Page 55 of Looks Real Good Now
“As in Fitzpatrick? Coach’s daughter?” he finally said.
“He’s not been our Coach for years; I think you can call him Rob now. But yes, as in Fitzpatrick.”
“How did that happen? When would you even have crossed paths with her? You’ve been very skilled at avoiding anywhere she may be the entire time you’ve been in Detroit.”
I thought about lying to him, but there didn’t seem to be any point now that it was official. Also, he knew I didn’t go to that birthday party because he had and told me it was a great time. So, I told the truth.
“I bumped into her at the airport and, with the fact thatour parents are still neighbours, we couldn’t avoid each other anymore, and now here we are.”
“But again, I ask, why is this how I am finding out that two of my closest friends have finally figured their shit out and started dating?”
“Because part of me is still worried. You know her, she operates like a fox and is prone to running if startled. She could still wake up one day and disappear again. I didn’t want to jinx it by telling people outside of the ones we were spending the holidays with.”
“She hasn’t run yet. You definitely should have told me,” Teddy said.
“There is still a ‘yet’ in your sentence though, Teddy.”
“Liam, you don’t hang out with someone in the vicinity ofMacy’sthat close to Christmas unless you’re down for life. In fact, I think the fact that you got Alana out into the city that close to the twenty-fifth is the biggest indicator that she isn’t going to run. Not this time.”
“You sound very sure about that, man,” I laughed softly as I reached the front of the queue.
“I know I don’t need to remind you, but she never stopped being my friend. I know who she was as a person in her late twenties, and now into her thirties, and she’s not like she was back then. And I know it’s not the best example, but she didn’t get engaged to a man she had been with for years. Do you know how hard it must be to stick to that conviction? You don’t say no to a proposal, but she did, and she stuck to that answer even though everyone kept getting on her case about it. So, if she’s hanging around Macy’s and getting on ice rinks with you, I feelpretty confident when I say she won’t run now. She knows what she wants, and it looks like it might be you she wants now. She won’t run again.”
“You’re probably right. Hang on,” I said to Teddy just before I ordered a pistachio croissant and a hazelnut pain au chocolat.
“You get over your aversion to pistachio since I last saw you, dude? Wow, Alana has really changed you as a person,” Teddy asked as my pastries were boxed up.
“No, they’re for Lenny. Or at least, one of them is. I’m hoping she will leave me with the pain au chocolat, but no stress if she wakes up and decides she wants Nutella in pastry form,” I replied, paying for my order and taking the box before slipping out the door.
“You’ll just eat the pistachio one? Liam, you hate pistachios.”
“I wouldn’t eat it, there is other food in the house and one of her parents or Aaron will eat it. Does part of me hope that she will go pistachio over hazelnut? Yes, but I’m not fussed if she doesn’t. I have other options, and I want her to have options.”
“Jeez, I forgot how bad you used to have it for her. Did you wake up especially for this pastry run? For options?” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“No, I woke up and thought maybe I should go for a run because I was feeling restless. I got 2k in and gave up. Now I’m talking to you and turning the walk back into a pastry run.”
“I need a boyfriend like you. Or a girlfriend. Or justsomeonewho treats me as well as you are treating her. If she does run, can you please come back to me? I swear I would treat you so right.”
“Thought you said she wasn’t gonna do that?”
“Yeah, and she’s not. But in an alternate universe, she does,and then we become the new power couple, and everything is great.”
“Alright, I’m going to leave you to your daydream,” I laughed.
“You gonna watch the game?”
“I can’t promise that I will, but I can be there if you need me afterwards,” I answered.
“No, I’ll just work extra hard to make sure we win so I won’t have to pull you away from your warm bed to help me wallow in my sorrows.”
“Great, well shoot sharp and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Later, Liam.”
Rob was in the kitchen when I walked in, a pen poised over a crossword clue.
“Morning, Rob,” I said as I set the pastry box on the counter.
