For instance, Taylor was a stay-at-home dad, and there were 2 other children besides Marie in his brood. Chloe worked for a real-estate agency, and was a total workaholic (which Ashley easily related to). The youngest of their three children had severe learning disabilities, but they were coping well with that. Taylor's little brother, Zac, apparently had gotten married as well, to one of Taylor's ex-girlfriends no less. He had started a real doozy of a family, as Taylor put it - 5 kids and growing.
Ashley soon found that their evening of bantering and reminiscing was coming to an end. She gave them their check, and they paid her. She thanked them for the hefty tip. Then, Taylor and Ashley exited the restaurant, leaving Ashley to clean up. She had just begun to sweep the floor when Taylor walked back in.
"Um, I think Marie left her purse in here," he said.
Ashley looked, and saw that sure enough a purse hung from the seat Marie had just occupied. "Yeah. There it is," she said, pointing. He retrieved it sheepishly, then walked to the door. He looked at Ashley with a bit of sadness in his eyes.
"I know we haven't been on the best of terms," he began quietly. "In fact, we haven't been on any terms at all. We were too close for too long to just close the book. I still want to be your friend, Ashley. I want to be a part of your life and for you to be a part of mine, even if it's not the biggest part."
She studied the floor for a moment. "You think we can pick up where we left off before I went off to France?" she asked quietly.
"I hope we can," he said. "I want to try, Ashley."
"I do, too." Her eyes met his. "But I want you to understand right here and now, I'm not looking to be a home wrecker. I don't want anything like the other night to happen again. Just friends."
"If that's what it takes," he said, "then I'll do it."
She smiled. "I know."
His lips curled into a smile, making Ashley's heart flutter involuntarily. He told her, "I think this is where I say goodnight."
"Bye, Taylor," she said.
"Bye, Ash." With a wave, he was gone. Ashley leaned on the broom in her hand. A chuckled escaped her lips, and then she got back to work.
