Page 49 of Hello Handsome
I had to glance at the screen again because it was my son Hayes calling on a Friday night. We never talked on Friday nights because he always had plans with one woman or another.“Everything okay?” I asked when I triple-checked that it wasdefinitelyhis name on the screen.
His voice was full of confusion as he said, “Agatha’s here at the bar in Roderdale.”
I slammed on the brakes and put the truck in park. “Is she there with someone else?” I tapped the steering wheel, waiting for his answer.
“Someone else?” Hayes echoed, a smirk to his tone.
“Just answer the question, son,” I grumbled, heart racing.
“No. She’s sitting in a corner booth all by herself. She looks miserable.”
Maybe there was something worse than her being with another man—her being alone and sad.
“Are you coming?” Hayes asked.
I was already putting the truck in gear to... to do what, I didn’t know.
“I’m not sure,” I said, my hand on the gearshift. Aggie had been clear she needed more time and space for us to be friends again. I wasn’t sure if she would even want to see me tonight or any other night. But the thought of her being alone…
“Dad, I’ll go flirt with her if you don’t come over here. You know I like an older woman from time to time.”
Joking or not, my hackles rose up at the very idea. “Don’t you dare.”
“I won’t for now. But can’t make any promises after another beer or two...”
He was joking, but if he would have been around to glower at, I would have. As it was, I gritted out, “I’ll be there in half an hour.”
Since I’d showered and changed from work earlier, I unplugged the spotlight and put it in the passenger seat, going directly to Roderdale.Do not pass home. Do not second-guess yourself or you’ll realize what a terrible idea this is.
Because the second I parked in the crowded lot, I realized what a damned fool I was.
I was going to walk into the bar and what?
Sit across from Aggie? Admit Hayes told me she was there? Buy her a beer?
Then what?
Beg her to shut down her dating profile?
Ask again for a second chance that she didn’t want to give me?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wouldn’t be fair to approach Aggie tonight. She should have everything she wanted–and what she wanted was to move on from me.
So if I couldn’t sit with her, I’d hound down every man in the place to tell them what an amazing woman she was. How devoted of a mother. How steadfast of a friend. I’d get them fighting over her until the best one won out. So long as she didn’t have to sit alone.
That’s what I’ll do, I decided as I walked toward the bar with gravel crunching under my boots. The neon light ahead practically vibrated with country music muffled only by the brick façade.
Just as I reached the front door, a couple spilled out, and I realized I knew them. At least one of them.
“Hayes,” I said, eyeing my son with his arm draped around a brunette in daisy dukes even though the chill of winter was in the air.
My son lifted his chin, acknowledging me just for a moment before he continued on his way with her to… I didn’t like to think about that.
At least I wouldn’t have a familial audience around if this strategy went colossally wrong. No one would be repeating this story at family barbecues to embarrass me or Aggie. That had myshoulders a little straighter as I walked inside and paid a cover fee to a guy built like a brick shithouse. No wonder they put him up front.
A dozen sights and sounds and smells assaulted my senses as I walked farther inside. Between the pulsing lights, blaring music, and sickly-sweet stench of spilled liquor, it overwhelmed me after spending the lion’s share of the last decade of my life in the quiet countryside or a cozy diner during its lulls.
My heart rate began speeding, and the edges of my vision blurred. Now I knew what this was… a panic attack.
