Scottie opened his eyes and looked up at the clock above his desk. Thank God it was almost time to go home.
He’d been daydreaming again, thinking about some of the fun times he’d had with Trenton over the past few weeks.
It was something Scottie had found himself doing more and more lately, but no matter which good memory his mind would flash back to, it would always end the same—with an image of Trenton’s face just before Scottie left his house that last time.
The look had mirrored Scottie’s own feelings at the time and every minute of every day since—confusion, anger, sadness.
And Scottie wasn’t sure whether he felt better or worse about the fact that he hadn’t spoken to Trenton at all since then.
On one hand, if they were going to be finished—and it seemed like that was probably the case—he was grateful for a clean break.
No lingering drama.
No ugly back and forth.
No more surprise calls to the health inspector.
But on the other hand, Scottie wanted some closure. And maybe it was just him being selfish, but he felt like he deserved it.
He also felt like he shouldn’t have to be the one to reach out first, but he hadn’t entirely ruled it out, either.
The determining factor would be tonight at the city council meeting. He would of course see Trenton there, but Scottie had no idea how that would go.
Would Trenton be civil? Cordial? Polite?
Friendly?
Or would he ignore Scottie completely, the way he had for nearly a week?
And then there was the worst-case scenario, where things would revert back to the way they were before, with Trenton actively looking to undermine and discredit Scottie and his friends.
Please don’t let it be that.
It hurt Scottie’s heart to think that was even a possibility, but he honestly couldn’t say how Trenton might act—or how he might react if the council’s vote didn’t go in his favor.
He obviously hadn’t let go of the bitter feelings he’d been harboring all year, since the last time the issue had been taken up by the city council. It was anyone’s guess what would happen tonight.
His phone vibrated on the desk next to him, the sound making him jump as he fumbled to reach it. Was it sad or just pathetic that every time a text or call came through, his heart still raced, hoping it would be Trenton?
Yeah, that was both sad and pathetic, most likely.
But he couldn’t help it. It really was supposed to get better sometime, right?
As usual, this text wasn’t from Trenton. It was from Calvin.
Are you ready for the meeting tonight? It’s going to be exciting!
Scottie grimaced. He could think of a lot of other things—like, literally almost anything else—that would potentially be more exciting than a city council meeting. But he knew how passionate Calvin was about this ordinance, and tonight was the culmination of nearly a year of hard work spearheaded by Calvin and Jack to prove that the locally owned small businesses on Main Street could bring in tourist dollars and provide benefits for the citizens of Silver Lake without compromising the character of the town.
It also happened to be the main sticking point in Trenton’s disagreement with Calvin, Jack, Gage, Newton, and a handful of other business owners.
So by that measure, yeah, maybe the meeting would be exciting. But it was the kind of excitement Scottie dreaded. The kind that made his stomach hurt. Like a roller coaster, this was the kind of excitement that made him want to scream as loud as he could and then throw up.
But he wasn’t going to rain on Calvin’s parade. Scottie had been having enough of a pity party lately. He was determined to be upbeat and supportive of his friend tonight. After all, Scottie had a stake in the vote tonight as well. It would definitely affect his business if one of the big corporate coffee chains was allowed to muscle into town.
Why couldn’t Trenton see that, too? Or was that the outcome he’d been hoping for all along?
If he was in the mood to sell, his shop was in a damn good location. He could likely get top dollar from some deep corporate pockets.
It was really the only possibility that even sort of made sense to Scottie, but it still felt like poisoning the well to repeal a city ordinance just to make a quick buck.
Doing his best to send an enthusiastic reply, Scottie typed out a quick message.
Looking forward to it!
Scottie sighed. That was really all the enthusiasm he could muster. It would have to be good enough for now.
He pushed his chair back from the desk and collected his things. It was finally time to go home. He was going to need some time to rest and collect his thoughts before the meeting.
Because even though he was going to cross his fingers and hope for the best, he had a feeling he should probably be prepared for the worst.
Scottie couldn’t stop fidgeting as he sat in his seat on the front row at the city council meeting. The meeting room was packed, the air stuffy and hot with the press of so many bodies in the relatively small space.
It might not have been so bad if there had been some windows or some ceiling fans or something, but the mostly bare, whitewashed cement walls and white linoleum floor made it feel more like a prison than a place for the public to gather.
Still, it hadn’t stopped them from gathering tonight.
“I think everyone in town showed up,” Calvin said, echoing Scottie’s thoughts. “That’s a good sign, though. They won’t be able to rush through anything with this many eyes on them.”
