Page 8 of The Offer

“I don’t think it has to do with money. From the sounds of it, he doesn’t want to be competing with Grampy’s or even Scoops this summer.”

He huffed. “What an idiot.”

“But now with Charlie living at home full time, things keep getting more expensive. More food, more gas money, more everything. I feel like…I feel like—”

She looked away, feeling her throat close up. Calvin may be the only true friend she had in this town, but that didn’t give him the right to see her break down. She spent so long pushing away the tears and the emotions that she grew accustomed to that numb, hollowed-out feeling in her heart. She almost forgot what the sensation of crying felt like; that stinging feeling in your cheeks and your nose and eyes as tears began to form.

She took another deep breath before continuing, not looking him in the eyes as she finished. “I feel like I’m stuck. Like this is my life forever. That it will never get better.”

“Have you told him this?”

“Charlie? God no. He’s always so chill about money. He grew up spending it freely, and it never seems to be a problem with him.”

“And that bothers you,” he said. Not a question.

Irritation pricked her chest as she slammed her hand on the counter. “Of course it bothers me, Calvin. I’m the one constantly trying to budget and keep things afloat, eating fucking grilled cheese for breakfast because there’s nothing else in the fridge, and he’s off still using daddy’s money buying video games and not even offering to pay for stuff unless I beg for it.”

“Grilled cheese for breakfast actually sounds kind of good,” he mumbled.

She glared at him.

“Is he still working for his father?” he asked.

She nodded, circling her wrist, realizing how hard she slammed it on the counter. She forced herself to relax a little. “Yes, but he’s taken on a bigger role since graduating. He’s basically his second-in-command now.”

“Sounds like he should be making more…” Calvin started, then hesitated. Almost like he was waiting for her to explain the rest of it. To make sense of it.

But there wasn’t more to it, and none of it made sense. Charlie was making more money at the boatyard these days, managing their books and their important client relationships. But he was stingy with how much of it he actually spent. His new paycheck was enough for him to split the cost of rent, which did put Jess somewhat at ease after five years of paying it all herself. But then her car broke down in January and needed serious repairs, draining all of her savings from working extra shifts at Post Road, and set her back to living month-to-month. Without any kind of cushion to fall back on this summer, she’d be spending a lot more time in the chip aisle.

She tried relaxing her shoulders as she looked at Calvin. “We’ll figure it out, because that’s what you do for the person you love. You figure it out.”

“And you do? Love him, I mean?”

Jess barked out a laugh. Unbelievable.

“Do you really still want to be with him?” Calvin pressed. “Because by the sounds of it…”

“What, so you fell in love last summer and think you’re now the expert here?” Jess snipped at him. She was happy for Calvin, for meeting Melanie and letting his hard edges soften around her, for allowing her to see the dark parts of him that not many people did. Melanie was one of the good ones; one of the only ones Jess felt she could trust with assisting her on ice cream cakes, which wasn’t an easy job for her to share. But he was still so young—they were still so young. He had no idea what being in a long-term relationship really looked like.

“I’ve been with Charlie for almost nine years,” she continued. “And in that time, I’ve learned a lot about what it means to sacrifice and care for someone else. Because that’s what you do when you’re in a relationship—you sacrifice.”

“You don’t have to lecture me about sacrifice and caring,” he rumbled. “You know better than anyone the shit I’ve been through. The shit Mel has been through.”

Jess rubbed her neck, looking past the windows at the front of the shop, the parking lot outside blanketed in darkness. She knew she was being unfair. Calvin and Melanie both dealt with family members that suffered from addiction. The disease had taken Melanie’s brother last summer, and Calvin lost his mother years ago in mind and spirit—lost to the power of pills and her need to constantly have more. He was right—she shouldn’t be lecturing him about sacrifice.

“You said you’ve been in a relationship for nine years,” he said, skipping over the fact that Jess was being a complete dick to him. “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

Her body trembled in panic. Saying “I love you” to Charlie was the equivalent of saying “pass the remote” or “what’s the weather.” It didn’t mean anything, at least not as much as it used to. Their love transformed from a thing of passion and urgency to a thing of sobering calm. No heat. No fireworks. She “loved” Charlie for so long, she forgot what it really meant to be in love anymore. What it felt like.

She figured that was how it went in a relationship—that the intensity softened over the years, that the relationship simply moved into a new phase. You changed. You grew.

Jess brushed him off, trying to make it look casual. “Of course I am, that’s a stupid question.”

Calvin shook his head slightly, looking defeated. He reached for his phone on the desk. She watched as he read the text that was lighting his screen, a smile curling on his lips. “Kevin says hi.”

She wanted to throttle him again. “Tell him to lay off and mind his own business.”

Calvin chuckled. “You know that will only entice him.”