Page 31 of To Fall or Not to Fall
Chapter Twenty-One
A va
There’s something about the sound of afternoon raindrops hitting the windowpane that feels so comforting.
I lie in my bed under the duvet and snuggle next to Popsicle as I listen to the pitter-patter against the glass that seems to coincide with the stabbing pain in my heart.
She’s staring at me with doting brown eyes, and I’m so happy to have her.
I’m glad that she’s the sort of dog that loves to be with me and that provides me comfort.
“I love you, Popsicle,” I say through my sniffles.
She stares at me, not responding—obviously, because she’s a dog—but also not lighting up either. Maybe because she’s heard me tell her I love her about a million times in the last ten minutes.
“How could he lie to me? How could he?”
I sniffle some more and watch the lightning flash across the sky. Tonight is the sort of night where you should be with someone you love, hugging and keeping each other close.
“I mean, I’m glad I have you, Popsicle,” I add quickly, so my dog doesn’t feel upset that I don’t appreciate her.
I close my eyes and try not to think about Theo. I still can’t quite believe that the man I’d given myself to—in more ways than one—was a complete and utter liar. I can’t believe I’ve been so dumb not to have figured it out earlier.
It only took one Google search for me to go to the website of the company he owned—and there he was, on the main page. I couldn’t believe I’d never actually looked up the company that sent me the buyout offers, but I guess I hadn’t really cared who owned the company. Theodore Winston.
Not only was he the owner of the company that was trying to buy my business, but he was a billionaire. He was on the fucking Forbes 500 list of richest men in the world. I knew he’d been rich, but that rich? He didn’t need my little bookstore. He didn’t need Coconut Beach.
I became even more infuriated. Do not think about it. Do not think about it.
He’s called and texted me at least twenty times in the last two weeks, but I haven’t responded. I will only see him one last time, and that is at the fall festival tomorrow evening. And I’m only doing it so Eloise Laribel doesn’t think I’m an absolute loser.
My phone rings, and I groan when I saw it is my granny.
“Hey,” I say, trying to sound positive.
“Hi, darling. I just wanted to make sure that that young man of yours would be back in town on time for the festival tomorrow.”
“He’ll be here, Granny. I’m almost positive. He sent me multiple notifications and screenshots of his flight information, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were dating that dashing man? I’ve seen him in the bookstore a couple of times, but I thought he was just?—”
“Granny.” I sigh. “We’re not dating. He’s just someone that I was casually seeing who wants to go to the fall festival with me. And I figured, seeing as Maribel Laribel was on your case and Eloise was showing off her new fiancé, that it would be better for me to have someone there.”
“But don’t you want to date him? He’s so handsome and?—”
“Granny.”
“What?”
“He’s not who you think he is, and that’s all I’m going to say.”
“But darling, he’s?—”
“He’s not anyone that I would ever consider actually being with.”
“But I’ve seen you two kissing in the street.”
“You have? You didn’t tell me that.”
“And I saw you holding hands, walking down Main Street. And I saw you getting donuts.”
“Granny, you never told me.”
“I figured you didn’t mind that he was a bigwig.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s the CEO of the company that’s been trying to buy the bookstore.”
“Right… How did you know?”
“They’ve sent us many letters, darling.”
“Yeah, but—what?”
“As soon as we received the first letter, I looked up the company to see if it was legit.”
“You did?”
“Of course. And he is on the front page. You didn’t know?”
“No. He lied to me.”
“Oh, darling, you’re not upset because he’s a corporate bigwig, are you?”
“No, I’m upset because he lied to me. He only came to town to get to know me so that he could figure out how he could buy the business out from under me. He betrayed me.”
“I’ve seen the way that man looks at you, Ava, and he looks at you the way that Granddad looked at me all those years ago.”
“He still looks at you like that.”
“I know. But what I’m saying is, that man loves you. I don’t know why he came to town and why he stayed, but I do know that he loves you. And I know that you love him, too.”
“I don’t love him. I hate him.”
“Ava, you have been my granddaughter for as long as you’ve been alive, and I have raised you from a little kid.”
“Mom and Dad raised me, Granny.”
“Well, I’ve looked after you. And I’ve gone into business with you.
I see you almost daily. You’ve shared things with me—previous relationships and friendship woes—and I bought into your business with you.
