Autumn and Summer (2 page)

              “I’m so sorry. Please excuse me. I need to take this,” I announced before excusing myself from the most painfully boring date I’d ever suffered through. Robert stood as I scooted my chair backward and quickly made my way to the back of the small restaurant.

             
“Thank you,” I whispered into the phone as I dodged a waitress carrying a large tray over her head. I navigated the restaurant until I was safely in the ladies’ room.  Looking under the stalls to ensure I was alone, I put the call on speakerphone. “Summer Skye Wilson, I owe you dinner the next time you come visit me. Maybe you can schedule in a quick visit on your way back down from New Hampshire for that shoot.”

             
With a dry laugh, Summer responded, “You know, I may have to take you up on that offer… especially now that I’m a freelance photographer with no jobs lined up.”

             
Pulling out two tinted lip glosses from my clutch, I pursed my full lips and debated adding more color.  “What are you talking about? I thought you had a big potential client lined up for tomorrow.” Deciding that the mauve lip gloss complemented my brown skin and dark pink dress better than the light pink, I added a little extra color to my lips.

             
“I came back early for the meeting tomorrow, but I no longer work for Josh Jones Photography. I quit,” Summer sighed.

             
Dropping the gloss back into my clutch, I snapped it closed and teased my thick hair. “Good for you! You’ve been talking about doing your own thing and freelancing for the last couple of months. Not to mention, you’ve been working under him since you finished your M.F.A. After three long years, I’m glad you finally took the leap of faith. I’m so proud of you. You are way too talented to be in his shadow.”             

“Thanks Auty,” Summer responded. I smiled
at her nickname for me. Twenty-four years later and she was still the only person who could get away with shortening my name outside of my mom and dad.

             
I turned my back to the mirror and leaned against the sink. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy once you dropped pretty boy Josh and his anal retentive work habits.” When she didn’t respond, I continued, “Did you finally break up with him?”

             
“Yes. Absolutely.”

             
“Why?” I asked, dragging the word out.

“He was cheating on me,” she
divulged slowly. After a dramatic pause she then added, “…with Amber!”

“What?!” I
gasped. “Skinny, terrible dye job Amber? Your intern, Amber?”

“That’s the one.
”

“You have got to be kidding me right now!” I yelled. “I will kill him. And her. I will kill them both.
And I’ve watched enough episodes of Dexter to get away with it.”

Laughi
ng, Summer replied, “And this is why I love you! But I’m fine. Honestly, I’m fine. I stopped having sex with him weeks ago. He got lazy and wasn’t taking care of business so it wasn’t worth my time. And besides, you know how I felt about him.”

“
I know, I know. Summer Wilson doesn’t do love…or bad sex.”

“Exactly! So I knew the end was coming because I wasn’t.”

“You are so silly!” I laughed. “I knew you weren’t in love with him or anything, but still… no one deserves to be cheated on.”

“
Agreed. That’s why I was initially shocked and then angry and now I’m…” Her voice trailed off softly.

“
Sad? Disappointed?” I guessed from the sound of her voice. 

“
It just sucks, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I worked so hard.” Summer paused and I waited, knowing her true feelings would emerge in our mutual silence.

A minute passed
before she started again.  “I came up with the concept. I put together the test shots…which ended up being the bulk of the portfolio for the William Williams meeting. Landing a client like the multimillionaire business guru himself would be legendary. And I worked my ass off for tomorrow’s meeting. I worked my ass off for Josh and Josh Jones Photography. No matter how much I contributed, he was always going to be the one in the boardroom tomorrow and that gets under my skin. And to top it off, he pushed for us to solidify our relationship. I was very upfront about not believing in love, relationships, and happily ever afters. He was the one that wasn’t okay with us hooking up randomly. He wanted a commitment. I didn’t even want to be in a relationship! I wanted to learn from the world-renowned Josh Jones and once I saw his talent up close and personal, I wanted to have sex with him. But that’s it.  I wanted sex and experience to put on my resume. Period. I didn’t want a serious commitment. But he pushed for it. And then he cheated! Ugh!”

“That’s what I don’t understand. If he wasn’t ready for a relationship, why did he try so hard to nail you down into one?” I wondered as the door to the restroom opened. I smiled
politely as three women entered loudly.

“Because he’s an ass
hole,” she responded without missing a beat.

“And
because you’re a challenge and you didn’t fall over yourself when you were around him,” I said, answering my own question. “And because he knows you’re special and he didn’t want to risk you being free for someone else to realize how special you are. And he knows how talented you are and he knew he’d have a better chance at keeping you at his studio if he was sexing you up regularly.”

One of the women looked over at me with raised eyebrows
, so I pushed off of the sink and left the restroom, where the sounds of the restaurant quickly enveloped me. I was fired up and continued from the hallway, “You’re loyal and while you were involved with him, you weren’t going to go to another studio. Or better yet, strike out on your own. You are a better photographer than he is. You listen to people and get them to talk and then bring out whatever their truth is. You’re not just better than him, you are a brilliant photographer! And while he’s skating by due to his name and former modeling career, you are building a career off of your talent. And let’s be honest, you only wanted him for what he could teach you about photography and his connections. So you finding Josh and Amber was truly a blessing in disguise…you weren’t really into the relationship and you weren’t happy playing second fiddle at his studio. And now, you’re free. He was dumb, but even he knew that your loyalty would keep you employed with him as long as you two were in a relationship.”

A short
, dry laugh burst out of her. “He was dumb, wasn’t he?”

“
Totally. But he was pretty,” I admitted with a nod she couldn’t see.

