Page 51 of Thirst For Me
“And what happened?”
“Well ... I loved him. Gave him three years of my life. Thought we’d get married. Thought the sun rose and set with him. Put everything I had, outside of work, into our relationship. Turns out, it wasn’t enough.”
“Hmm.”
Again, I have no idea what that means.
“Okay, so, I did one incredibly stupid, embarrassing, tiny little thing wrong,” I admit, “and he dumped me. And his parents pulled out of the investment they’d happily offered me because they saw how hard I worked, how much I’d put into the business to grow it from the ground up, and they ‘believed in’ me. Or so they said.”
“I see. So, you’re Cinderella.”
“Huh?”
“You put in all that time on your knees, scrubbing those floors, because you believe deep down that since you’re a good person and you work hard, eventually, someday, your Prince Charming will see how special you are and put a crown on your head. Your Fairy Godmother will make your dreams come true. All that nonsense. But life doesn’t work that way.”
“It doesn’t?” I mean, I don’t disagree. But this woman’s insight intomeis fascinating, even if I’m not sure how accurate it is yet.
“It didn’t even work that way for Cinderella. What happened to her in the end?”
“Uh, the prince married her?”
“And why did he do that?”
“Because she was the fairest maiden in all the land or something? And nicer than her evil stepsisters?”
“Wrong. She went to the ball, even though she wasn’t supposed to. She manifested that happy ending for herself. She didn’t just sit around accepting what she was given. She saw her opportunity and she seized it.”
“Right. She stepped up and claimed her glass slipper.”
“So, forget about that fool who abandoned you after you dropped so many glass slippers in his path, he was blind not to see them. You deserve better. Even if you don’t totally believe that yet.”
“Wow, June. I feel seen.”
I catch the hint of a smile that she’s quick to hide with a brusque nod. “Well. We’ve all been fools for love at one time or another.”
My eyebrows almost fly off my head. “We have?”
It’s hard to imagine this no-nonsense, fiercely independent woman a fool for anything.
But she eyes me like I must be dense. She shakes her head. “Some people are primarily selfish. It’s sadly obvious that you are not one of those.”
I almost laugh. “Sadly?”
“Learn to put yourself first,” she says firmly. “Then you’ll know when to fight for what you really want. Instead of just accepting what the world offers you.”
Chapter 10
Mason
I step out of the woods onto the stretch of dried grass and wind-matted weeds at the tip of a sharp curve in the road.
The guard rail along the road is still broken.
The makeshift section of metal fence that Jace and I put up is still there, bridging the gap. It’s been eleven months, and still, no one else has been out to fix it.
Everything on the cliff is the same as always, including the heavy sense of dread I carry with me all the way here through the woods. The only thing out of place is the gray-haired woman sitting on her knees facing the water. She looks out at the Salish Sea, back straight and hands resting on her thighs. Maybe she’s meditating.
Maybe she’s plotting my death.
