63

The next evening, Teddy was working at the store. Josie was at home and recovering, which mostly meant a lot of grumbling whenever Teddy or Carlos reminded her that she needed to rest. Cold rain poured down outside, plastering the dead leaves onto the sidewalk and making Colossal Toys seem that much cozier. Thanksgiving was in a couple of days, and the holiday break combined with the bad weather meant that the shop was empty as Carlos restocked shelves and Teddy stared out the front windows from her place behind the cash register.

Normally, with no one to help and Carlos preoccupied, she would pull up an episode of Everett’s Place, but obviously that wasn’t a comfort for her anymore. That might’ve been the worst part of this whole situation—that her ultimate security blanket was now gone forever.

Or maybe it was that Everett had become her human security blanket, and now he was gone, too.

A man who looked like Richard cupped his hands around his face and peered into the shop. Teddy smiled thinking about how strange it would have been if Richard ever showed up at Colossal Toys, then stood up straight when the man walked in and she realized he was Richard.

“I see a smile on your face!” he said. “That has to be a good sign!”

Teddy frowned. “What are you doing here?”

Richard looked flustered, as if he’d expected a different response. “I came to see you. What else would I be doing here?”

“But you’ve never come to the shop,” Teddy said, confused. “Not when we were together. Not even when I asked you to. You said there was nothing here an adult man should ever need to buy.”

Teddy heard Carlos drop a box and curse quietly, but she kept her eyes on Richard.

Richard sighed. “Well . . . I was wrong. What else do you want me to say? I came to see you because I didn’t want to leave things the way we left them after our phone call. And also my doorbell camera saw you toilet-papering the town house.”

Teddy paled. She’d forgotten about the doorbell camera.

“Don’t worry. I’m not mad,” Richard said, smiling magnanimously. “I paid the neighbor’s kid to clean it up. And I know it wasn’t your idea.”

“How do you know that?” Teddy asked.

“I should’ve asked your friends to come clean it up,” Richard muttered.

“It was my idea,” Teddy said so loudly that she was practically shouting.

“What?”

“I instigated the toilet-papering,” Teddy said. “And I’m not sorry. We all agreed it was an improvement. Why are you here, Richard? Are you hungry? Because this street is lined with restaurants and I’m happy to give you a recommendation. Go get some chicken fingers at Raising Cane’s. I know you like chicken fingers.”

“I didn’t come here to argue, Teddy,” Richard said. “I came here to tell you that I love you.”

Teddy stared at Richard, the silence between them growing into something so awkward that it was no longer even awkward anymore. And that was when the door burst open.

“I ran here,” Everett said, out of breath and dripping wet. “From the parking garage. Do you know how hard it is to find parking around here? I mean, of course you know. But I’m here and I wanted to tell you . . . Oh, I’m sorry. Am I interrupting something?”

Teddy’s shock at seeing Everett was quickly overrun by her shock at seeing Richard and Everett standing directly beside each other, a situation she had never expected to happen. She realized that neither knew who the other was—Everett had never seen a picture of Richard, and Richard didn’t know she’d dated anyone since they’d broken up.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, but her voice didn’t sound anything like it had when she had asked Richard the same thing. Gone were the sharpness, the annoyance . . . Now, the words barely came out in a whisper. The moment she saw Everett, before his presence had fully registered, she’d already felt like she was floating, the same way she always did when she saw him.

“We’re kind of in the middle of something,” Richard cut in, looking Everett up and down with a scowl. “If you don’t mind.”

Everett narrowed his eyes. “Wait. Is this . . . ?” He looked at Teddy for confirmation.

“Richard, Everett. Everett, Richard,” Teddy said.

“Oh, bud,” Everett said, “you should really not be here right now. What, did you remember something shitty you forgot to say when you and Teddy were dating?”

“And who are you?” Richard asked.

“I’m Everett St. James and I’m in love with Teddy. And I came here to talk to her, not deal with some bro in . . . in . . . loafers,” Everett said in disgust.

Richard pushed his shoulders back and stared up at Everett, his mouth arranged in what Teddy thought was supposed to be a snarl. “Excuse me? I don’t really think you should be criticizing someone else’s clothing. You’re wearing a soaking-wet cardigan.”

“Okay, once again, I ran here in the rain. How are you not wet? Did someone drop you off at the door?”

“No,” Richard sneered. “I have an umbrella. Ever heard of them?”

“I happened to forget my— Why am I talking to you?” Everett shook his head. “I came here to talk to Teddy.”

Richard reached behind the counter and grabbed Teddy’s arm. “She doesn’t want to talk to you. I don’t even know who you are and I can tell that she doesn’t.”

“Richard,” Teddy said, her voice a warning as she tried to pull away from his grip. But even from the other side of the counter, he was surprisingly strong. “Richard, let go of me.”

“Let go of her,” Everett said, his voice edged with steel.

“Mind your own business, dude,” Richard said. “I don’t know what claim you think you have on her, but Teddy needs me. Look at what she’s doing without me . . . still working here and toilet-papering my house with a bunch of losers. Teddy can’t do anything without me!”

And that was when Everett punched Richard in the face.