In and Out of Love-Chapter 14
By MyNameIsCAL
The battle was over and we were going to win the war too. With William Andrews' confession, George had no way out of proving himself innocent. It was a stretch even before that. The media had already written George off, but the trial was still going to happen. George refused to negotiate a new deal. He was looking at life in prison, but at least he could still manage to waste our time.
The news vans slowly disappeared. We could finally go out again. Fresh air was nice. Better than opening a window.
"Where are you two going?" Iggy asked.
"Dinner," I answered. "Wanna come?"
Iggy shook his head. "Gazzy is gonna pick me up. We're going food shopping."
Max led the way to her car. Mine was long gone in a junkyard somewhere by now. It reminded me that I probably needed a new one, but Max's car would have to do for now.
"So where are we going?" Max threw the keys at me.
I caught them, just barely. "Anywhere you want."
We found ourselves at the old tavern on the other side of town. The food was decent and on those days without Max, I had worked a couple of shifts for free meals and drinks just to pass the ttime. They were always short waiters, but the owner was a likable man. He knew about my troubles with Max. Sometimes we would talk after the bar closed. But other than being there by myself, I had only gone there with Max. In a way, it was special.
"Hey, Fang!" Sam, the owner gave us a big grin. "It's been so long. And you've brought Max! Ah, I must give you your usual table."
It wasn't too crowded tonight. Just a few locals that kept to themselves at the bar. The news played on the TV, and for once, they weren't talking about George Dawson.
"You know I followed the news," Sam said, handing us menus. "I'm glad you two are ok."
"Thanks," I said.
Sam nodded. "Just holler if you need anything."
We ordered what we always got here, steak and fries. It was cheap and the best in town. I once told Sam he should raise the price to get more money for it, but he shook his head and say that it didn't matter to him. The tavern had been passed down from generation to generation. Sam had inherited enough money to keep the cost low for food. If you came to the tavern during big sports games or late nights, it would be packed.
"The last time I came here was with you," Max said after a while. "I never had the heart to take any of those other guys here and if they suggested it, I told them that I wasn't in the mood for that kind of food."
"Really?" And so I had been in the back of her mind all those years.
"Yeah," she smiled. "I don't know, maybe I felt guilty. This was always our place to go."
I laughed. "Of course."
It was late when we got home. Iggy, nevertheless, was on the phone with Ella. I swear they could talk until the sunrise sometimes. Ella was in college too. I didn't understand how she managed to get any work done.
"How did I ever let you get away?" Max asked as we sat on the couch, watching reruns of an old TV show.
I put an arm around her. "I think it was me who let you get away."
She paused to think. There was no need to dwell on the past for too long, at least not tonight. "I'm glad this worked out."
I smiled at her, brushing the hair out of her face. "Me too."
And then I leaned in and kissed her.
Max was curled up against me, her head rested on my chest as we lay in bed later that night. She had been asleep for an hour already, but I stared at the streak of light from the moon on the ceiling, thinking about her and where we were headed. Things were going smoothly now. All had been forgiven. I thought about Iggy and Ella and I knew that someday it was going to be Max and me walking down the aisle.
And I smiled to myself in the darkness, closing my eyes, but only because I needed sleep. Dreams couldn't amount to where I was now.
More to come soon, hopefully. The upcoming chapters will be longer, hopefully. Thanks for reading. Sorry for the late update.