"Wow, I don't know what to say, Lexi."
"It's okay. You don't have to say anything. It's not like I expected you would want to be friends or anything. I just wanted to do the right thing and apologize."
She hesitated for a moment. I probably would too if I were in her shoes.
"I accept your apology,” she said.
Payton extended her hand to me. It was a start to a civil existence, which is all I could ever ask for. I didn't know if I'd ever find my happily ever after, but if I did, it definitely wouldn't be by sowing seeds of discord.
We returned to the booth where Cole was working.
"Everything okay?" he said.
"Couldn't be better. Thank you again for coming out and being a part of the fundraiser. I hope you two have fun and don't forget to help yourself to something to eat."
"Thank you," Payton said.
"Absolutely. I'm going to check on the other volunteers. I'll see you later."
I blended into the crowd feeling good about the choice I made. Sometimes a change in attitude was all you needed to help set you on the right course.
Rebecca
The case I was working on with Ethan was short-lived. The charges were dropped due to tampering with evidence. This created a no-win situation, and my client was set free. Thankfully this also meant that I didn't have to work with Ethan anymore.
When the court was adjourned, he followed me to the elevator.
"Rebecca. Rebecca, slow down."
I kept walking, hoping the elevator doors would open in time.
"Hey, slow down."
I pressed the lobby button and turned toward him.
"Let me guess. You're disappointed the case was dismissed because you didn't get to do a victory lap."
"We all know the odds were in my favor with this case, but that's beside the point."
"Whatever, Ethan."
"I'm just kidding with you. Come on, lighten up. Why are you being so hard-nosed with me?"
I'm not sure I had an answer to that question. I mean, how ridiculous would it sound if I confessed I was still annoyed at something he did over twelve years ago?
"I'm not being hard-nosed with you. I just don't think we have much to say after all these years."
"How would you know that if you don't give it a try? I, for one, would sincerely like to know how you're doing,” he said.
"That's funny. You didn't seem to care about that while you were at UCLA, or while you were starting your big-time law career." I lowered my voice, so I didn't draw attention.
"What do you mean, big-time law career? Last time I checked, we both work at the same place."
"Yeah, well, at least I remained loyal and dedicated my time to giving back to our home town."
"So, now I'm to blame because of where I chose to go to school? Come on, Becca. What's this really all about?"
The bell signaled for the elevator to open. I didn't say anything until the doors closed behind us, and we were alone.
"You're not to be blamed for anything, Ethan. The past is water under the bridge. You should just leave it where it belongs."
"You still have feelings for me, don't you?" he said.
"The nerve! Aren't you full of arrogance and pride? I oughta…"
"You oughta what?" he said.
"Oooooh!"
I could feel the steam coming out of my pores. How dare he talk to me that way.
"Some things haven't changed, Becca."
"Call me Becca one more time and see what happens."
"Rebecca. Some things haven't changed. You still get angry as ever when somebody is telling you something you don't want to hear. "
The elevator opened, and someone joined us from the second floor. I was relieved because it temporarily silenced Ethan. When we reached the main lobby, I had the pleasure of being followed out to the parking lot.
"Rebecca, hear me out once and for all. If you don't ever want to speak to me again afterward, I'll respect your wishes."
I stopped at the car door.
"You have sixty seconds."
"Okay… I was caught between a rock and a hard place. What was I to do? I was eighteen years old and received a full ride to a school that could help open doors for my future."
"I wasn't upset with you for choosing to go to UCLA, Ethan. Look at you. Still clueless after all these years. I was upset with you for losing touch with me. I know we were young, but I loved you. I checked my email and even my voicemail to see if I had a message from you. But eventually, you just stopped reaching out. That said a lot about how much you cared."
I felt as if I was reliving the sadness all over again.
"Not so. I stopped because I didn't want to hold you back from meeting someone who could be there for you."
"What? All you needed to do was keep the lines of communication open. I would've waited for you,” I said.
"How could I expect you to wait for me? You were smart and beautiful and one of the most popular girls out of our senior class. I knew you were going places with your life. Was I really supposed to expect that you would wait around for me?"
"It doesn't matter, Ethan. I feel like we're beating a dead horse at this point."
"It does matter. I admit I was wrong for the way I handled things. I see that now. But please don't hold that against me forever. I swear on everything I have that I wanted what was best for you. You can even ask my parents. My mom used to send me care packages because she knew how upset I was about being apart from you. She used to beg me to call you, but I knew that wouldn't change the fact that I couldn't be with you. I genuinely felt that you were better off without me."
For the first time, I realized there was another side to the story. Back then,
