The Twenty Year Triangle

Chapter Forty-Four

When I hear Oliver pull up, I head straight outside to meet him not wanting to deal with some awkward door moment. He still parks in the driveway and gets out, walking over to open the car door for me as I get closer.

He's not decked out in a suit, thankfully, but he looks good in a pair of well-fitted jeans and a crisp navy button-down.

"Hey," he smiles.

"You didn't have to be formal," I say teasingly. "You could've just honked."

"Can't take the south fully out of a guy," Oliver says.

We each let out a small laugh, easing the tension just a little.

"So where we going?" Oliver asks once we're both seated in the car, and he's pulling out of my folk's driveway.

Talk about going back in time...

"We have a lot to talk about," I murmur. "Let's pick something up and go somewhere private, like the park or something."

"Not the park," Oliver says quickly.

"Oh, right," I agree. What was I thinking? "Should we come back here and talk in the barn?

"No," he says. "That brings back all the other memories and makes this even harder."

"The beach?"

"The beach works," he agrees.

*** 

We picked up a bunch of takeout from Carl's, some appetizers mostly, and a bottle of wine, which we picked up after, Rose of course. A spendy one, from the looks of the bottle, Oliver went in and bought it.

We head to the beach and find a sandy spot near the water. Oliver had some blankets in his trunk so we spread those out to sit on. It's like an old-fashioned picnic but with sliders and onion rings instead of bologna sandwiches and chips.

We eat silently for a while, and then he clears his throat.

"I want to offer you the job first no matter what. This bookstore, the whole point of it, was to get back some of that friendship we lost and I feel like that is possible, even now."

"I know it's possible," I agree as I gulp back a world of emotions. I want that too, as hard as it may be. I wanted it then... but he pushed me away. My eyes burn into his and he looks away... but I can sense he knows what I was thinking, and I suppose we'll get to that tonight too.

"I still have to chat with the manager about what hours they want you to work. Things like that, the pay like I said won't be very much, I can get you started around eighteen an hour, but I think we can get you a good forty hours every week. I know you won't stay forever. It's something for you to do until you find whatever permanent."

"Eighteen an hour isn't bad and without having rent right now I can save a lot of it. You said you already hired a store manager?"

"The same person who was managing it before I bought it," he explains and then pops an onion ring in his mouth. "I gave them the option to come back when it's done."

"Wow, Oliver that's so great of you." I really misjudged what they were doing here, didn't I?

He simply shrugs.

"Thank you for this. This job and the debts and Julian, you have no idea how much this helps," I get a little choked up and take a moment before continuing. "When you build a life and home with someone, and then it's over, and you have to start your whole life over again and, it's so hard. Being in a literal hole made it so much worse."