“Like I said,” Margo began. “I don’t think his actions right now have anything to do with you. He knows you’re there for him. He knows you want to be with him.”
“I just want to be there with him. It almost hurts worse being here and not able to see him.”
She smiled.
“It’s over, isn’t it? I just need to accept this and try to move past him.” I walked towards the pantry and paused in the doorway. A stark reminder of Brooks. Great! Now every time I walked into my pantry, I’d forever be reminded of him. At least I had all the memories from my first husband in boxes. I could burn those all to hell, but this... Had Brooks all over it.
“Erika?” Margo asked.
“Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“No, Margo, I’m not okay. He did my pantry and...”
“Okay,” she said as she stood from the chair. “You go up and take a shower, get ready for the day, and I’m going to make breakfast.”
“I can make something...”
“No!” she ordered. “Upstairs. Go. I got this.”
“You’re too good to me.” I grinned at her and marched upstairs to take a long, hot shower.
As I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me, I walked towards the window and stared over at Easton’s. I wondered how different things would be now. I felt embarrassed to have brought this upon everyone in the community. I didn’t like attention and wasn’t looking forward to the spring when all the neighbors would be back for the summer. I knew how these tight-knit communities were, and I felt like I had destroyed a part of that.
“Erika?” Margo knocked on my bedroom door.
“Yes?”
“Breakfast, or brunch, I should say, is ready if you want to head down when you’re ready.”
“Okay. Thank you very much, Margo. I’ll be down in a few.”
I slipped into my black leggings and red-hooded sweater that again reminded me of Brooks. He had a similar sweater, and many times when we’d see each other, we’d both be wearing ours. I put my hair up in a loose bun, sprayed a dab of perfume, and headed downstairs.
I walked into the kitchen and stopped in shock.
“Brooks?”
He grinned at me as he sat at the island. “In the flesh.”
“And Easton?”
“Also in the flesh,” he laughed. “Although I think I have a little more loose flesh than he has.”
“Oh, stop it!” Margo laughed as she threw a dishrag at him.
I stared at them, confused. “I didn’t know you... either of you were...”
“Surprised?” Easton asked.
I noticed Margo turn away and smile. “Wait. Margo, did you know they were coming here?”
She grinned. “It was originally my idea. So, yes.”
Brooks just smiled and shook his head as he sipped on his ice water.
“I feel like I’m the last to know about something,” I said as I walked over, grabbed a glass‚ and got some ice water from the fridge dispenser. I turned around and leaned up against the counter, facing Easton and Brooks, who sat on the other side of the island.
“Margo gave me her business card in the hospital. In case there was ever another emergency, she wanted me to call her directly. Well, after Brooks and I talked...”
I looked at Brooks and then back to Easton. “When did you talk in the hospital?”
Brooks laughed.
“You’re laughing now, but you sure weren’t laughing then.”
They both busted out laughing‚ and Margo turned to me. “Scrambled eggs okay? I made their eggs since they had a special order.”
I nodded to her and turned back to Brooks and Easton.
“After you left my room, I asked the nurse to call you back in. But you were already in talking with Brooks. So‚ I asked her if Margo was still around. When they found her in the waiting room, they brought her back to my room. After you left, I had a few more things come to mind that I wanted to say. I was hoping you were still there.”
“So, at the hotel, Margo, you didn’t say a thing.” I turned to her. “About you and Easton talking after...”
She smiled. “It wasn’t the right time. You were tired, frustrated, upset... you name it. You needed rest and nothing more to stress you out.”
“We took care of things,” Easton continued. “So, the next morning, I worked my magic and made them assign us to a double room. Brooks and me. They wheeled me into a room and a few hours later, they wheeled this guy in.” He nudged Brooks with his arm.
Brooks laughed.
“You should’ve seen his face!” Easton laughed. “They had the curtain closed around me for privacy when they wheeled him in. Once I knew the nurses were gone, and it was just him and I in the room, I opened the curtain just enough so he could see me. And then I gave him the scare of his life.”
They both laughed.
“I turned to him without smiling, and I said, ready for round two?” Easton laughed at this point. “Then I sat up on the edge of my bed, reached over, and moved his wheelchair so he couldn’t reach it. I think he thought I was going to attack him or something.”
“I deserved it,” Brooks said as he grinned.
“So, I stared at him and gave him my speech. Some same details I told you, Erika, the night before. But we had a wonderful talk that day.”
Brooks nodded.
“But you should’ve seen his face,” Easton said again, followed by laughter.
“So, how did you two end up here?” I asked.
“Well, after our talk, we agreed to call Margo. Or I agreed I’d call her. And I did. We hashed out some details, and I got Gregory to pick us up and bring us back here. Making a long story short, everything is good. We’re good.” He pointed to Brooks. “I think we’re on the same page now.”
Brooks smiled and nodded.
“Well, I’m glad you’re both here.”
“Me too,” Margo chimed in.