“With all of us scheduled to speak, I don’t think they’d be able to rush even if they wanted to,” Scottie said. “This is going to be a long night. Hopefully a good one, though.”
Scottie and his friends—Calvin, Jack, Gage, and Newton—definitely had their eyes on the council members sitting directly in front of them. In fact, the whole first couple of rows were mostly business owners from around town.
And of course, Scottie’s eyes had immediately searched out Trenton, sitting a row behind and to the right of Scottie. The only benefit of Trenton sitting sort of behind Scottie was that it was difficult to see him as long as Scottie didn’t turn in that direction.
Which he still seemed to find an excuse to do at least once every five seconds.
He couldn’t help it, though.
It was hard to turn off the feelings he had been experiencing, and Scottie wanted more than anything to just turn and wave, to say hello, to do something—anything—that would let Trenton know Scottie was still around, still thinking about him.
But he didn’t do any of those things, and Trenton didn’t seem to be too interested in making a move, either.
So this was apparently going to be the status quo from now on.
Fine.
Great.
Scottie could deal with that.
He’d have to, right?
The urge to turn around and look at Trenton again was strong.
Almost too strong.
Scottie was going to have to resist it, though.
He fished his phone from his pocket, checked the time, and double-checked to make sure it was set to silent. That had at least worked to distract him for another five seconds.
Don’t look back there.
Stay strong.
Don’t.
Look.
Back.
Scottie huffed out a short breath. “They can go ahead and get this thing started anytime,” he said, sounding more irritated than he would have preferred.
Calvin looked over and quirked a sculpted eyebrow. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah…” Scottie mumbled. “It’s just hot in here, is all.”
“I think they’ll be starting in just a couple of minutes,” Calvin said, reaching over to pat Scottie on the leg. “And just remember that looking calm and confident is sometimes the best revenge.”
Scottie snorted. Of course Calvin would know the real reason Scottie was feeling flustered—though to be fair, it was hot as hell in that room.
But he didn’t want revenge. He didn’t want to piss Trenton off or make him regret anything.
Scottie just wanted to talk.
And more than that, he just wanted Trenton back.
Scottie’s palms were sweating as he walked to the microphone to speak. Even though he knew most of the faces in the room, it was still more than a little intimidating to be speaking in front of them.
He much preferred to talk one-on-one over a cup of coffee, but Calvin had asked him to speak tonight on behalf of leaving the ordinance in place, and he had insisted that if most of the business owners in town seemed to be on their side, it would be harder for the council members to repeal it.
Which of course made sense, but that didn’t make it any easier for Scottie to stand up there and speak.
Just get yourself together.
He cleared his throat and looked down at the page of notes in his trembling hand.
Breathe.
Looking back up, he scanned the crowd quickly before turning his attention to the council members.
Do not look at Trenton again.
Don’t do it.
“Good evening, friends,” Scottie began. “Thank you for letting me speak tonight. I know we’ve all listened patiently to several other people, so I’ll try to keep this brief.” He could almost hear the sighs of relief that went up from the crowd. “I recognize a lot of you from seeing you come through the doors of Steamin’ Beans, and I want to first say that I appreciate you. All of you. Every dollar you spend with me helps the community. I employ people who live here in town—some of whom are here tonight. I source as much as I can from right here in Silver Lake, and when I can’t find someone in the immediate area, I can still usually get what I need from producers and manufacturers in our great state of Ohio.”
Scottie paused and looked around the room. His eyes met Trenton’s for a split second, long enough to tell that Trenton was looking right back at him.
Why did you look?
Don’t look again.
“It’s important to me,” Scottie continued, “to put as much money as I can back into this great community and into this great state. I believe in my heart that a rising tide floats all boats, and I know that my friends here tonight believe the same thing.” He looked over and smiled at Calvin, Jack, Gage, and Newton. “We’ve been seeing the benefits of this rising tide already. And we want to keep rising together, to keep growing together. We want to make Silver Lake beautiful and inclusive by giving back to the community that has been so good to all of us. We believe in those things. Meanwhile, what do giant corporations believe in? Squeezing as much profit as they can out of every person who walks through the door. They don’t see us as customers. Or friends. How could they, when they have hundreds of other stores all over the world? No, we’re just numbers that add to their bottom line. And where does all of that money go? Out of state, mostly. Sometimes even out of the country. It goes to shareholders and executives and to whoever has the lowest bid for supplies.” Scottie took a breath and gave a half-shrug. “Which one would you rather have in your community? I think the choice is clear. Thank you for your time.”
