Peaked in High School

Backpedalling

"How is Everett doing?" Mrs. T asks Beau who jumps in surprise at her voice. He is currently behind the counter organizing a new shipment of books in alphabetical order and genre. The cart loaded with books he was tediously arranging jolted when his foot kicked it by accident from the scare.

He turns to look down at the frail old woman who is wearing a slight frown on her face. "Uh—he's fine, I guess?" Beau replies in a questioning tone. Mrs. T purses her lips at this, clearly not content with his non-answer.

"A little bird told me that he and Charlotte are getting a divorce. I've been waiting for you to bring it up, but you haven't said anything," Mrs. T offers nonchalantly. While her voice sounds casual, her demeanor seems almost accusatory. Beau knows that she wants a direct answer, but she isn't getting one from him. It's not his place to speak about what Everett is going through.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he replies, "I don't think it'd be cool of me to tell you about any of that. You're important to Everett, he'll want to talk to you about this himself." Beau has really enjoyed working for Mrs. T. She's an amazing woman who he admires and goes to for advice pretty often. With that being said, he's not compromising Everett's privacy just because she feels entitled to hearing about the divorce.

Mrs. T puts her hands on her hips and eyes him for a second. "I figured you'd be able to discuss the matter if you were a part of it as well," she retorts in a way that Beau is not used to being spoken to by her. Beau's ears start ringing and he feels his body go numb. What did she mean by that? Does she know something is going on between him and Everett? Does she think he broke up their marriage?

Clearing his throat and adjusting his stance, Beau decides to double down. He's not letting her accuse Everett of what he thinks she's accusing him of.

"I know that I came into all of this at a bad time, but I didn't do anything. Everett is going through a lot right now and I'm trying to help him out. I don't know what you're trying to get at here, but I'm not gonna let anyone attack the guy when he's done nothing wrong." Beau slowly regains feeling in his face as he tries to calmly respond to the old woman.

"Hm—alright, then." Mrs. T gazes thoughtfully at him. "Maybe I don't fully understand what is happening here. Just know that I don't tolerate infidelity in any marriage."

Beau feels hurt by what she's suggesting. He doesn't have a great track record with relationships in the past regarding when some started and others ended, but he knows better now. If Everett and Charlotte were still happily together, nothing would have ever happened between him and Everett. The same thing goes for their current relationship situation. Now that he and Everett are kind of dating, he wouldn't dream of trying to get with anyone else while they are seeing each other.

"Just because your first marriage ended because of that doesn't mean that's why Everett's did too. He'd be crushed if he heard what you're saying right now." Beau continues to try to keep his voice steady, but he can hear himself getting slightly louder as he speaks.

Mrs. T is a stubborn, proud woman and that shows in the way she keeps her chin held high throughout his response. Despite this, her eyes show uncertainty and guilt. Beau would maybe feel bad for her if he wasn't so upset by what she had suggested about him and Everett. Instead of comforting her, he wants to drag her home and make her apologize to Everett even though he has no clue that this conversation is currently happening.

Eventually, Mrs. T's proud chin drops as she turns her eyes to the floor. She avoids eye contact as she whispers, "Apologies—I overstepped. Divorce is a tricky topic for me and I tend to insert my own experiences when others are going through it as well." Beau is happy to hear her admit that she's in the wrong, but he still wants to shield Everett from having to talk to her ever again. He can't risk the fragile man being hurt by this woman that he thinks so highly of.