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“Right, because someone else would do something like this,” I said, practically jumping for joy.
He held up his hands. “I swear. It wasn’t me.”
I shook my head as I absorbed what he said. “You can’t mean…” I turned around. “No, it couldn’t have been him.”
Drew took my arm and gave a gentle tug, urging me to face him. “This was all Derrick.”
I clutched the envelope to my chest, conflicting emotions roiling inside me. “What…what changed his mind?”
I almost didn’t want to hear the answer because there were only two reasons I could think of, and I wasn’t sure which was scarier. That he’d forgiven me and moved on…or that he actually felt something for me.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Drew said. “It’s not like there was some sudden personality change or anything. Over the last couple months though…” He shrugged. “He’s different, Jess. I mean, he still works crazy hours, but this is rarely leaving his office working, not like before. He doesn’t yell at the staff and rarely goes to meetings anymore. He has me doing that shit half the time.”
I frowned, caught off-guard by the new information. “Then what’s he spending all his time doing?”
“Working on his book.”
I flinched. “He’s still writing it?”
“He hasn’t let me see any of it yet, but I have a feeling it’s not going to be the same book that he set out to write earlier this year.” Drew’s smile softened. “I think he’s trying to do the right thing.”
With that remark, Drew walked off. I watched him go for a minute, my head spinning. Derrick was still writing his book, but it wasn’t the same as he originally planned it to be. And he’d given my parents back their store without asking for anything from me. Not just my parents either. He was letting everyone keep their spaces in the building.
“Jessica, hon, are you all right?”
My mom’s voice pulled me back to the moment and what was important.
The papers in my hand.
I spun around and ran back into the store, waving the envelope over my head. “Wait! Don’t pack anything else!”
“Jess?” Dad came over with concern in his voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” I shouted gleefully.
I felt as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, lightening my entire body until I could fly.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked, confused.
“We don’t have to leave.” I handed the envelope to my father. “Derrick’s changed his mind and isn’t going to evict anyone. We have a new rental agreement and so does everyone in the building.”
As my parents read over the paperwork, I went out to tell the movers that they could bring everything back inside.
Maybe it was going to be a good year after all.
FORTY-TWO
DERRICK
“Motherfucking piece of shit!”
I continued to curse at my laptop with the most colorful phrases I could come up with. It wouldn’t help me with my current problem, but venting made me feel a bit better.
I’d been staring at the screen for the past two hours, unable to write a single word. I rarely got writer’s block, and it made it even more frustrating that it’d happened just as I was getting ready to start the final chapter of what I thought was going to be my best book ever.
After my failed attempt to get Jessica back by offering her parents a rental agreement, I’d taken a hard look at myself and at everything I believed about relationships.
And I’d re-written my entire outline.