Page 32 of Turning the Page with My Grumpy Boss

“Hey, bud. What’s cracking?” Randy’s voice was cheery, as always.

“Hey, can you meet me at the pub? I’ve, well, I don’t know. I think Tessa and I might have just broken up, and I could use a guys’ night.”

“Of course. Be there in fifteen.”

Daniel thanked him and hung up. Making his way to the pub, he thought over the conversation. It had gone poorly, but what had he expected? He knew from the start that this thing with Tessa was tentative. The chill of the cool autumn breeze cut through his jacket, and he shivered.

This night had truly gone sideways, but there was no taking back the words they had both said to each other. As shadows danced along the sidewalk in the light of the streetlights, Daniel let his mind wander. Back to what it had been like those first few weeks.

It had been unfathomable to him when he first met Tessa that she would become so important to him. But with each passing day, she had broken down his defenses. She had found a way into his heart, and there wasn’t much he could do about it, even if he had wanted to.

What now?He thought to himself.

When he reached the door of the pub, he walked into the main room, inhaling the smell of stale beer and pizza. Though he met Randy here often, there was something about the scents that brought back hard memories from his childhood—nights when his dad stumbled home late and early mornings when his dad was too passed out to take him to school. It wasn’t like he hated all alcohol. But he couldn’t even touch his dad’s preference for PBR without feeling a pit in his stomach.

Patrons in the bar mostly ignored his entrance, which was fine by him. He’d had enough attention earlier for a lifetime. Sinking onto a barstool, he flagged down the employee behind the bar.

“What’ll you have tonight, Daniel?” The bartender tonight was Krissy, a woman he’d gone to high school with, who had an on-again-off-again arrangement with Randy.

“Just a Blue Moon when you get a chance.” As she scurried off to grab the drink, he scrolled through his texts with Tessa. There were probably hundreds by now. Some were about shop business, others about the book. But the ones he focused in on were the ones that they had sent each other late at night when neither could sleep.

They had discussed anything and everything, bantering about topics like favorite books and who would win in a fight—Mothra or Godzilla. Those texts had meant so much to him at the time, but as he looked at them now, a pain seared in his heart.

“Hey, Sir Mopes-A-Lot. I see you haven’t begun drowning your sorrows just yet.”

Daniel looked up, noticing the bartender had dropped off his Blue Moon and Randy had arrived. He shrugged and tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Yeah, I was just a little distracted, I guess.”

Randy nodded solemnly as he sat down on the stool beside him. “Looking through your messages of sweet nothings, are we? I warn you—that’s a slippery slope.”

Something Daniel was already too aware of, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself. “Yeah, well, it’s been a rough night. Try not to be too hard on me, Oh Wise One.”

That elicited a snort from Randy as he gestured for the bartender. When he was finished ordering an IPA, he turned to his friend. “So, the doctor is in. What exactly happened?”

Randy was always the friend that Daniel could come to, no matter what. With his own hangups and baggage, he was unlikely to judge anything that Daniel might tell him. It was a relationship that he had treasured since they were kids. Knowing that you couldn’t change how someone viewed you by expressing your doubts and fears was a powerful thing. Daniel was grateful for it tonight.

Still, it felt like every word was pulled from him as Daniel recounted the fiasco at the diner. He was ashamed of how he had acted, but at the same time, he felt justified anger coursing through him. “She was obviously considering the offer, and she kept it from me.”

Randy nodded and took a long swallow of his beer. The bartender had brought it by around halfway through Daniel’s sordid tale, and already Randy was halfway through it. “I’m going to be real with you, bud. I feel like you screwed up.”

That caught Daniel off guard. “Screwed up in trying to make this work, you mean. I don’t know. Maybe I should be more like you—look for a fling.”

Randy shook his head as he clinked his beer glass back down on the bar. “Yeah, see, that’s crap. You aren’t me. You don’tdoflings. You pursued this girl because you were looking for something special. It sounds like you found it, and you panicked at the first sign of trouble.”

Daniel wanted to argue, but, well, if the shoe fit. He took a long pull from his beer and sighed. “She was planning to leave, Randy.”

“Was she? Because from what you told me of that phone call and Tessa’s reaction, she still hadn’t made up her mind. I wouldn’t be surprised if you made it up for her, though. You didn’t give her a chance to explain. You just attacked out of a place of hurt, which I won’t judge you on. With your dad, I know there’s some baggage. But she’s not him.”

The truth bombs just kept coming, and Daniel was honestly surprised such insightful words were coming out of Randy, of all people. His plan had been to blow off some steam, and instead, his friend was holding up a mirror. It was uncomfortable but maybe necessary.

“I really screwed this up.” His voice broke a little as he said it.

“Yeah, man. You did. Look, Tessa has changed you. For better or worse, she has. You’ve become lighter. You’ve started opening up more. I’ve seen it. Hell, the whole town has. And I would hate to see you close that door because of a misunderstanding.” Randy played with the rim of his glass. “At least give it some thought.”

That seemed fair. The last thing Daniel had done was give this whole thing some thought. He had been reactionary and a bit cruel. Now that he was seeing his behavior reflected back at him, he didn’t really like what he saw.

“You’re right. I think—I think I need some time to think. Thanks for being honest, man. You mind if I bow out? I just need to clear my head. Think things through.”

“Sure thing, Daniel. Just don’t be too hard on yourself. This is new territory. Love like this always is.” He paused and flashed a wicked grin. “Of course, I’m not exactly an expert in that field.”

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