I loved him, but I didn’t trust him.
Getting in my car, I cranked it up and had to wait a few minutes so the window defrosted enough that I could scrape the ice off. I didn’t think about the fact Creed had handled this for me last week when it had happened. I wasn’t one to rely on anyone. My mother had made sure I wasn’t dependent on others by never being there when I had a problem.
The drive to work was quick, but I hadn’t stopped for coffee. I’d be stuck with Albert’s strong stuff that he brewed. I would need the caffeine to focus on the new exhibit’s opening day to the public. It was a Monday and I wasn’t sure how much foot traffic we would get.
Ambre greeted me when I walked inside the building. She was busy at the welcome desk straightening things that didn’t need straightening. She was always moving and rearranging. I wondered if she could share some of her energy with me.
“It’s the day,” she said cheerfully. “I didn’t sleep very much from all the excitement. I wondered if we should move the eighteenth century closer to the front, but Albert said I wasn’t to touch it. What do you think?” she asked but didn’t give me a chance to answer her. “Never mind I will figure it out. Albert is in the back opening crates that came in this weekend. Go make sure he isn’t making a mess and see if he wants me to go pick up breakfast.”
I simply nodded and headed back to the kitchen area where I knew Albert’s coffee would be.
“I think I’ll go pick up an array of pastries,” Ambre called out. “Do you have a request?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you. I’m not hungry.” I doubted I would be hungry anytime soon.
Finding the kitchen empty, I sighed in relief and pinched the top of my nose as I leaned back against the wall. Had my choosing Creed over Griff been a mistake? I still believed Griff deserved more. I’d cheated and going back to Griff, even though he was willing to forgive me, wasn’t an option. However, I had planned my future with Griff and now it was gone.
Creed had come back into my life like a whirlwind reminding me how I felt about him, being there every time I needed someone, and then there was the life altering amazing sex. Had I let all that cloud my vision? I knew Griff wouldn’t lie to me. There had been a female on Creed’s lap last night.
Loving Creed wasn’t enough.
I had to be able to trust him as much as I had trusted Griff. We weren’t teenagers in love anymore. Griff was right. We were adults now and love was shown differently. Not with hot sex.
I hated this. All of it.
“The exhibit isn’t in here,” Albert said gruffly as he walked into the room and went to the coffee pot.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
He poured a cup and then handed it to me. “Drink it black. You need it,” he said to me then went and poured him a cup.
I stared down at the dark liquid not sure anyone other than Albert could drink this stuff black.
“Life sucks then it goes on,” Albert said, and I lifted my gaze to him. He shrugged. “It is a fact, Sailor. You’ll find happiness and shit while you travel the path of life but you keep on going.”
I wasn’t sure Albert had ever said that many words to me or to anyone at one time. “How do you keep from being the shit that happens?” I asked him.
He grinned then. “You’re not the shit that happens. You’re young and you will make mistakes that make you feel like shit. It makes you tough and gives you a resilience to survive when things truly go to hell.”
I wasn’t so sure I hadn’t already experienced the worst in life but I nodded. “Thanks.”
He took a drink of his coffee while studying the wall over my head. “It’s best to learn to find your happiness now. Whatever it is. Find it and hold onto it. That’s what helps get you through the shit.”
I didn’t have time to think of a response before he walked out of the room.
Twenty-six
November 22, 2019
It was almost time to close the museum when the door opened again. Ambre had already left because she had a plane to catch. She was headed to Ohio to spend the next week with her daughter and grandkids for Thanksgiving. Albert was in the back still working. I was left with watching the front and locking up.
I walked back around the counter where I had been putting away the brochures to greet the visitor when my eyes locked on who had walked in. “Dad?” I said in shock then ran toward him as he opened his arms.