He heads to the wardrobe. He pulls on a pair of black boxer shorts, a pair of blue jeans and a pale yellow shirt.
I watch him as I apply the lip gloss.
“The car is on its way,” he says. “And I called the restaurant. They have space for us.”
“Great,” I say. “I’m starving.”
“You’re always starving.” Brett laughs.
“I know. It’s like the gods saw a chance to have a bit of fun when they made me. I can imagine them chuckling to themselves and saying let’s make her the worst cook in the world, but let’s also make it so she’s constantly hungry.”
“Yeah, if you could mess with people like that, you totally would.” Brett snickers.
“Exactly,” I agree.
Brett comes to stand behind me. He ruffles his hair up, looking over me into the mirror.
I am conscious of the heat coming off his body, how he’s almost touching me, but not quite.
And it’s already back to the way it was before this weekend. I crave his touch and yet I don’t feel confident enough to turn in the chair and pull his lips down to mine. It’s like we’ve already begun to distance ourselves from each other. Maybe work won’t be so bad. If we can resist each other here, alone, then the office should be a walk in the park. Except after a day or two of it, I know it’s going to kill me.
I really do have to hope that Brett decides to turn down his father’s offer. Maybe then, we stand a chance. I know in theory, I could leave my job, but I know I’ve worked too hard to throw it all away now. Brett has other options. I don’t. Or maybe I do. I just don’t know anymore.
“Are you ready?” Brett asks, meeting my eyes in the mirror when his phone beeps.
I nod and stand. He offers me his arm and I take it. Is this the last time I will get to take his arm? The last time I will get to touch him?
We go down to the waiting car and make the short trip to the restaurant. It’s a smallish place, the lighting low and intimate. It’s not somewhere you go with someone you want out of your life. I suddenly find myself wishing we had gone to some brightly lit, cheesy diner where most of the clientele are in large groups. Then I could have told myself we were just colleagues grabbing a bite to eat together before the working week starts.
We get seated at a table in the window and we both order the carbonara followed by gelato for Brett and cheesecake for me. I look out onto the street watching the people out there go by.
“Are you all right Opal?” Brett asks.
I pull my gaze away from the window and smile at him.
“Yes,” I answer. “Sorry. I was just people watching.”
Brett grins and nods towards a woman walking by. “Ok. See her? I’d say she’s just inherited a fortune and she’s already debating whether she’s going to go on a cruise first or buy a sports car first.”
I laugh and nod to a man walking his dog. “That’s not even his dog. He walks the neighbour’s dog for her, because he is secretly in love with her and won’t tell her, and he hopes that one day, she’ll invite him in for coffee after he’s walked her dog. She never does, even though she wants to, because she figures if he liked her, he would have asked her out by now.”
“Ok, now I want to run out there and tell him to just ask her out already,” Brett chuckles.
“Oh, you can’t do that!” I exclaim, pretending to be completely serious. “Fate doesn’t like it when you mess with his plans like that.”
“Fate is a guy?”
“Well sure. A woman wouldn’t waste so much time with all of the misunderstandings.” I grin at him. “She’s just get in there and gets the damn job done.”
Brett shakes his head and laughs.
The waiter appears with our carbonara which smells divine. We thank him and I taste some.
“Oh, wow,” I breathe the words out in awe. “That’s amazing.”
“I know right? This place does the best carbonara in town,” Brett agrees.
We eat in a comfortable silence and I can’t help but keep watching Brett. Several times I catch him looking back at me and I smile sheepishly.
“Have you given anymore thought to your father’s proposal?” I ask finally. I didn’t want to bring up work, not now, but I really need to know. If he’s made his decision, then at least, I will know our fate one way or the other.
Brett sighs and shakes his head. “I’ve thought about it, but I’m no closer to having an answer than I was on Friday. If he wasn’t ill, it would be an easy decision. But I just can’t have stressing him out on my conscience. But then the thought of being stuck in his life for the rest of mine, fills me with such dread. What do you think I should do?”
I want to tell him to turn down the offer and never look back. Then we can be together and he can follow his dreams… we can both be happy, but I know I can’t do that. I can’t convince him to do something, knowing it could cause Mr. Connell to have another heart attack. If that happened, then not only would I feel terrible, but Brett would surely come to resent me. “I think you should follow your heart,” I say carefully.
Brett gives a soft laugh. “Way to straddle the fence,” he quips.
I smile at him, but then I turn serious. “It’s such a big decision Brett, and I really don’t think I can be the one to help you make it. I have too much invested in the decision. Don’t you have any business associates you trust who could help you with the decision?”
He raises an eyebrow at my comment about being
