friend?” she asks. Seeing as how she’s only seen me with Theo at the bar, it’s a fair question.

“Theo and I are really close, and I have gotten close with a couple of guys from the restaurant over the past couple of years.” I grab hangers from the box and hand them to Addie as we stand and make our way to the closet. We fall into a rhythm naturally of me handing her a hanger and her hanging up the clothes.

“I like Theo. He seems like a good egg.”

I laugh at her analogy. “He’s one of the best. Poor guy has seen me on more than my fair share of grumpy days.”

She raises her hand to her chest, feigning shock. “Here I thought it was justmebringing out the worst in you.” She bugs her eyes at me in fake surprise.

“I’d dare to say you bring out the better in me.” A bit too honest, but the truth falls out before I realize it might be a bit too much.

“I’d argue to say the same.” Shy smiles are rare from her because she comes in like a wrecking ball most days, but a timid smile stretches across her lips.

Unsure of what she meant, I ask, “What good things could I possibly bring out in you?” I am the storm cloud to her sunshine. It puzzles me what she could possibly see in me.

“You make me not want to care as much. I didn’t used to, but I got in a funk in the last year and just felt like I was a failure. Then, I was worried that everyone was noticing I didn’t have it together anymore. Which made me worried about what theythought. But you don’t really seem to care, and I envy that about you. It must be really freeing.”

Stunned in a bit of silence, I just blink. I’m not used to being the person anyone envies. Hearing her words settles a piece of me. The piece that begs to be accepted just the way I am.

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