Maybe he’s just grieving and he handles it differently than me. Maybe he just has a hard time showing people that he cares.
We’re probably never going to be as close as my mom and I were, but at least he seems like he’s trying now though. That doesn’t mean that I know what to say to him.
The silence is tense at first but after a few minutes, I get lost in cooking. It isn’t until we’re sitting down that Stan speaks.
“I—” He clears his throat and I just stare at him quietly, waiting to see what he’s about to say. “I want you here, Sutton. I want to get to know you.”
I think that this is the most I’ve ever heard him say at once, that wasn’t part of the tour, that is. His voice comes out gruff and strained, like the words are dragged out of him.
I nod, shoving a bite of pancake into my mouth. We eat breakfast in silence, just like all the other times that we’ve shared a meal, but this time the awkward tension isn’t in the air. Stan might not be who I envisioned my family to be, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is my last remaining family member on Earth. We’re never going to be as close as my mom and I were, but I can see maybe coming back here for Christmas or something.
“Teller is off today. It will be you and Lyla in the gift shop,” he says as he carries his dirty dishes over to the sink.
“Sounds good,” I say, dumping my dishes on top of his and heading toward the entrance of the gift shop.
Lyla is walking in from the other door and I smile when I see her.
“Hey Sutton! How was the big date last night?” she asks, pretending to gag.
“Yeah, it was like that.”
“Oh, come on! You have to give me more details than that!”
Lyla starts to open the register while I get to work stocking some of the shelves and while we’re both alone, I fill her in on last night.
“He took me to Prim + Proper and then didn’t shut up about how impressive it was that he could get a reservation last minute and how it was the nicest place in town. I saw your man, by the way.”
“My man?”
“Yeah, the guy who leaves you notes on your car and looks at you like he wants to devour you.”
“Oh, him,” she says, rolling her eyes.
“Did he leave a note this morning?” I ask her.
“Maybe,” she admits reluctantly, and I grin at her.
“So did Chet ask you out again?” she asks, obviously trying to change the subject.
“Yeah. Or he said that next time we go out it will have to be somewhere more private.”
“Gross.”
“Right? He spent the whole night talking about himself and bragging about how important he is. Then we kept getting interrupted by people from town and instead of cutting those conversations short, or even introducing me,, he seemed to be more interested in them than in me.”
“So you turned him down then?”
“Yeah, I told him that we had agreed it would be one dinner as friends and that I had no interest in seeing him again. Then I thanked him for dinner, left, and called Teller for a ride home.”
“Oh my god! I would have paid big money to see Chet’s face when you turned him down and then walked out on the date!”
“You could have if you had taken your mystery man up on his offer,” I say, slyly turning the conversation back to her.
“I barely even know Hudson. I’m not going out with him.”
“Aren’t dates how you learn more about people that you’re interested in?”
“Mine usually aren’t. Every time I go on a date, they end in disaster.”
“Do tell,” I say with a wide grin.
Lyla laughs and comes over to help me restock the shirts.
“One time, when I was in high school, I went to the summer fair with this boy named, Robby. Robby Schulmer,” she says with a small laugh. “Anyway, we went on a few rides, ate a bunch of junk food from one of the stands, and then he dragged me on the Tilt-a-Whirl.”
“Uh oh,” I say with a laugh. I know where this story is going.
“I know, right? So we get on the ride and I instantly know that this is a bad idea and I try to stand up but they’re already closing the lap belt and I’m trapped.”
“How long did you make it?” I ask her through my laughter.
“About two laps. Then all of the junk food came right back up.”
“So no second date then?” I joke and she laughs.
“No, my great love affair with Robby Schulmer came to an abrupt end. He couldn’t wait to get away from me. He didn’t even take me home, just ditched me when I went to the bathroom to clean up.”
“What a dick.”
She snorts but agrees.
Lyla is so easy to be around, to talk to. She’s one of those people who is effortlessly cool but never tries to chase a trend a day in her life.
She tells me more stories about some of her worst dates and I laugh, but a part of me wonders if I’m missing out on something.
Getting stood up by my prom date stung, it burned me, and instead of getting back out there, I just retreated more into myself. Maybe that’s why my mom pushed me to go dating on the bucket list.
The first tour group is about to come through so I get to work carrying the boxes into the back as Lyla heads behind the counter. Before I disappear into the stockroom, she stops me.
“I’m sorry that Chet was a jerk, although I could have told you that before you ever met him. Him and his whole family are so slimy. We’ll find you someone better,” she says with a grin, and my mind flashes to Teller.
I’m saved from having to answer when the tourists come in and I hurry into the back room.
I can’t stop thinking about her stories. Sure, all of the dates sounded awful, but at least she can look back and laugh at it now.
Before I can stop myself, I pull out my phone and send off a quick text message.
SUTTON: I know you’re on call tonight, but I was wondering if you would want to help me with my bucket list tomorrow night?
I stack up the boxes of shirts and I’m about to head back out when my phone buzzes.
TELLER: Absolutely. What are we working on crossing off?
I smile as I type back my response.
SUTTON: Something crazy.
I grin as I tuck my phone away and head back out to help Lyla. I can’t help but feel that my mom is somewhere in heaven right now watching over me, guiding me.
I hope that she’s smiling.
12
Teller and I end up at The Fainting Goat bar two nights later. We both just got off of work at the Mystery Cabin. I had dinner with Stan while he went home to change and then he came back to pick me up. I had offered to meet him at the bar but he had insisted that he wanted to drive me and that he didn’t live far away.
Stan had seemed happier about my choice of dates tonight. When I told him that I was going out with Teller to the bar in town, he had just nodded. I think that’s the first time that I’ve said something to him that he hasn’t just grunted back at.
The music is loud inside, some old Shania Twain song playing over the speakers, and I’m surprised to see that the place is packed. Lyla is supposed to be meeting us later, and I even invited Madelyn and Iris.