I know you, darling. I know what makes you happy.
And the bookstore—well, that’s been the love of your life up until now. But this man is now it.
“Now, I understand that maybe you didn’t know, like I did, that he owned the company that was trying to buy Beachy Balls, Biscuits, & Books.
But darling, you do realize that unless we raise enough money at the fundraiser tomorrow, we will have to do something.
We can’t stay in business as things are. ”
“I know, but?—”
But“ nothing. It’s unfortunate. This doesn’t mean it’s the only bookstore you’ll ever have in your life. But he could be the only man you’ll ever truly love.”
“Really, Granny?”
“What I’m just saying is, don’t you believe in soulmates, and all that romantically delicious folklore that you had me read to you when you were younger?”
“You mean fairytales?”
“You loved fairytales.”
“Yeah, but life can’t be a fairytale.”
“What’s one thing you learned from fairytales when you were younger?”
“That every woman got to marry a handsome prince?”
“No, that’s not the lesson of fairytales. In fairytales, does it ever go smoothly?”
“Well, I mean, I guess not exactly, because that’s the point of the story.”
“That’s the point of life. Things never go as planned. Nothing is ever perfect. There are always misunderstandings, sometimes lies, sometimes people try and poison you.”
“Granny, he didn’t try and poison me.”
“Well, that’s good. But I’m just saying, things happen. But that doesn’t mean you don’t still end up together in the end.”
“So what you’re telling me is that you want me to end up with a man who lied to me?”
“I want you to end up with the man who looked at you like you were the only woman in the world. I saw him, and I’ve been on this earth for many more years than you have, darling.
That man loves you, and you love him. I can’t tell you what to do—I know better than that—but I can tell you that when you go to the fall festival tomorrow, listen to him.
See how you feel, and follow your heart. ”
“But I would be a fool to follow my heart if it tells me to go with him after everything that he’s done.”
“No one’s perfect. You have to remember that, Ava. We’ve all done things, said things—even you.”
“I mean, I know, but that was a huge lie.”
“Do you truly believe that man seduced you to buy the bookstore out from under you? That’s the biggest question you should ask yourself.
And you don’t have to tell me your answer.
I just want you to think about it. Because you can lie in bed—I can hear Popsicle whining next to you—and feel sorry for yourself.
You can moan and groan to your friends and whine about your broken heart.
Or you can process everything and think about it from an outside perspective.
And once you come up with an answer, you make your decision.
This man is flying all the way back from New York City to attend a fall festival he’s likely never heard of before in his life.
And he’s doing that for you. He’s doing that to show you that you mean something to him.
“And if you love him, as I am almost positive that you do, then you’ll give him some leniency. Because darling, if that’s the man you’re to marry, there will be plenty more lies, plenty more moments, and plenty more things that will irritate the shit out of you. But you get on with life.”
“Granny, really?”
“Honey, the biggest lesson I want you to learn is that relationships aren’t perfect.
Boyfriend-and-girlfriend relationships, fiancé relationships, even marriages.
Yes, we all want to believe that love is the end-all, be-all, but people still get on our nerves.
They’re still human. People make mistakes. They lie. They steal.”
“They steal, Granny?”
“I don’t mean big things like TVs or PlayStations.
But maybe he’ll go in the fridge and take the last slice of pizza or eat your favorite ice cream or say he doesn’t know where the cookies went.
These things happen. And you forgive, because at the end of the day, the bonds that hold you together are stronger. ”
“Granny, I don’t know what to do. I do love him, and I want to forgive him, but I just feel like…
am I stupid if I give him another chance?
Am I weak? How do we figure out what to do?
Because I know that maybe I’ll lose the bookstore, but I don’t want to leave Coconut Beach.
I don’t want to leave Arabella and Aria.
I don’t want to leave you or Granddad. I don’t want to leave weekly trivia night. I don’t want to?—”
“Listen to me, darling. What’s to be will be, and you will know what that is. I promise you that. Go to the fall festival tomorrow with an open heart and an open mind, and by the end of the night, you will know.”
“Why do you sound like a fairy godmother?” I ask, laughing slightly.
“I mean, I wasn’t going to say that, but you’re a princess, my darling, and you deserve the best. I will tell you this: every woman doesn’t end up with a prince, but I have a feeling that you will.”