Page 49 of The Last Goodbye

Ahhh…we’re back to questioning one another’s motives, are we?

I need a nap before I make a fool of myself at line dancing tonight. What’s your question?

McGrumpy

When we were eating, you started to tell me what you thought of me, and you stopped when Winona walked in. I don’t like an unfinished conversation.

Is this a chef thing? It feels like an unfinished meal to you? Like baking cookies without the flour? Or making tacos without the taco shells?

McGrumpy

No. It’s just an unfinished conversation, and I wanted to hear the end.

My buzz is long gone. I’d need more alcohol to finish that conversation.

McGrumpy

You’re really going to leave me hanging after I told you what I thought of you?

I barely remember the conversation because I was too busy hiccupping.

I was trying to make light of it. I remembered verbatim every word he’d said.

You’re smart, and you’re beautiful, and you’re incredibly talented at your job.

McGrumpy

I guess I can add “queen of deflection” to the list.

Let’s just leave it at “queen”?

McGrumpy

Deflecting again.

If you want me to finish the sentence, you’ll need to share something else with me first. I overshared today, and it doesn’t feel balanced.

McGrumpy

Who’s the exhausting one now?

I still vote for you.

He didn’t reply, and I dropped my phone on the bed. Soon enough, I was nodding off.

I glanced at myself in the mirror that evening. I’d asked Gracie and Tatum what one wears to go line dancing, and they’d said anything, as long as I paired it with cowboy boots. It was a very different look for me.

Thankfully, I was a big fan of cowboy boots. I used to ride when I was a kid. The couple who owned the diner where my mom worked had a barn and several horses, and I used to walk over to their house and ride every chance I got.

I paired my worn tan cowboy boots with a pair of denim cutoff shorts and a white tank top. It was a warm evening tonight, and I figured it would be even hotter if we were line dancing. I slicked my hair back, tying it up in a big bun on top of my head. I added a little lipstick and some eyeliner before pausing to look in the mirror.

Not bad. I looked like I was going line dancing.

A small part of me felt a little nervous about tonight. Not in a bad way, just that slightly unfamiliar edge of stepping into something I hadn’t done in years. I wasn’t exactly a “bar and line dancing” kind of girl anymore…if I ever really had been.

But mostly, I was excited.

Excited to just be out with Gracie and Tatum, to have plans that didn’t involve meetings, contracts, or my father’s expectations. Something light.