Chapter 6: Coming Clean

Birdy hummed quietly to herself as she finished making the pancake batter. On her first night here, she'd had the best sleep last night since her relationship with Dale ended. She'd woken up feeling rested and determined to pick herself up and show Alex she was appreciative. So Birdy had agreed to stop verbally thanking the woman but she was still planning on doing as much for her as she could.

"Morning," Alex mumbled sleepily from the kitchen door, drawn there by the smell of the pancakes that Birdy had started cooking.

"Good morning!" Birdy greeted enthusiastically. "Would you like some coffee? There's a fresh pot over there."

Alex's eyes lit up slightly at the offer of coffee and she happily helped herself to a cup before planting herself against a cabinet, watching Birdy cook.

"Have you been up long?" Alex asked Birdy as she watched her over her coffee mug.

Birdy shook her head as she carefully flipped the pancakes in the large pan. "Only, like an hour or so? I figured you'd appreciate breakfast."

Alex nodded gratefully, her eyes following Birdy's movements as she plated the pancakes. "I definitely do. Now I can avoid eating at the airport."

"Airport?" Birdy questioned as she handed Alex a plate of pancakes and a fork. "There's syrup in the cabinet behind you."

Alex grinned excitedly and dug the syrup out of the cabinet, pouring a healthy amount over her stack of pancakes.

"I forgot to mention it last night," Alex spoke around a mouthful of pancakes. "I have to fly out to Paris for a shoot in a few hours."

"Oh," Birdy said, feeling slightly disappointed that Alex was leaving so soon. She had hoped to get to know her better and maybe even become friends. "How long will you be gone?"

Alex shrugged as she swallowed. "I'll only be gone for a few days. While I'm gone, please feel free to make yourself completely at home. Have a friend over, decorate your room, or whatever else you can think of."

Birdy smiled brightly. "Thanks, I'll probably be working mostly. I've got to start saving for my own place."

"Just shoot me a message if you need anything," Alex commanded with a stern expression. "These are delicious, I'm going to finish them in my room and jump in the shower."

"Sure," Birdy giggled. "Have a safe flight. I'm going to take a walk and do some thinking."

Alex shot Birdy an understanding smile before disappearing from the kitchen, leaving Birdy alone with her own thoughts.

****

Birdy took a deep breath as she spotted the cafe she was going to a block away. On her walk, she had decided that it was time to let some of the important people in her life know that something major had changed.

She'd decided to break the ice by telling her best friend, Holly, first. Birdy had been friends with Holly since the first grade and they had been through everything together. Holly had also been around when Birdy first started dating Dale. It felt safest to start with her because she had always been fiercely protective of Birdy.

Still, the thought of retelling the story filled her with dread. Something about telling her family and friends made it seem less like a nightmare and more like an awful reality. Her family loved Dale and had welcomed him in completely - everyone had always assumed that the two of them would get married.

It sucked that it was never going to happen.

It sucked that she had to be the one to tell everyone.

Birdy sighed as she walked into "Holly & Ivy"; she couldn't help but smile at the logo displayed on the door, the cafe's name in a wreath of holly and ivy.

“Holly and Ivy” was a cafe and bakery that Holly started with a culinary school friend, Ivy. The business was only about a year old and now Birdy hardly saw Holly as a consequence. It was bittersweet because business was booming and seeing Holly's dream come true made Birdy happy.

"Hi, Birdy!" the barista at the counter greeted her as she walked in. "Would you like your usual?"

"Hey Erin," Birdy said with a smile, reveling in the delicious smells permeating the air. "Yes, please."

Birdy couldn't help but admire the many goodies in the glass case, debating getting something else on top of her usual. Holly had always baked for Birdy whenever she was going through something so now it was the best comfort food.

"Awesome," Erin chirped. "I'll let Holly know that you're here, you just grab a seat."

Birdy smiled appreciatively and turned to find an open table. There were a few cafe tables toward the back of the cafe as well as a table running along the wall of the storefront window. The walls were decorated with large watercolor paintings of different pastries.

She saw an open table pressed against the back wall and made a beeline for it. She wanted to make sure as few people as possible saw her cry in the, very likely, event that she did. Moving into Alex's place had given her a good distraction for a day but she couldn't deny how much she was still hurting.

"Hey sugar," Holly's husky voice greeted Birdy as she approached with her order.

Birdy stood and hugged Holly as soon as she'd put the chocolate croissant and caramel latte down. She sank into Holly's embrace gratefully, accepting her love and warmth.

"So, what's up?" Holly asked in concern as the two women sat down. "What's the emergency?"

Birdy tore the corner off her croissant and put it in her mouth, chewing slowly to stall the inevitable. She swallowed hard and looked at Holly with a grim expression.

"Dale broke up with me," Birdy blurted out, her eyes on Holly's face.

Holly's eyes widened in surprise, her mouth slightly open as she processed the unexpected news.

"Dale broke up with you?" Holly repeated, wondering if she had heard it right the first time.

Birdy bit her lip and nodded sadly before picking up her latte and taking a sip, keeping the mug between her hands to keep them warm.

"That son of a b*tch!" Holly swore. "After ten f*cking years, he breaks up with you? That's bullsh*t."

Birdy couldn't help but snort in laughter at the expletive-laden tangent. Holly had liked Dale before but in the last few years, she had started to grow cold toward him. Holly hadn't been shy in telling Birdy and Dale that she felt like he was stringing her along. She couldn't understand why he still hadn't proposed, especially since they both knew how much Birdy wanted a marriage and a family.

"That pretty much sums up some of my feelings," Birdy commented wryly as Holly fell silent, clearly stewing.

"When was this?" Holly asked. "Where are you staying? Are you okay?"

Birdy smiled sadly, causing Holly to reach across the table and hold one of her hands. Birdy squeezed Holly's hand affectionately and sighed.

"This happened a few days ago," Birdy divulged. "I'm staying with a friend for now while I figure it out. As for being okay, I don't know. I'm heartbroken and I didn't see it coming, but I should've."

After having some time to reflect, Birdy started to see the little red flags she had been ignoring. Isn't that always how it goes? The hindsight is in HD.

Dale had started making little comments - little put-downs about almost everything. Nothing she did was right or acceptable for him, she hadn't realized how she'd started walking on eggshells until it was over.

Birdy laughed bitterly. "The fact that I'd known him forever blinded me, I totally missed it when he turned into a total a*shole."

Holly nodded vehemently. "He started changing after he got into corporate. I didn't like the way he started talking to you honestly but, you were so deep in love."

"Now I'm knee-deep in heartbreak," Birdy said sadly as she sipped her drink some more.

"Have you told your parents about this?" Holly asked softly.

Birdy winced and shook her head. "I don't have the guts. I feel so humiliated and I'm just not ready. I want to pick myself back up a little bit before I drop the bomb."

"You have nothing to feel humiliated about," Holly told Birdy firmly. "You both changed and grew into totally different people. You can do so much better than douchey Dale."

Birdy snickered slightly. "He was saying the vilest stuff when he was breaking up with me and all of this because I had to work late and he had to be in charge of his dinner!"

"What was he saying?" Holly asked in a dark tone.

"To sum it up, he thinks I'm immature and he had hoped I'd grow out of this phase or something," Birdy said with an eye roll. "This phase is having blue hair and wanting a career in fashion. I think he had plans of turning me into a little trophy wife or something."

"Well good luck to him," Holly said. "And to her, whoever she is, but that's not you. I know it's hard to see it now but I promise you that man was holding you back. There are better things coming your way."

Birdy smiled at her friend gratefully and hoped, wholeheartedly, that Holly was right. She needed things to get better from here on out.