Everett's Journal - Rebecca

Thursday, May 6

Delilah Lee Jones came to Lovebird Café again last night. And not just to eat this time. She went to Lacy's office and chatted for a while. When she left, Lacy came out and asked for some water. I got it myself because I was super curious as to why she needed it.

Turns out Delilah brought her a pet fish! His name is Gulliver. I have a feeling he's going to be one spoiled betta. Everyone was so excited that I think every single employee made time to go meet him. Who knew one little fish could get a bunch of adults so excited? I guess having a pet brings out the kid in us.

Anyway, I asked about Lacys friendship with Delilah again. She mentioned it was a long story. And she actually told me!

Basically, Delilah didn't really like her fiance's food, but really liked Lacy's soup (who wouldn't?), and Lacy's fiance was annoyed and ended up breaking up with Lacy and quitting the restaurant.

Delilah blames herself, a little, I think. So when Lacy was in the depth of despair, trying to get the restaurant ready all on her own, Delilah came to see her and convinced her to hire a new head chef. So I guess I owe my job to Delilah! I can't think of anyone I'd rather be indebted to than one of my greatest heroes.

Hearing about Lacy's breakup, seeing how much it's obviously still hurting her- it brought back a lot of memories of Rebecca. It's been almost a year, but I still wonder sometimes what I could have done differently.

I mean, we dated for two years. I thought she was happy. I was happy. Everything seemed to be going so well. I was actually looking at rings!

But then. . . she just suddenly said she wasn't feeling it anymore. I'll never forget the day.

I'd just come in from a long, painful shift at Natal's. He was in an especially bad mood and took the brunt of it out on me, since I was the easiest target.

Rebecca came over for our weekly Friday movie night and I was so excited to spend time relaxing with her and trying to forget about work. But. . . she didn't come. I was used to her being late, but when she hadn't shown up an hour after our usually time, I called. I'll never forget what she said. It's burned into my brain, word for word.

"Everett- it's just not working for me anymore. You're a really great guy! And I'm sure you'll find someone who fits you better. But I'm tired of pretending that I'm happy with this."

So that was it. I tried to talk her out of it. At least she answered my calls. Lacy's fiance totally stopped responding to her after their breakup.

Of course, even though she answered, nothing changed her mind. She was very set on ending things. I think I kept holding out hope - texting her from time to time and trying to maintain a friendship.

And then one day she was dating someone else. And that was it. I haven't dated anyone since. I think I'm afraid that it will happen again.

If I could think that Rebecca was happy for so long when she wasn't, how can I trust my judgement? How can I be sure that I won't make the same mistake again? I don't want to go through that again. I suppose no one ever does after a bad breakup.

On the positive side, Lovebird Café is still doing well. We've got a few regular customers and lots of new people coming in. Our reviews are still very positive. I keep wondering if things are maybe going a little too smoothly, you know. Wondering when something is going to come along and ruin it. But that's just my inner pessimist speaking up. We've worked hard and we are still working hard. And I'm sure our hard work will continue to pay off!