that they wanted to be alone. Dylan pulled her chair out for her before sitting down across the small table.
“Finally,” he said. “I was wondering when I was going to get to talk to you again.” He smiled at her warmly. “You seem so happy here. These are really nice people, and they obviously all love you. They’ve been vying for your attention all night.”
“Well you’ve certainly made a good impression on them. You wouldn’t believe the comments from the girls. They all give their approval, by the way, but they insist I get you to cut your hair,” she smirked.
“Well, mullet or not, I’ll have you know that I have a standing invitation to the Tuesday night poker game,” he said slyly.
“You mean the Tuesday night drinking fest?” she said sarcastically. “I don’t think any of them even owns a deck of cards.”
“Yeah t I’m still invited. Too bad—it would probably be fun. You know, it’s been pretty awesome just being one of the guys tonight. I can’t even remember the last time I felt like I fit in at a place like this.” A shadow covered his eyes, and he looked at her intently. “But you didn’t want to come in here at first—actually you looked like you were going to pass out when we walked in the door. What was it, Tia?”
She looked down at the table and started wringing her hands nervously. “I really do owe you an explanation, Dylan. It’s just that tonight, with you…it wasn’t supposed to happen…”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“God,” she sighed. ”You’ve been so incredibly nice to me tonight. You’ve given me exactly what I needed to get through what I thought it would take months to accomplish. Once again, you’ve come to my rescue; this time just by being yourself.”
He shrugged. “Now you’ve really lost me.”
She took a long deep breath. “Just give me a minute to explain, then if you want to run away and pretend like this night never happened, I’ll understand completely and try not to hold it against you.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand, and continued.
“Nick—he wasn’t just some guy…he was my fiancé. We were supposed to be married last June.
“Holy shit.” The pieces of the puzzle started falling into place, and Dylan could finally start to see the big picture.
“We dated for over five years,” she continued. “Nick was an engineer.” She drew a long breath and her eyes wandered over his shoulder for a moment before she continued. “He was supervising at a job site, and there was this crane hoisting some big heavy beam, and the cable snapped…he was killed instantly.”
“Oh, Tia,” he said softly.
“Tonight is the one year anniversary of his death.”
“I’m so sorry…” He reached across the table and cradled her hand in his.
“Thanks,” she choked for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. This night had been spectacular, and she was glad that she’d come and laid the last of her fears about Nick to rest. She could honestly envision being able to go on with her life now, keeping him close as a warm and beautiful memory.
“But it’s OK, see?” she continued. “That’s what tonight was about for me. I spent the past year completely shutting myself off from the world—I spent the entire summer—I have summers off, remember—hardly ever leaving the house.
Fuck , he thought, doing the math. He died a month before their wedding . He squeezed her hand tighter, and found her eyes. She smiled thinly, and continued.
“When fall
“Finally,” he said. “I was wondering when I was going to get to talk to you again.” He smiled at her warmly. “You seem so happy here. These are really nice people, and they obviously all love you. They’ve been vying for your attention all night.”
“Well you’ve certainly made a good impression on them. You wouldn’t believe the comments from the girls. They all give their approval, by the way, but they insist I get you to cut your hair,” she smirked.
“Well, mullet or not, I’ll have you know that I have a standing invitation to the Tuesday night poker game,” he said slyly.
“You mean the Tuesday night drinking fest?” she said sarcastically. “I don’t think any of them even owns a deck of cards.”
“Yeah t I’m still invited. Too bad—it would probably be fun. You know, it’s been pretty awesome just being one of the guys tonight. I can’t even remember the last time I felt like I fit in at a place like this.” A shadow covered his eyes, and he looked at her intently. “But you didn’t want to come in here at first—actually you looked like you were going to pass out when we walked in the door. What was it, Tia?”
She looked down at the table and started wringing her hands nervously. “I really do owe you an explanation, Dylan. It’s just that tonight, with you…it wasn’t supposed to happen…”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“God,” she sighed. ”You’ve been so incredibly nice to me tonight. You’ve given me exactly what I needed to get through what I thought it would take months to accomplish. Once again, you’ve come to my rescue; this time just by being yourself.”
He shrugged. “Now you’ve really lost me.”
She took a long deep breath. “Just give me a minute to explain, then if you want to run away and pretend like this night never happened, I’ll understand completely and try not to hold it against you.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up her hand, and continued.
“Nick—he wasn’t just some guy…he was my fiancé. We were supposed to be married last June.
“Holy shit.” The pieces of the puzzle started falling into place, and Dylan could finally start to see the big picture.
“We dated for over five years,” she continued. “Nick was an engineer.” She drew a long breath and her eyes wandered over his shoulder for a moment before she continued. “He was supervising at a job site, and there was this crane hoisting some big heavy beam, and the cable snapped…he was killed instantly.”
“Oh, Tia,” he said softly.
“Tonight is the one year anniversary of his death.”
“I’m so sorry…” He reached across the table and cradled her hand in his.
“Thanks,” she choked for a moment, but quickly regained her composure. This night had been spectacular, and she was glad that she’d come and laid the last of her fears about Nick to rest. She could honestly envision being able to go on with her life now, keeping him close as a warm and beautiful memory.
“But it’s OK, see?” she continued. “That’s what tonight was about for me. I spent the past year completely shutting myself off from the world—I spent the entire summer—I have summers off, remember—hardly ever leaving the house.
Fuck , he thought, doing the math. He died a month before their wedding . He squeezed her hand tighter, and found her eyes. She smiled thinly, and continued.
“When fall
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