Page 24 of Redemption
I groaned and held my forehead in my hands.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked with more concern than I expected.
“I’m fine, it’s just... Henry made me waffles this morning, and I was so focused on getting ready that I forgot to make it look like I ate some of it.”
Confused lines appeared on his face as he tried to understand. “I don’t know what to ask first. Why did your landlord or second boss or whatever he is make you breakfast, and why do you have to pretend to eat it?”
“I live with him, He’s a little different. I would have pretended to eat some of it so that he wouldn’t be upset.”
“Are his waffles that bad?”
“I mean, they’re pretty bad. I would have eaten them, but I had lunch planned with you.”
“How do you fuck up waffles?”
“He is sugar-free and vegan and is hoping I’ll come around to it.”
He laughed, “Well, that would do it. Look, don’t worry about that. It’s nothing. When is that art event you told me about last night again? Tell me more about that.”
“It’s just a big display of all the new art in the gallery.”
“I bet that will draw in plenty of tourists. How many of the paintings are yours?” he asked.
“About half of them.”
It was obvious he was trying to take my mind off the Henry situation. The more I thought about it, the more stupid the whole thing sounded. He probably thought so too.
“Well, I look forward to seeing everything you’ve made and picking up the piece I ordered,” he said with a smile that I couldn’t help but return.
“It’s about time you picked it up, but don’t worry about paying for it.”
He waved his hand while drinking water, like he wanted to say something that he couldn't wait to finish drinking to say. “Now that you have some money, you need to learn how to keep it. Just because you can afford to brush off debts or give freely, doesn’t mean you should. Eventually, that leads to death by a thousand cuts, Financially speaking. You spent a long time making that for me. Your time and skills are valuable things. I am going to pay you for it.”
A warm sense of relief washed over me. He had already paid for it many times over in my mind by giving me a raise. But he acknowledged my worth. It was something that I wasn’t really used to.
“If you want to pay for it, I can’t stop you.”
“Good. What time does the event start?”
“It’s in three days. Around noon. It usually goes on until evening.”
“I’ll be there. And I expect a personal guided tour of the place.”
I smiled at that. “Well, you are paying for it.”
Again, it looked like something was troubling him, and for half a second his confidence slipped away. If I wasn’t looking at him so intently, I wouldn’t have noticed it.
“Is something on your mind?” I asked. He looked at me thoughtfully.
“You asked me to never lie to you.” He took a breath while shaking his head slightly. “I really think I’m going to regret this, but I’m trying to, I don’t know, reinvent myself.” The way he waslooking at me made me feel like he was about to say something that would hurt both of us. “No, never mind. It’s nothing.”
I looked at him in disbelief. “You can’t just say that and then pretend there isn’t something you want to tell me.”
“I don’t want to tell you, that’s the thing,” he said while rubbing the back of his strong neck.
“Tell me,” I said.
He stared at me with his jaw clenching, full of hesitation.
