L. Marie Adeline- S.E.C.R.E.T

Will glanced around my disheveled place, my unvacuumed living room. “Right,” he
said. “I’ll be downstairs.”
Will was distant and distracted on the short trip, changing the radio station whenever
a song he didn’t like came on, or if a good one was followed by a loud commercial.
“You seem jumpy,” I said.
“I’m a little off, I guess.”
“What’s got you feeling off?”
“What do you care?”
“What do you mean ‘what do you care’? I’m your friend. Thought I’d ask.”
Will was silent for half a mile after that. I eventually turned away from him to take in
the scenery. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Are things with you and Tracina okay?
I saw the little tiff over the car the other day.”
“They’re peachy, Cassie. Thank you for asking.”
Whoa. I couldn’t remember a time when Will had been so short with me. “Okay, then,”
I said. “I won’t pry anymore. But if I knew you were going to be such crappy company
today, I wouldn’t have come. It’s Sunday. My day o, remember? I thought this would
be kind of fun, but—”
“I’m sorry,” he interrupted. “You’re not having fun? I should work a bit harder so you
can have fun. Should I also stop interrupting your conversations with your new fun
friends at work?”
He was talking about Matilda. I had asked her not to come by the restaurant so much,
but the other day, after our talk about Jesse, Will had made a remark about how I
shouldn’t sit with customers when I’m working.
“She’s a regular that I’m getting to know as a friend, is all. What is so wrong with
that?”
“A regular customer who buys you jewelry to match her own?” He glanced over at the
bracelet resting against my thigh. I loved its hammer nish, its pale gold sheen. It was
so pretty, I couldn’t help but wear it once I’d started to collect charms.
“This?” I said, holding up my wrist. “This. I … got it from a friend of hers. A friend of
hers who makes them. I admired it and I wanted one too. That’s what girls do, Will.” I
hoped I sounded convincing.
“How much did it cost? It looks like eighteen-karat gold.”
“I saved for it. But that’s really none of your business.”
Will sighed and then went silent again.
“Am I not allowed to talk to our customers now, is that it? Because I gotta say, I work
hard and that restaurant means a lot to me too. You know that I’d do anything to—”
“I’m sorry.”
“—to—”
“Listen to me, Cassie. I am sorry. For real. I don’t know why I’m so … Things are good
with Tracina. But she’s looking for … She wants to take things to the next level, and I’m
not sure I’m ready, you know? So yes, I’m a little antsy. I’m a little on edge about
things.”
“Are you talking about marriage?” I nearly choked out the word. Why? I had rejected