Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98789 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 395(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
“I offered to buy it as an investment in her, but she won’t let me.” I closed my suitcase and zipped it up.
“She mentioned that. It’s really sweet, Dash.” She paused. “You must care about her.”
“It’s Ari,” I said, trying to sound offhand. “Of course I do. Everyone does. She’s like one of the family.”
“That’s not what I meant. Why can’t you admit you have feelings for her?”
I finally stopped moving around and met her eyes. “Because there’s no point. She’s here and I’m there.”
“So you’re just going to forget about her?”
“No, but we both went into this knowing we were just friends that were going to stay just friends.”
“Okay,” she said. “If you say so. I’ve just never heard either one of you talk about another person or look at another person or act around another person the way you guys are with each other. It’s actually kind of nauseating.”
“It was just a couple weeks of hanging out,” I said, grabbing my jacket from the back of my door. “No big deal.”
“And where are you off to now?” she asked, her tone laced with phony innocence.
“I don’t really think that’s your business, Mabel.”
She burst out laughing and hopped off my bed. “Whatever. You know, for a good actor, you’re doing a shitty job pretending not to be in love with her.”
“I’m not in love with her,” I scoffed, although my heart thundered hard in my chest.
“Okay.” She patted my cheek. “Then I’ll just give you a hug and tell you to have Ari call me when she can.” Throwing her arms around me, she gave me a squeeze. “It was good to see you.”
“You too.” I hugged her back. “Come visit me in California sometime.”
“I’d love that. Safe travels. And good luck at your audition—keep us posted.”
“Thanks. I will.”
She let me go and wandered down the hall into her old bedroom, and I tossed my coat over my arm and took my bag down the stairs. Julia and my father looked over at me.
“Heading out, son?”
“Yeah, I’m going to run over to the diner and see if Ari needs anything. She’s not answering my texts, and I just want to make sure everything is okay.”
“She’s working tonight?” he asked, rising to his feet.
“Yeah, you know Moe. His first concern was for the diner.”
My father chuckled. “He needs to retire.”
“Hopefully, he’ll slow down after this.” I went around the couch to give him a hug. “I might not be back tonight.”
“I understand.” He thumped my back a few times. “You tell her we love her and we’re here.”
Julia jumped up and threw her arms around me as well. “Have a safe trip back home.”
“I will. Very nice to meet you.”
“You too.” She laughed brightly as she stepped back. “It’s funny, I’ve heard so much about you, I forgot that we hadn’t already met! I feel like I know all George’s kids personally, he talks about you all so much.”
“I can’t help it.” My dad shrugged. “I’m so proud of them.”
“As you should be.” Julia slipped her arm through his. “You’ve raised wonderful people with big hearts, but that’s no surprise.”
He smiled at her, and I felt like a third wheel. “Well, I’m out. I’ll check in with you tomorrow, Dad. Take care, okay?”
“Will do, son. And good luck at that audition. Knock ’em dead.”
“Thanks, I’ll try.” I gave a final wave, scratched behind Fritz’s ears, and headed out.
I tried calling Ari again, but she didn’t answer, so I decided to just show up at the diner. If she was already gone, I’d head to her house and then try the hospital.
Since it was late on a Sunday—and still pouring rain—I found a parking spot on Main without any trouble, right in front of Moe’s. Between the swish of the windshield wipers, I could see the diner’s lights were still on. Jumping out of my car, I hurried through the rain toward the door. Through the front windows I could see the place was empty except for Ari, who stood with her back to me, wiping down a table inside a booth. The jukebox must have been on, because I heard music playing. As I raised my fist to knock on the glass, I was reminded of the first time I’d done this just a couple weeks ago—the morning after she’d sliced her hand.
It was incredible how much had happened since then. How much had changed.
My sister’s voice echoed in my brain. For a good actor, you’re doing a shitty job pretending not to be in love with her.
But that was ridiculous. I wasn’t in love with her. You didn’t fall for someone in less than a month. Surely that took a lot more time and effort. Of course, my parents had always maintained they fell in love at first sight. The story was that my dad told my mom on their first date he was going to marry her—and six months later, he did. Was that just family lore?