Bill looked at his watch. He was acting a bit strange, like he was in a hurry to go somewhere.
“How long are you staying in Seaport? You know you are welcome to stay here. I hope you didn’t get a hotel room.” I didn’t know why I was rambling. Bill’s demeanor was making me edgy. It appeared that they weren’t here for a social visit.
“We don’t want to intrude,” Ellen quickly replied. “We have a hotel room for tonight and then we, um, have much to do tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay. Well, did you have dinner? We can go out to eat if you’re hungry or I can make something for you to eat upstairs,” I offered.
Why do they look nervous? They keep looking at each other. This is getting weird. I noticed the band stopped playing, so it wasn’t quite as loud anymore, but the volume of people talking out in the pub seemed to get louder.
“No, we ate before we came here,” Bill somberly replied.
I felt my breath catch. My hand clenched my throat.
“What’s wrong? I feel like you’re going to tell me something bad.” My eyes quickly toggled, assessing.
“He’s met someone else, hasn’t he?” I scanned their faces - waiting… trying to judge their reaction to my question. Ellen seemed startled.
“I knew it. He changed his mind. He doesn’t think I can trust him anymore so he’s moving on.” Pain, agony, all too familiar, seeped back into my soul. It only took him one week to finally decide he had enough of me.
My eyes became moist and I felt the scorching burn roll up into my throat. Not only did I have to give up the only man I ever truly loved, I would also be losing two wonderful parents on top of it. I bit my teeth into my upper lip, trying to hold back a sob.
“Did he send you for his things?” I whispered, assuming his parents were here to pack his stuff up. Tears cracked and bled from my eyes from thinking about him moving out of the apartment. “He doesn’t even want to talk to me anymore?”
“Oh, Honey, no!” Ellen quickly answered.
“Ellen, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for disappointing you.” I couldn’t stop the tears.“Oh, for God’s sake,” Bill huffed. He turned on his heels and hastily bolted for the door.
“Great. Now I’ve offended his father too.” I walked over to the large steel sink that Ryan paid for and ripped a few paper towels out of the holder to wipe my eyes. I had desperately hoped that Ryan and I would try to resolve things before finally calling it quits, but that didn’t seem possible now.
“I think… I have a few boxes,” I muttered, gasping for air between sobs, gripping the counter to hold myself up.
This is it – the moment of truth - it’s officially over.
“Taryn, Ryan didn’t send us. And I’m fairly certain that whatever he has to say to you he will tell you himself. You need to stop crying because everything is going to be okay!”
Bill popped his head around the cracked kitchen door. “Ellen, it’s time. Let’s go,” he barked sharply.
I gasped deeply from the shock. I must have really offended him. Bill didn’t even stick around to say goodbye, go to hell, don’t ever call my son again… nothing.
Ellen smiled at me and then rifled through her purse. “Let me freshen you up a bit first.” She opened up her compact and started powdering my face. “Do you want some lipstick?”
I shrugged, completely confused by her actions. Maybe she felt my customers didn’t need to know I was crying again? Maybe it was her final gesture of being nice to me since I’d never see her again?
Before I knew it, she was rubbing lipstick over my lips. Great... she pities me. Her final final gesture is to get me pretty enough so I could go back out there and get hit on by some drunken asshole who is destined to be my loser husband since I’m obviously single again.
“There!” she said, rubbing her thumb over my lip. Her hand combed through my hair, fluffing one side around my ear. “That’s better! Are you ready to go?”
“Go where?” I followed her out of the kitchen.
My watery eyes had to adjust to the darkened pub atmosphere. Ellen immediately joined Bill, who was sitting down at a table for two near the poolroom with a drink in his hand. Apparently they weren’t going anywhere. What the hell is going on here?
I stood there staring at them, completely dumbfounded by the last five minutes of my life, trying to make sense of it all. I think I was just dumped by my boyfriend’s parents who are here to move him out of the apartment, but yet they are sitting here having a drink? What the…?