"How could I forget?" he said.
I refrained from saying anything further but our bond was so tight. I wondered how he could just leave it all behind. We grabbed a couple of cool beverages from a nearby stand before he walked me back to my car.
"So, what are the odds that I might see you again?" he said.
"The odds are very high. We work in the same building, remember?"
"Come on, you know that's not what I meant."
I knew what he meant, but I wasn't convinced that hanging out with Ethan was a good idea for my emotional well being.
"I'll think about it," I said.
He stopped walking.
"Seriously?"
"Yep. You'll have to take it or leave it."
"You were always one to drive a hard bargain. Let me guess. You don't want to be seen around town with me? You're probably afraid it will stir up something?"
"No. I'm just not certain I want to give you an immediate yes. At least it's not a no."
He took a sip of his water.
"Good point. I told my mom you were going to give me a hard time."
"You told your mother we were meeting today?"
"Sure, why not? She was so excited to hear that we had a chance to reconnect. You know she'll never stop being fond of you."
Hanging out with Ethan felt just like old times. We fell right back in synch as if we hadn't missed years of being together. That made me nervous.
"Guess who I ran into the other day?" he said.
"Who?"
"Do you remember Tommy Sacks?"
"The kid who used do weird things like eat mud pies when everybody dared him to?"
"That's him. He owns an auto shop on the north side of Pelican Beach."
"Really? How's he doing?"
"He appears to be doing very well. He's married with kids, and best of all, it looks like he survived all of those disgusting dares."
We laughed and carried on some more about Tommy's dares until we arrived at our cars.
"It's a wonder that kid didn't have to make any visits to the E.R." he said.
"I know, right?"
Our laughter trailed off and we found ourselves in an awkward moment of silence.
"Well, here's your car, and I'm parked right behind you."
Ethan tapped on the hood of my car.
"This was nice. Thanks for inviting me,” I said.
"The pleasure was all mine. Do you have big plans for this afternoon?"
"Not really. I'm going to swing by Payton's store and see what she's up to. I need to talk to her if she's not too busy."
"That's nice. Well, enjoy the afternoon, and if you should ever change your mind about going out again, I hope you call me."
"Bye, Ethan."
I waved goodbye and drove off. It was hard not to spend the entire drive thinking about our afternoon get together. Who would've ever imagined in a million years that I would go anywhere with Ethan again? Now, the real question I had to ask myself… would I go out with him again?
When I arrived at Payton's, there was barely enough room to get in the store.
"Excuse me. Hi. Coming through. Hi. Excuse me."
When I made it to the counter, a girl stood behind the counter, looking frazzled and overwhelmed.
"Welcome to Picture Perfect. How may I help you?"
"Hi, is Payton here? I'm her sister, Rebecca."
"Hi, Miss Rebecca. It's nice to meet you. I'm Natalie."
I extended my hand across the counter.
"Natalie. You must be Payton's new assistant."
"That's me. Payton is in the back, finishing up a photo shoot. She should be out soon."
"Great, do you need help out here? It's looking kind of crowded."
"They're all apart of the same party. They took a group photo, and now Payton's just working on the last individual photo."
"Oh, okay, that's great. It looks like business is booming. How's the assistant role working out for you?"
"So far, so good. I still have a lot to learn about placing orders and organizing inventory, but overall I'd say it's going pretty well."
Payton returned and announced that everyone's photos were done. She was such a professional. I don't think I've ever seen Payton, the businesswoman in action, but the role suited her well.
"Rebecca, I didn't know you were here."
"I just got here. Natalie and I were getting acquainted while you were taking your last picture."
"Natalie, Rebecca is my youngest sister. She's by far the craziest of the bunch, so don't listen to a thing she says or pay attention to anything she does,” Payton said.
Natalie stood there looking uncertain about what to say.
"Thanks, Payton. Now I know how you really feel about me."
I pretended to put my head down and cry just to play around with Natalie. Poor thing looked at us both like we were crazy.
"Natalie, we're just joking around. Lighten up, girl,” I said.
"Speak for yourself, Becca. You might've been joking with the fake crying, but I'm serious about you being crazy."
Natalie finally cracked a big smile.
"Is that how you treat me in front of your new assistant? I'll remember this moment."
"Quit goofing around, Rebecca. What brings you by here today? "
"I was hoping I could talk to you for a little bit if you weren't too busy."
"Sure, why don't you come hang out in the back with me so I can multi-task."
She checked in with Natalie. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"
"No problem," Natalie said.
I pulled up a stool in Payton's back room and put down my purse.
"So, what's on your mind?"
"Where do I begin?"
"Uh, oh. That doesn't sound good."
"It's not terrible. I just have a lot to think about these days."
"Well, are you going to tell me about it, or are you going to just sit there?"
"Okay. Let's start with the most recent event."
I decided to share my thoughts even though I knew I would probably regret it later.
"I just left the beach before I came to see you."
"I thought you looked a little rosy on your cheeks." Payton was digging in her filing cabinet while listening.
"I was at the beach with Ethan."
She stopped what she was doing.
"How did that happen?"
"What do you mean, how did it
