Trixie!”
Andre ran across the waiting room, ignoring the sssh from the other people seated there.
“Keep your voice down,” she whispered. “Please don’t make a scene.”
He looked out and found many faces glaring at him.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. They seemed to accept his apology and returned to their magazines and phones.
“Can we talk?” When she hesitated, he added, “Please, Trixie. Hear me out.”
“Five minutes. That’s all you get.” She sat down next to a gray-haired woman knitting a bright green heart.
“Don’t you want some privacy?” He pointed to some empty chairs in a corner.
“Not after the way you kicked me out of your restaurant. These people don’t know who you are, so why should it matter.” She tapped on her phone and showed him a running timer. “You’re wasting time.”
“You tell him, girl!” a woman behind him called out.
Focus on Trixie, he told himself. Ignore everyone else.
“Look, I’ve never been good about sharing my feelings. I—”
“Maybe you start with ‘I’m sorry,’” the woman knitting whispered loudly.
“Are you sure we can’t move—”
Trixie pointed to her phone. He was running out of time—and fast. Andre took a deep breath. Now or never.
“I was an asshole and I’m sorry.”
“Was that so hard?” He gritted his teeth at the knitting lady’s commentary.
“I was arrogant and couldn’t see past myself to accept help from the people who loved me the most. Especially you.” He paused but thankfully no one else interrupted him.
“I used your family as an excuse to break up with you the first time—”
“He dumped me with a Post-it,” Trixie told the woman next to her, who had put away her knitting for a better distraction.
“No!” Half the room gasped.
Andre waved his hand to quiet the waiting room.
“I pushed you away when you needed me the most. Twice. Last night at the bar, I said a lot of things I shouldn’t have. You only wanted to help me, but I couldn’t let you. My ego got in the way because I wanted to be the one that saved the restaurant. I thought if I was the one who saved our corner of Northeast, then it would make up for leaving when Mama needed me the most.”
“Tell her you love her.” The knitter nudged him with her elbow.
“I do love you, Trixie. But I didn’t treat you right. I made your dream of opening your store less important than saving the restaurant. I wanted to be the top priority in your life, but I didn’t do the same for you.
“I love you, Trixie, with all my heart. You make me a better man and I don’t deserve you. You are so smart, incredibly brave, and compassionate. I admire how you take an awkward topic like sex and have taught so many women how to embrace their bodies. You are brave and strong.
“You bring so much joy and love into everything you do. I know you don’t need me to be successful. But I can’t imagine life without you. If you’ll have me back, I promise to always share my feelings with you and treat you like the goddess you are. And unlimited rum and Diet Cokes.”
He glanced at her phone. The timer had run out, and he’d gone over.
“Trixie? Please say something.”
“You’re such an idiot.” A tear fell down her cheek. “You just shared your deepest feelings with me and all these strangers.”
“Yeah, I did. So, what do you say?”
“You’re a hard man to love, but I love you, too. I’ll give us one more try.”
“Don’t fuck it up, man,” said a burly white guy.
“I’m going to do my best not to,” Andre replied.
“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” the room chanted.
Trixie giggled and put her arms on his shoulders. Andre waited until she was ready. He knew now that he couldn’t control every aspect of their relationship.
“Kiss him! Kiss him!”
“I guess we better give them a good show,” Trixie whispered, and pulled him in for a deep kiss.
Cheers erupted around him. He heard the knitter sniffle. “This is so beautiful.”
“I can’t believe you followed me to New Orleans,” she said when they finally broke apart.
“I couldn’t lose you again, Trixie. I had no other option.”
“But how did you know I was here?”
“I called every hospital in a thirty-mile radius to see if they’d admitted your dad. Do you know how many Kevin Nguyens live in New Orleans?”
But all those calls had been worth it. He’d found Trixie and got back the woman he loved.