An American Love Story Read Online Free PDF Page A

decided what to make, I remembered that they already had a barbeque planned for tonight, so I decided to get some corn on the cob.
    The produce section of the store had changed in the last nine months; a large floral section took up a corner where the dried fruit used to be. There had always been a small fridge with a glass door that held three or four bouquets at most, but nothing like this. There was a stand holding fresh flowers and a huge fridge with a dozen arrangements. I was a sucker for flowers; to me, there wasn't anything more beautiful in nature aside from a starry sky.
    "Tessa?" a familiar voice said from behind me.
    I straightened up and turned away from the flowers. Phillip's mother was standing a few feet away, in a Reed's Market uniform, looking beyond shocked to see me.
    "Hi, Grace," I said, trying to ignore the air rushing out of my lungs. We hadn't seen each other since I had broken up with her son. Awkward didn't quite cover what I was feeling.
    "Phil told me you moved out of state," she said.
    "I did. I'm just here visiting my parents." Everything in me screamed to hang my head and look at my feet, but I had nothing to be ashamed of. "How have you been? Are you working here now?" When I left, she was working at the local flower shop. She was quite an amazing florist.
    She smiled at me weakly. "Everything's fine, I'm doing the flowers here now," she said gesturing to the new section I had just been admiring.
    It had always made me mad that Phillip never took the time to get me flowers when we were together. I mean, when your Mom's a florist, it's not even inconvenient.
    "I sure miss seeing you around… you know, we don't blame you for what happened. I couldn't have picked a better girlfriend for my Phillip," she said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
    I didn't know what to say. I loved Grace to death. She was amazingly sweet and genuine. The last thing in the world I'd want to do was hurt her. "Thanks, I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye… I just had to leave."
    Her sweet round face tilted to the side. "I understand. I told him if he didn't treat you better, he'd lose you. He took you for granted… You know, he still hasn't gone on a single date?" The inflection in her voice made me think this was something that was supposed to interest me.
    I froze in place and tried to choose my words carefully. "Really, well you should tell him to get out there and find someone," I said, almost choking on the words.
    "I think he knows now, what he had in you—"
    "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm really not interested in…" I shook my head, attempting to silence the stupid part of me that sang at the news.
    "So you meant it?" she asked, biting her lip.
    "Meant what?"
    She looked unsure for a moment, and then spoke. "Phil told me you had asked him to stop calling, give you some space so you could cut him out of your heart… and you really meant it." This time it wasn't a question.
    I had asked that of him, and he had eventually listened. "I usually mean what I say; why else would I tell him that?" I asked, wondering if she thought I had said it just to be cruel. After six years, I thought she knew me better than that.
    "I guess I thought you were just lighting a fire under the boy, you know…" She lifted her hand and wiggled her ring finger.
    Was she serious? "No, no… no, no—"
    "That's a lot of no's," she observed.
    "Listen, I want him to be happy. So tell him to go out and date. We aren't going to be together. He needs to understand that I am not coming back."
    She nodded her head. "I'll tell him… I want you to be happy. Are you happy?"
    "Not yet, but I'm working on it," I said, looking at my watch.
    "Oh, I'm holding you up. It was nice to see you, and remember, no hard feelings at all. You were a huge part of our family, and I'll always love you." She gave me an unexpected hug, and I squeezed her back tightly.
    "Goodbye," I said making my way to the produce.
    Grace went