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“Do you like it?”
“Why did you buy it for me?”
“I didn’t buy it for you,” he said.
She blinked. “But your note…”
He shrugged. “It’s been in the shed collecting dust for the last
couple of years. Believe me, the last thing I’d do is buy you a
bicycle.”
Her eyes flashed. “That’s not the point! You keep giving me things
and you’ve got to stop. I don’t want anything from you. I don’t
need an umbrella or vegetables or wine. And I don’t need a bike!”
“Then give it away.” He shrugged. “Because I don’t want it,
either.”
She fell silent and he watched as confusion gave way to
frustration, then finally futility. In the end, she shook her head and
turned to leave. Before she could take a step, he cleared his throat.
“Before you go, though, would you at least do me the favor of
listening to my explanation?”
She glared at him over her shoulder. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It might not matter to you, but it matters to me.”
Her eyes held his, wavering before they finally dropped. When
she sighed, he motioned to the bench in front of the store. He’d
originally placed it there, wedged between the ice maker and a
rack of propane tanks, as a joke, knowing that it would sit unused.
Who would want to stare at a parking lot and the road out front?
To his surprise, on most days it was almost always occupied; the
only reason it was empty now was because it was so early.
Katie hesitated before taking a seat, and Alex laced his fingers
together in his lap.