Love You Goodbye

Chapter 39: Roxanne

I promised myself that if Niall didn't come, I wouldn't be upset about it. It was a crazy idea to have dinner with an ex. Too bad I was upset that he didn't show up. Could I blame him though? I looked out the window, hoping that a car that passed would be him or even a person walking down the sidewalk. Sighing, I turned around to see the last few customers finishing their meals and paying. I smiled and thanked the guests that came.

A hostess named Sarah came up to me. "Ms. Styles, I heard you're leaving tomorrow. So, I just want to wish you a safe flight."

"Thank you, Sarah, but I didn't even book my ticket yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Emily said that you were leaving tomorrow."

"I was waiting to see how opening night was for everyone. I was only planning on leaving tomorrow if all of you will be alright."

"I love how you're so considerate to us. I worked for people that didn't care about their employees, but you, you really care. I love that. Really, I do."

"Thank you, Sarah. I appreciate that."

"Well, you decide to stay, I'll see you tomorrow night. If not, then you know already too." She smiled at me humbly and walked to the back room.

I turned around again to look out the window. I opened my messages to see that he didn't say anything about not coming. Taking a deep breath, I walked outside and called him. Immediately, the phone went to voicemail.

"Hi, Niall, umm...I guess your phone died...or you turned it off. I don't know which one it is, but I'm still at the restaurant if you want to stop by. Or I can meet you somewhere. It's up to you, I mean if you still want to have dinner with me." I pulled the phone away and let out a breath. I sounded so desperate. Scratching the back of my head, I put the phone back to my ear. "Listen, I get it. This is weird. I mean, leaving this message is weird. I just...I don't know. I thought that we could still be friends again, but clearly this is weird. I swear when I saw you again, it's like all the feelings, the memories, everything that I thought was gone just rushed back to me. It felt like a punch in the gut to feel it hit me. I don't know if that happened to you too. Honestly, Niall, feeling that way...it felt good. I felt like a part of me was alive again.

"Ugh, why am I even telling you this? What is this going to do? I'm sorry. Maybe, it's best if..." I sucked a shaky breath. "Listen, I was planning on staying until Monday, but maybe it's best if I book it for tomorrow. I would say come to the restaurant or something for lunch, but that's up to you. No hard feelings if you don't, okay? Take care of yourself, Niall. I...lo...just take care of yourself." I hung up the phone and patted under my eyes in hopes the tears wouldn't fall down. I cleared my throat to compose myself before I walked into the restaurant to help close up.

I bought a ticket for the evening so I had time to visit the restaurants before I left. It also gave me time to handle documents and hold meetings, if needed. It was almost noon when I made it to Noir. I said my goodbyes to everyone and gave them my phone number in case they needed to talk to me personally.

"Roxanne," a voice said behind me, making me freeze.

I turned around, "Maura." Immediately, I hugged her tightly. She hugged me back with just as much affection as I gave her. I pulled away, smiling at her. "What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting to see you. Please, sit down. Are you hungry? I can order you something on the house."

"No, Darling, I'm fine." We sat by the window. "I was in town and I heard you were leaving, so I wanted to see you off, I was worried you already left."

"No, my flight isn't until seven. Wait, how did you know I was leaving today?"

"Niall told me."