Page 43 of My So-Called Perfect Life

“I say, serve her a bunch of shots.” Evan leans back on his barstool. His brown eyes glare at me as he runs a hand through his short blond hair. “If you’re going to hang with crazy, might as well dive all the way in.”

“We don’t even know if I’ll ever see her again,” I point out, finally taking the seat next to him. I grab all the paperwork I was working on before and stick it back into my folder. “Don’t get your panties in a twist just yet.”

He salutes with his beer. “It’s your dick’s funeral. I think you’d have better luck with the sharks.”

I huff and shake my head. “Just drop it, and let’s watch the game, please. I’ve had enough drama and talking for one week. I just want to enjoy my baseball in peace.”

“Sure, sure,” he says, turning toward the TV in the corner. “If you continue chasing crazy, it’ll probably be the last bit of peace you ever get before she drags you down the rabbit hole with her.”

Chapter Fourteen

Danielle

“You gave him the keychain?”Mercy asks between her bouts of laughter. “Why?”

When I finally made the decision to go to Cohen’s last night and apologize, I didn’t tell Mercy or Amelia my plans. I have no doubt they would’ve loved to tag along for the event. To them, my life has become a circus for their enjoyment.

I shrug thinking back on how stupid it really was. “I don’t know. In the moment it seemed like a good idea. Now, not so much. I feel really childish actually.”

“What did he say?” she asks as her eyes scan the room to make sure everything is okay on her side.

“Well, at first he laughed.”

“Then?”

“Then it got really embarrassing.”

“How?” she asks just before calling out, “Jessica, give Katie back her juice box.”

Looking over, I see that Jessica has Katie’s juice box in her hand, and Katie is trying to snatch it back.

“I was just opening it for her, and she won’t say thank you,” Jessica says.

I swear, sometimes, my job makes me feel like I’m a zookeeper.

“Katie, say thank you, and, Jessica, give it back.” Mercy turns her attention back to me. “Why was it embarrassing?”

“He asked if he should feel honored since he’s never gotten”—I glance around to see who can hear us. Last thing I want to explain to an eight-year-old is what chlamydia is or explain to their parents why they’re hearing it from me—“itbefore, especially from the same person twice.”

She gasps. “Oh my God. Was he a totalyou know whatabout it?”

This is the part I still haven’t been able to wrap my head around.

After the way I treated him Saturday, he had every right to tear me a new one. I had been expecting it, to be honest. When I walked into the bar last night, tail between my legs, I was sure he was going to throw me out the minute he saw me. I wasn’t even sure he was going to be there, but my conscience got the best of me as I lay in bed the night I got Mandy’s letter. I tossed and turned all night, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep again until I did what I knew was right. I’d wrongfully and very publicly accused the man of something he didn’t do, and I needed to try to make it right.

“No, he was calm about it, honestly,” I tell her as I pick through the small bit of my remaining chicken and cranberry salad. “He even asked me to stay and have dinner but then it got busy, so I skedaddled before I did something else to humiliate myself further in front of him.”

“You should go to dinner with him.”

“No way.” I shake my head just as the bell rings, letting us know lunch is over. “I don’t even have a way to contact him without showing up at the bar . . . and I’m not doing that again. Besides, he didn’t ask to make plans before I left so I think he was just being polite and humoring me.”

Saved by the bell. Literally because I know Mercy would’ve continued to push the issue, given more time. For now, I’m saved for the rest of the afternoon since we have a field day of sorts set up for the kids for the remainder of the day.

* * *

As predicted,Mercy doesn’t let it go.

She picks up right where she left off as soon as the day ends, and the last child is signed out. “You really should go to dinner with him. So what if you didn’t make plans, just go to the bar and see.”