Page 47 of Just Try, Again and Again

“My boss knows,” he says as he waves one hand in the air. “I work for Jakob Ackermann now. Remember him? The PhD student my professor introduced me to in my early twenties?”

“Yeah, I remember,” I answer, my stutter barely controlled.How in the world is he so relaxed right now?In all the scenarios I’ve played in my head, I didn’t expect Bryce to be calm. Bryce hasn’t been easygoing in a long time. My brain reminds me that I haven’t been in contact with him for five years and maybe he’s like this because, just like me, he would like to put our chapter behind him. I don’t know why, but that thought causes my free fist to clench.You came here to do one thing, Haruki.

“So, Haruki.” He draws out the words, and finally, I see a crack in his facade. The way his jaw ticks. The breathy pause. “You want to do this thing, huh? You finally want to sign the papers?”

“Yes…I do.”

“Why didn’t you get your lawyer to contact me or my lawyer instead?” It’s a legitimate question. I’ll give him that.

“I thought we could talk,” I say honestly. When he doesn’t answer, but just observes me instead, I feel the need to speak again. “It’s nice to see you doing so well, Bryce. You had a turbulent couple of years.”

“That I did. I’d say it’s nice to see you doing so well, too, but I don’t know anything about the new and improved Haruki Sano. Only that you live in Denmark now and that your hair is no longer dyed.”

We both smile. And suddenly, I feel like we’re meeting for the first time again. On that beach. On that coffee date. In that godforsaken bed and breakfast.You came here to do one thing, Haruki.

“I’m in my thirties, Bryce. There are lots of things I don’t do anymore.”

“Tell you what…I’ll tell my lawyer to draft everything up.Again.” My eyes roll, and he smirks at the sight, but chooses to let it go unpunished. “Let’s grab coffee, though,” he says. “You’re right. It would be nice to catch up.” Bryce looks down before meeting my eyes again. “I Googled you last night. Haven’t done that in ages.”

“Why?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

“Curious,” he answers. “I’m not going to deny it. I’ve been stalking you on the internet ever since you left my apartment. Forever After All Wedding Photography. Nice. I always knew you could do it. You were always meant to do far greater things than taking pictures and videos of property listings.”

I suck in a deep breath and try to keep myself from grinning. It makes me proud to know that someone who met me at my lowest knows what has become of me. When I met Bryce, I told him that I liked taking pictures of the beach and people. All of this, what I have now, was just a dream back then. It hasn’t been easy, but to be able to do it all and to accomplish everything with my best friend…sometimes I still pinch myself just to make sure that my life is even real.

Biting back my smile, I can’t resist the urge to say what I’m about to say. “Taking a page from Astrid’s book, I see. Googling the Sano’s workplaces.”

Bryce looks at me, confused, before a smirk forms on his face. I bet he’s realizing that this is exactly what Astrid did before luring my dad into coming to Elsham Cove. “I might have learned a thing or two from her.”

“You learned from the best.”

“I saw that you run the business with another Japanese woman. Did you move together?”

“She technically owns it,” I answer. “I’m her employee. Visa things.”

“Of course it is.” Bryce grins.

Kate met a Danish guy online when we were doing our master’s in Tokyo. She got married and moved to be with him directly after our course ended. Three and a half years ago, when I was burned out at work, she proposed this crazy idea that I move to Denmark. She went on and on about how the work-life balance was top-notch. So, I saved up for a second master’s degree and moved to Copenhagen. And now I’m on a work visa being employed by Kate. Once I get my permanent residency, I’m going to buy half the shares so that we’re equal business partners. The path to my dream career hasn’t been smooth, but baby steps are getting me to where I want to be.

Just like Lily probably saw Bryce at his worst, Kate saw my downfall after that trip I took to the US with my dad. Kate saw how my relationship with him combusted into flames afterward. She finally pieced together why I couldn’t fully be with Thomas. I went the extra mile to be the outcast when I was a teenager, and when I was doing my bachelor’s degree, I didn’t put much effort into making friends because I was too caught up in my relationship with Bryce. But when I met Kate while studying for my master’s degree in Tokyo, I found not only a best friend in her, but also a sister.

“So, what do you say, Haruki? One last coffee date as husband and wife?”

I don’t know what he’s playing at, but I do know that I want to see him again. I want to talk to him, even if this is the last time. Even if it is just for closure. Even though we didn’t have a happy ending, Bryce Simmons changed my life. He was therefor me when no one else was. He believed in me when no one else would. He let go of me not once, but twice, even though he probably didn’t want to. I want to thank him, I want to wish him well, and I want to say goodbye. I want to close this chapter in my story and start new. So, I give him the only answer I can at this point.

“Text me the time and place.”

41

Bryce - 32 years old

My smartwatch lights up every few minutes, the notifications popping up that someone is looking for me at work. I take it off and put it in my jeans pocket. Haruki deserves all of my attention. Fucking God only knows how I have never given her that in the last stretch of our time together.

“I’m ready for all the Q&As now, Haruki. I’m all yours,” I state.

Like she always did all those years ago, every time I said something ridiculous, Haruki rolls her eyes. I said a lot of stupid shit back then, but she fell in love with me, anyway. Maybe she’ll fall in love with me again. Maybe she’ll think that I haven’t matured at all. Talking to your estranged wife doesn’t exactly come with a manual.

“You’ve kept your silence since you picked me up,” she says with narrowed eyes. “Why start now?”

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