There was mostly polite applause as he walked back to his seat. Well, aside from his friends, who were cheering like he was some kind of rock star.
“You did so well,” Calvin said, standing up to catch Scottie in a quick hug as he took his seat again. “Thank you so much for getting up there and doing that. I know you weren’t crazy about the idea.”
“Anything to help the cause,” Scottie said, smiling and feeling a hundred times better now that he had finished speaking. “I just hope it did actually help.”
“I think it did,” Calvin nodded. “Everything you said was the absolute truth. I think it’s going to resonate with a lot of people.”
Scottie had been so caught up in the moment that he almost missed the moment they called Trenton’s name for him to speak.
Almost.
Even though he had told himself a dozen times not to turn and look, Scottie did just that as Trenton walked by.
And of course, Trenton had been looking right back at him again.
Damn.
Damn, damn, damn.
When was Scottie going to learn not to do that? It only made things more difficult. It only made him want to talk to Trenton more.
“Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” Trenton said, looking around the room briefly. “I know I’m not nearly as eloquent as some of the people you’ve heard tonight. I know I’m not as popular as some of them or as good looking.” He paused for a moment, and Scottie could see his chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath before continuing. “But I’ve also realized that I’m not as smart as some of the people who have spoken tonight.”
Scottie’s brow furrowed. This wasn’t like the last speech Trenton had given in front of the city council. He had been so sure of himself then, so clearly convinced that he was right and everyone else was wrong.
This felt different.
This felt more sincere. More humble.
“You see,” Trenton continued, “I’ve been resisting the things most of the other business owners in the room have been trying to do. I spoke out in favor of repealing the ordinance earlier this year, and I’ve stood by that position every day since then.” He paused again to clear his throat. “Until today.”
An audible gasp rose from the audience, and there was a general air of confusion as people shifted in their chairs.
What was he doing? Why was he saying these things? Had he really changed his mind, or was this part of some larger plan?
Those were the questions that were on Scottie’s mind, and as he exchanged glances with Calvin, Scottie could tell his friend felt the same way.
“I’ve been foolish,” Trenton said, his voice suddenly quiet in spite of the fact that he was speaking into the microphone. “I’ve let my pride and my own insecurities get the best of me. Worse, I’ve let them get in the way of doing what is right. Someone recently helped me see that. So tonight I’m offering an apology to the citizens of Silver Lake for putting my own interests above yours for much of this year. It was a mistake that I didn’t realize I was making until it was almost too late. I hope you’ll all be able to forgive me someday.”
Scottie blinked hard. He knew how difficult it must have been for Trenton to stand up there and admit that he’d been wrong about this whole thing, especially after speaking out so strongly in the past.
It was admirable. It was the sign of someone who had actually listened, someone who had grown.
“While I’ve got your attention, I’d like to say one more thing.” Trenton turned and looked directly at Scottie. “Scottie Chambers, I’m sorry. You were right about everything. I can see that now. I was a fool to let you leave that day without trying to understand everything you were telling me. I guess I wasn’t ready to hear it then.” He paused and swallowed hard. “But I’ve received it now. I really have. And so I want to say that even though I don’t deserve it, I hope you’ll give me a second chance to prove that you really can teach this old dog new tricks. I love you, Scottie. Please forgive me.”
Scottie’s mouth fell open as he heard the words.
Trenton loved him.
Loved him.
It was shocking and sincere and completely unexpected. And here, of all places. In front of the whole town. In front of all of Scottie’s friends.
It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for him.
Scottie looked over at Calvin, Jack, Gage, and Newton. They were all on their feet, clapping, smiling. Everyone was clapping and cheering. It was surreal, almost as if time was moving in slow motion.
It felt like he might very well be dreaming.
And then Trenton was standing in front of him, all the pride gone from his face as he looked into Scottie’s eyes.
“What do you say, Scottie?” Trenton asked. “Do you think you can find it in your heart to forgive me? Or maybe to start forgiving me? I’ll earn that forgiveness if you’ll let me. I promise I will.”
Scottie could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he searched for the right words. But he couldn’t find the right words, so he used the only one that fit.
“Yes,” Scottie said, finally. “Yes, I forgive you, Trenton. I forgave you that day. I love you, too.”
And then their friends were crowding around them, cheering, clapping them on their backs, pressing them together in one giant group hug.
Trenton loved him.
He loved Trenton.
They were going to have another chance to make this work.
And it would work this time, because they were finally on the same page.
They accepted each other.
They understood each other.
They loved each other.
And those were the things that would get them through the hard times.
Love, acceptance, and understanding.
Those were the things that mattered.