“Okay, once again, I ran here in the rain. How are you not wet? Did someone drop you off at the door?”
“No,” Richard sneered. “I have an umbrella. Ever heard of them?”
“I happened to forget my— Why am I talking to you?” Everett shook his head. “I came here to talk to Teddy.”
Richard reached behind the counter and grabbed Teddy’s arm. “She doesn’t want to talk to you. I don’t even know who you are and I can tell that she doesn’t.”
“Richard,” Teddy said, her voice a warning as she tried to pull away from his grip. But even from the other side of the counter, he was surprisingly strong. “Richard, let go of me.”
“Let go of her,” Everett said, his voice edged with steel.
“Mind your own business, dude,” Richard said. “I don’t know what claim you think you have on her, but Teddy needs me. Look at what she’s doing without me . . . still working here and toilet-papering my house with a bunch of losers. Teddy can’t do anything without me!”
And that was when Everett punched Richard in the face.
64
“Everett!” Teddy screamed. “Your hand!”
“Oh, my God,” Everett moaned, looking at his hand. What had he been thinking? How the hell was he supposed to hold a puppet if he broke a finger? “My hand.”
“What the fuck?” Richard said, holding his face. “I think you knocked out a tooth. I’m bleeding.”
“All right! That’s it!” Carlos shouted, walking between the men and Teddy. He pointed to Teddy. “You, in the back room. And both of you.” He pointed toward Richard and Everett. “Out of the store! Now!”
Carlos walked behind the two of them, as if he was afraid they wouldn’t really leave.
On the sidewalk, he crossed his arms and stared at them like he was their disappointed father. “Richard, you’re officially banned from the store. Which should be fine with you, since I heard there’s nothing in there an adult man needs.”
Richard scowled.
“Everett, you can come back tomorrow. You know, as long as Teddy says you can. Hope your hand’s okay.”
With a wave, he shut the door, leaving the two of them standing in the rain on the sidewalk. They stared at each other.
“I’m, uh . . . I’m sorry I punched you,” he said.
“You’re a real dick. You know that?” Richard said, wincing as he touched his face.
Everett lifted a shoulder. “That’s actually not the consensus among people who know me. In fact, I’d say you’re more of a dick. That’s why people call you Rick the Dick.”
Richard looked at him. “Who calls me that?”
Everett gestured vaguely toward the street. “Everyone.”
“You’re lucky that guy broke things up,” Richard muttered. “Because you don’t want to know what would’ve happened if I hit you back.”
“Oh, I am not concerned,” Everett said lightly. “Because here’s the thing, Rick. I don’t even believe in violence. I work with kids. Do you know that? I spend all day talking about how we need to use our words instead of our fists, and I believe that. Before tonight, I’d never hit another person in my entire life. I don’t even kill spiders; I put them in a cup and then release them outside. But there’s something about your face, specifically, that makes me want to hit you. And let me tell you something.”
He took a couple of steps until he was directly in front of Richard. He had to lean down to meet Richard’s eyes, and when he was an inch away from the other man’s face, so close that he could see a zit forming on Richard’s nose, he said, “If you ever lay a hand on her again—if you ever contact her—I will find out, wherever I am. And I will find you, and I will destroy you.”
Richard backed up and shook his head. “Who are you even?”
Everett started walking toward the parking garage without answering. But then he turned around, threw his hands in the air, and shouted, “I’m Everett St. Fucking James, you dick.”
65
Teddy sat in the back room, breathing hard. Stunned into compliance, she’d followed Carlos’s command without thinking, but now that she had a moment of quiet, everything that had happened finally sank in. Richard and Everett had both come to the store, and they had both declared their love for her. And then Everett had punched Richard in the face.
Teddy heard the sound of the shop door opening and closing. And then a small knock, and Carlos poked his head in.
“Can I come in?” he asked softly.
Teddy nodded.
“Sorry I was so bossy,” he said. “But we can’t have fistfights in the store. It’s bad for business.”
Teddy smiled weakly and wiped away a tear. She hadn’t realized she was crying. “Thank you. Richard was . . . I didn’t know he . . . I mean, he’s never been like that before.”
“He seems like a huge douchebag.”
Teddy barked out a laugh, shocked. “That’s a good way to put it.”
She and Carlos looked at each other for a moment, and then he said, “Thanks for always trying to talk to me.”
Teddy frowned. “You’re welcome, I guess. But it’s not a chore, Carlos. I like talking to you! I don’t want you to feel like you can’t be yourself here.”
Carlos looked at his shoes. “I can tell you’re making an effort. It’s just . . . conversations are hard for me. I’m bad at small talk. But toys? I understand toys.”
Teddy smiled at him. “You’re going to be a great owner.”
He nodded. “I know. Why don’t you take the rest of the night off?”
Teddy started to protest, but then she realized that she didn’t think she could go back to work. Seeing Richard had been unpleasant, but seeing Everett . . . Well, she felt like she’d run a marathon and now needed someone to dump a cooler of Gatorade on her.
She’d been thinking about Sophia’s words for days. About how falling in love didn’t necessarily mean losing herself. And she thought about what Josie had said in the hospital: If you’re with someone for their whole life, things are gonna get hard. They’re gonna get hard in ways you can’t even imagine. The only chance you have of making it work is by opening up your mouth and saying what you’re feeling.
Maybe she didn’t know what would happen if she talked to Everett, but she knew one thing: she didn’t want to end things without telling him how she felt.