“Is it that woman? Soron? Sara?”
“Sora. And me asking you to sell the bakery doesn’t have anything to do with her.”
Hurt flickers in her blue eyes. Legitimate hurt.
“I’m done punishing you for your mistakes. It’s over. We’re done.”
Mal stares at the cuff of her coat, playing with the insulated sleeve’s edge. She doesn’t say anything for a long time. “So, all the time you listened to me about my parents… about what they did…” Mal’s eyes fill with tears. “Did you even ever really care about me? Ever?”
“Of course I did. And I really am sorry that happened to you. No one deserves that kind of neglect.” I pause. “But I didn’t deserve what you did to me, either.”
“So that’s why you’re going off with Soda.” She grabs a napkin this time and blows her nose. Loudly.
“Sora.” I sigh. “And she’s not taking my calls thanks to the stunt you pulled at the Golden Chef Awards, so I’m not sure where we stand. I’ll be honest.”
“Sorry.” Mal squirms a little, though she doesn’t look sorry. “If she’s out of the picture, then…” Mal looks a tad hopeful for a minute.
“No, Mal. We’re not getting back together. Not even if Sora never talks to me again. We’re done. For good.”
Mal slumps back into her chair, looking resigned.
“You know, no one ever cared about that before you. Everyone just thought, ‘oh, poor rich girl.’ You really saw me.” Mal sniffs. “I really messed all that up, didn’t I?”
This might be the first time Mal took responsibility for anything. Ever.
I nod, feeling sad. “You did. Yeah.”
“My sister’s still not speaking to me either.” She balls up the napkin in her fist. I nod. I mean, I wouldn’t either if she slept with my spouse. We sit in silence for a bit. An awkward, awful silence, but Mal is really, I think, finally getting it.
“This is why my parents don’t love me. I’m unlovable.” A small sob escapes her. I grab another napkin and offer it. She swipes it from my hand.
“You’re not unlovable.” I shake my head. “You just keep making bad choices.”
“How do I stop doing that?” She swipes at her nose again.
“How about do the next right thing?” I tell her. “And then the next right thing after that. Then, before you know it, you’renot doing bad things anymore. Like start with small things and work your way up.”
She considers this. “But what if I do a good thing and then a bad thing?”
“Then you just start over doing good things.”
“So, the next good thing I need to do is sell the bakery,” she says, swiping at her cheeks.
I nod. “Yeah. That’s a good start.”
Mal nods. “I’ll sell the bakery. Then I need to let you go, for good.” Her eyes meet mine. They’re full of real pain. I hate that, but this has to be done. “So you can go be with Sora.”
I can’t believe she got her name right. Makes me think she really knew her name all along.
“If she talks to me again.” I’m not at all sure of that yet.
“She will,” Mal promises.
Twenty-three
SORA
They say time heals all wounds. But why does it have to take so much time?