I heard a knock at my door, and it was Charlotte. “Come on in!”
“I got in a couple of hours ago. Your voicemail had me worried. What’s going on?”
“It’s Alexander. His mom tried to pay me off to stop seeing him. I just feel like I don’t fit into his world. I don’t want to get into this relationship so deep that I’m going to be completely heartbroken.”
“Honey, you need to stop torturing yourself. You deserve someone like him. You’ve only told me good things about that man which means he is good enough for you. Why do you keep denying yourself happiness?”
“I don’t know; it’s just he’s got a lot of money. His life revolves around money. I don’t want it to change me.”
“Honey, it’s going to be okay. Just because he has money doesn’t mean it’s going to change you. You are blowing this wayout of proportion. All he wants to do is show you the world. Most girls would kill to have a guy like that. Don’t let him go.”
Charlotte was telling me all the things that I needed to hear that I would second-guess if coming from myself. I knew all Charlotte wanted was for me to be happy and find a man that would treat me well.
Charlotte poured some wine, and we just talked. I told her about everything that was bothering me, but in the end, it remained the same. She felt I was being childish. She was right. Why should I let him go? Sure, he had money, but he loved me. I loved him. My heart ached not talking to him or seeing him. I just wanted to hear his voice.
“Now take the night to think this over. I don’t want you to feel like you have to take my advice. I just want you to be happy.”
Charlotte left, and I was so drunk I couldn’t keep my eyes open.
When I woke up, I had a headache from hell. I hadn’t experienced a hangover like this in a long time. I didn’t want to get out of bed, but I had to. I couldn’t afford to be fired. I threw on my uniform and walked to work. I wore sunglasses to keep from hurting my eyes.
As I walked into work, I knew today was going to be long since we only had one week until the owners were going to be in town to give us a review. By the end of the day, I made out with about fifty dollars in tips. This was my best day for tips so far. I got to my last room, and it was Alexander’s. I figured it would be. He did tell me he was coming in, so I knew to prepare myself.
Knock. Knock.
“Can I please come in and tidy up your room?” I asked when he opened the door.
“No, nothing is needed, but I would like to talk,” he said with a frown.
“I’m sorry. I’m working. Maybe another time.”
Chapter Twenty-One
ALEXANDER
I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to talk to Ella and make things better. She didn’t seem to want to talk to me. Maybe she just didn’t want to talk to me at work. I should go over to her house and see if she was ready to speak. Although, I probably shouldn’t just show up. So, I texted her.
Me: Can I come over?
Ella: Sure, I guess. I’m home.
Well, at least she said it was okay for me to go there. She could have said no. It was a start. I needed to make sure I got everything out that I wanted to say before she made up her mind about me. I still didn’t understand what I had done to make her break up with me, but I needed to know. If it was about money, money shouldn’t be a problem. I could give her anything she’d ever want, and we could have a bright future for our family someday.
I walked over to her house. About a block over, it started to rain.Really?Of course, that would happen to me now. I continued walking until I got to her street. I was trying to prepare myself for the worst. She might not want to get back together. Maybe she had made up her mind that I was not the right guy for her. I really hoped that wasn’t the case because I had never felt so deeply for a woman before.
I stood outside of her house, practicing what I was going to say, word for word. Finally, I knocked on her door.
“Holy crap, how long have you been out here?” she asked me.
“Only about twenty minutes.”
“You are going to get sick from the rain. Come inside. Go take a hot shower and get changed.”
She still cared for me, at least. I took a quick, hot shower and found some of my clean clothes on the bed. After slipping them on, I went out and sat next to her. I started to talk, but then my mind went blank. What was I going to do if this ended badly? Was I prepared for that?
“Trying to decide what I want to say because if this is the last time that I get to speak to you, I want to make sure I get everything out,” I told her.
She looked back at me with a smile. “Don’t worry, Alexander. This won’t be the last time you speak to me.”