The Twenty Year Triangle

Chapter Twenty-Nine

As I park across the street from the bookstore, the irony hits me like a ton of bricks. I am again in front of the bookstore, just like I was the first morning back in Sweet Haven. Only this time, I'm not storming in all riled up but rather walking in sheepishly to say sorry. 

I hate apologizing, but when I owe one, I give it. 

I park and hustle over. It's quiet even though it's late morning. I breathe in the sweet country air and then finally open the door. It's new, a big double door now with brand-new frosted glass. The inside is still empty but clean, much cleaner, and I can see they are prepping to paint.

"Wow, it's really coming along," I mumble as I take it all in.

"You're not here to rain down hell, are you?" James's deep voice seems to fill the space as he looks up from the drafting table Oliver showed me in the corner.

"Afraid not. I'm here with apology muffins and apple butter, though," I offer as I hold up one of the bags.

"Oliver told you the plans here then?" James assumes as he steps over. 

"Yeah, I have some muffins for him too. Where is he?" I ask as I glance around the space.

"It's a weekend off for the crew. We're hitting the ground hard next week," James explained. "Oliver will probably be late. They all went out last night, and they got Oliver to go with them. I'm guessing he's feeling it this morning."

It's strange to picture Oliver out with an entire construction crew partying at a bar. I just can't see it.

"You can trust me with both bags," James says with a glimmer in his eyes.

"You sure about that?" I laugh.

"I promise I won't sample too many of my son's."

"Best he's going to get, I guess. The blueberry ones are Olivers, and apple cinnamon are yours," I say as I hand him the bags.

"Apology accepted," James says as he opens it and smells the appley scent fills the air.

"I really do mean it, James. Listen, no matter what the plans were or weren't. I had no right to come in here yelling at you like that, so really, I am sorry."

"I accept your apology, and I appreciate the gesture," James says with a shrug. "I apologize I was I was short with you at the bar. Wasn't about you so much. I was on edge about Oliver coming back for that meeting. It literally meant everything, and you and his entire past were right there at the bar waiting for him."

"I do understand that. He told me how on edge he was that night, too," I say. "The duplex project. Did that meeting go well?"

"They did a lot of listening but didn't give anything away as far as how they were feeling," James says with a groan. "So we just have to wait for the call now."

"I'm sorry I bought all the stupid rumors about the condos. What he's really doing with them is amazing."

"It is," James agrees. "Every project Oliver does has an emotional value to him, too. The retirement homes are for his grandpa. But this place, it's -"

"For me?" I fill in, albeit cautiously.

"Not just you. For both of you, for your childhood. For the longest time, he couldn't come back and face it, but he finally can," James says as he looks around. "This was his dream project, something he started playing around with on my computer one summer as a teen. When he came to live with me, it was getting him to start planning that dream project, that finally got him out of bed."