“He was
so pretty and yet, so dumb,” Summer agreed loudly. “You always make everything better. For that reason alone, I’ve already forgiven the fact that you share the same last name as my now arch-nemesis.”

I laughed, “Jones is a common last name. You can’t fault me for that!”

“No, but seriously… thank you for being the best best friend in the world. You simultaneously made me feel better about my breakup and my lack of employment in less than fifteen minutes. You are wise beyond your years, my friend.”

After a brief pause,
she continued, “Um, I’m hearing strange music. I take it you are not at home?”

Peek
ing around the corner, I spotted Robert sipping his wine and scrolling through his phone. Although he was quite handsome, he was so dull. “No, I’m at this Italian restaurant with Robert,” I sighed.

“
Oh no! I hope I didn’t interrupt your date with Robert Drowsy Jr,” Summer deadpanned.

Laughing loudly, I caused a few tables nearby to look over and take notice of me. Ducking my head back around the corner so I couldn’t be seen anymore, I snickered into the phone. “You are ridiculous.”

“No Autumn, you are ridiculous,” she countered teasingly. “Are you having fun? I’m guessing not because you picked up the phone and talked to me for the last fifteen minutes.”

“It’s not that he’s a bad guy. At all. He’
s just dull. Even when he’s excited, he’s still really boring about it. You met him so think about that brief interaction…now imagine it times five for a couple of hours. ”

“
Yikes! Robert is good-looking and he’s nice so I get why you agreed to go out with him initially. But dammit, if this is the third date and he still keeps forgetting to bring his personality, drop him.”

“Yeah,
that’s what’s happening tonight. I felt he deserved to be let down in person. I’m going to let him down gently. But for the record, if he had more substance, I would be all over him. But he is just so…”

“
You are the romantic. I’m the realist. So let’s call it what it is. Robert is as boring as Josh is dumb.”

“Ha! That’s the truth.” When I peeked around the corner again,
I saw the waiter drop off the check and Robert looking around as if he were trying to find me. “Robert is looking for me so I need to get back to the table, but I’ll call you tomorrow to give you tonight’s recap. Now seriously, are you okay?”

“Yes. I am now. Thanks
, Auty.”

“Anytime. And remember, everything happens for a reason. You found out the truth a
bout Josh so now you’re free.”

“
Free falling.”

“Tom Petty.”

“And the heartbreakers,” Summer laughed. “See what we did there. Full circle. We are the heartbreakers.”

Laughing, I responded, “That’s not a good thing.”

“I’m sorry I ruined your breakup dinner.”

“Goodbye
, Summer,” I said in a sing-song voice before disconnecting the call and dropping the phone in my clutch.

Squaring my shoulders,
I walked back to the table I shared with Robert. He quickly jumped to his feet when he saw me approaching. He smiled a warm smile and I felt a pit in my stomach.
I hate hurting people’s feelings. But this needs to be done. It would be even worse for me to lead him on,
I thought as I smiled back and took my seat.

“Robert, dinner has been lovely. Thank you for my meal. Please allow me to pay for it,” I offered.

“No, not at all. I will not have you paying for your own dinner, let alone my dinner,” Robert countered, scratching his temple.

“Please. Allow me this one opportunity.” I leaned forward holding his hazel eyes in my gaze, willing him to relent and let me pay for dinner.

He stared back at me and I saw something cross his face. His lip quirked up and he gave me a lopsided grin. His short dark brown hair looked fluffy and soft as it framed his deceptively young face. He looked like he could be twenty-one; however, at thirty-eight, he was ten years older than me.

“That’s not the way a gentleman shows respect for his lady,”
he answered, his eyes sparkling.

Time to let him down gently,
I thought as I said slowly, “But it is the way a woman shows her friend she appreciates his friendship.”

Robert’s face slowly shifted from hopeful
ness to disappointment at a gut-wrenchingly slow pace. His eyes dropped to the check that lay between us. I hated to hurt such a nice guy’s feelings, but he deserved to find someone who appreciated all he had to offer. I quickly glanced around the room and saw happy couples and dinner companions enjoying each other’s company. Some were laughing and smiling while others were in deeper conversations. When my eyes returned to Robert, he gave me a sad smile.

“So to be clear, friendship is the only thing you’re looking for out of this,” Robert said sadly as he gestured between the two of us.

“Correct,” I said with a slight nod. “I think you are a great guy Robert. But there is no romantic future for us.”

Robert nodded slowly as if he were thinking over what I had said. Then he raised his finger to signal the waiter and pulled out
a few bills from his wallet. “I appreciate your honesty, Autumn. A lot can be said about a woman who is direct and straight to the point. It kind of—.”  The waiter appeared interrupting Robert’s sentence.

“Yes sir?” the waiter asked.

“Thank you. Keep the change,” Robert said kindly, handing the waiter the check and cash.

“Thank you sir. You two have a wonderful night.” The waiter scurried off toward the back of the restaurant.

My eyes never left Robert’s.  He fiddled with the stem of his wine glass before finishing off the red wine sangria. “I understand and I appreciate your honesty. We should get going. I have an early morning.”

He stood quickly and helped me out of my chair.
With his hand just grazing the small of my back, he led me out of the restaurant in silence. I didn’t know what to say so I looked at my feet as I fiddled with my clutch. The chill in the air made me shiver once we were completely out of the restaurant. 

Gathering the nerve to see the hurt in his eyes,
I turned to look at him.
Did I rush to judgment about him? Yes, he is boring. The conversation is almost nonexistent unless we are talking about our jobs. But he is also polite, well-mannered, good looking, and sweet. And those qualities are definitely qualities I look for in a man,
I contemplated.