Page 40 of All I Ask
Nina walks toward the counter with a grin. “You missed your favorite caller.”
“She’s like clockwork.”
We both laugh because the one day Mrs. Dickman didn’t call, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
Nina and I stared at the phone that day, waiting for it to ring. After two hours, I had the worst feeling and walked to her house to be sure she wasn’t injured or sick. It turned out her grandson was visiting and she forgot all about the chairs. Which seemed so impossible, since it’s basically her life’s mission to get the chairs back.
“Yes, she really is, but it’s rather cute, isn’t it?”
I nod. “I wish we could find these chairs. I know it weighs so heavy on her.”
Nina sighs. “I wish someone would love me that much.”
“Well, if she hadn’t sold the ugly chairs to begin with she wouldn’t need to search the world for them.”
Not that I blame her at all. Those chairs and the ugly couch must’ve come from the same designer back in the early 1900s. Still, Mrs. Dickman won’t rest until the set is back in her possession.
“You would’ve done the same!” Nina giggles. “Look at the true testament of love, though, willing to sit on those hideous things just to feel closer to the man you loved.”
We both grin as we each remember the story that we’ve heard a million times.
Nina sits on the ugly couch and sighs. “It’s so sad that he passed last year.”
“But you’re right, it is sweet that she still looks for the chairs.”
Mrs. Dickman may drive me bonkers with the chair call each day, but it’s a beautiful testament to the love they shared. No matter that he’s gone, she still wants to get back the dining set because her heart needs them.
The first time I heard the story I was so moved I went on a mission to find them. We called pretty much every possible antique store and furniture place possible, but came up empty-handed.
“I think she irritates me so much because I feel like I’m disappointing her each time she calls.”
I nod in agreement. “I want to find them so we can give her some peace.”
“We will. You never know what you lose that will come back.” Nina’s eyes are studying mine. “You know, lost things tend to find their owner.”
“Why do I think we’re not talking about the chairs anymore?”
“Oh, I don’t know why you’d think that. Did something recently return to you that was gone?”
I’m not ready to talk about last night. I’m too emotional and raw to actually be able to describe what I’m feeling aloud.
In my head, I’m battling whether I’m being irrational or not. Derek and I were kids to some extent and we made choices we thought were right. It’s not even so much that he basically cut me off, it’s the reason. I didn’t do anything wrong, and now I know that it was something he did—or wrote—that caused it.
Yet he never talked to me. He didn’t tell me he felt anything more than friendship. Neither did I, but he was engaged.
And I was pregnant with another man’s baby. There wasn’t exactly some prime opportunity to confess my undying love. It all could’ve been so different for us. For everyone, really. Had we just talked to each other, we might’ve found a way.
Nina clears her throat, apparently wanting an answer.
The bell above the door rings and I smirk. “Saved by the bell.”
Nina eyes me. We both know better. She’s like a dog with a bone when there’s information she wants. There’s no way she’ll let this go just because a customer is here. Then, her grin looks like it could split her face. “Sure. Something like that.” Then she turns back toward the door. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. If it isn’t Derek Hartz.”
Chapter Fifteen
Derek
Present
