Well that would explain why no-one was going out of their way to stop him from leaving. However, I still wanted to try apologising again. “No, I’m just going to see if he’s still out the front. I won’t be long.”
I followed the path he’d taken when he left, and hurried out the front. When I saw him sitting on his bike, I felt both relief and apprehension about approaching him. His face was a mask of anger and the moodiness that Madison spoke of was rolling off him. I stalled for a moment, but then threw caution to the wind and walked to where he was.
He must have heard me because he whipped his head around and turned his angry eyes on me. I held up my hands in a defensive gesture. “Just hear me out, okay?”
A minute passed as he contemplated this and then he nodded.
“I truly am sorry for what I said, Scott. Yes, I presumed you were Lisa’s father and Monty’s owner. Yes, I thought you were a shitty pet owner for not bringing him in sooner. And, yes I presumed that Lisa’s mother was your partner and that you were happy to leave Lisa with someone who was high all the time. Which then led me to the conclusion that you were a crappy father and human being -“
He cut me off. “Is that supposed to be a fucking apology? Because if it is, it’s the worst one I’ve ever heard.”
“No, this is the apology bit. I’m sorry that I judged you. You have no reason to believe me or even care, but I’m not usually this judgmental. In fact, if you were to ask any of my friends or family they would say I was the least judgmental person they know. They would also tell you that I never, ever speak my thoughts like I did to you. I have no idea what came over me today.”
He held up his hand to stop me. He didn’t seem as angry anymore. “As far as I’m concerned, you should always speak your mind. I’m not pissed that you did that. But as for judging me, yeah, that shit me. However, I’ve been sitting here thinking about it, and as much as I fucking hate to admit it, I can see how you could have come to the conclusion you came to.”
“So, apology accepted?” I asked, pushing him. He didn’t seem like the kind of man to easily accept an apology.
He hesitated for a moment. “Yeah.”
He gave me a one word answer, and yet it felt like he’d given me something rare. I didn’t know Scott well enough to know for sure, but I sensed from his body language that he didn’t really want to give what he’d given.
I waited for him to get off his bike but instead, he moved to put his helmet on. “Are you still leaving?” I asked, and realised that I wanted him to stay.
He stopped putting his helmet on and gave me a pointed look. “I don’t do get togethers. Only came to this one because Madison would get pissy if I didn’t, and Madison in a pissy mood isn’t worth the headache. You gave me a good excuse to leave.”
I laughed. “Glad I could help you out then.”
“Yeah, thanks for that.” There was a hint of humour in his voice and he sat watching me for a minute. Finally, he put the helmet on, turned on his bike and took off without a backwards glance.
I stood on the footpath for a long time staring after him. There was definitely something about Scott Cole; something that made long forgotten desires come to the surface. As I stood staring into the distance, I realised that I’d liked it when he just sat and watched me. His eyes hadn’t moved from mine and somehow we’d connected. I’d felt it but I wondered if he had. I also wondered if it was even a good idea to be thinking these things because, let’s face it, Scott was bound to be heartbreak on legs.
***
The next day, I sailed through my shift at the vets as thoughts of Scott flitted in and out of my mind. I’d memorised his muscles, the ink on his arms, his lips and his eyes. These images were floating around my head all day and I’ve gotta say, they made me a happy girl. Even my boss’s snarky attitude towards me all day couldn’t change my mood. Nor did thoughts of the bills my Mum was facing in her café.
A couple of hours later though, I completely changed my mind about Scott Cole. At the end of my shift, my boss called me into his office.
“Harlow, I’m going to have to let you go. I’ve had a complaint from Rod about the way he was treated the other day. The way you dealt with that situation was completely unacceptable,” he said, as he shuffled papers on his desk and did his best to avoid eye contact with me.
My heart started beating faster, and heat flooded my body. How dare he fire me over that idiot. “You’re kidding, right? You fire me without even getting my version of what happened? Rod is one of the rudest customers I’ve ever dealt with in my life, and you’ll regret choosing him over me!”
“I don’t think so. He’s one of my best customers; that dog of his is always in here getting something done. I can’t afford to upset customers like him.”