Chapter 32: Is That Not What It Means?
Saying yes might only deepen the misunderstanding, but saying no could easily offend someone—especially since Leon noticed Emily at the bar was also glancing his way.
So after hesitating for a long while, Leon finally said, “Let’s just go with Willy’s suggestion. No need to trouble Emily, she’s got plenty of other customers to tend to.”
“Fair enough.” Gus didn’t think anything was wrong with that. In fact, he felt a bit touched by Leon’s thoughtfulness toward Emily. “You’re a good young man. I’ve got high hopes for you.”
With that, Gus left with a smile. Leon just stared speechlessly at his back, wondering what exactly Gus had “high hopes” about.
Willy, however, leaned in once Gus was gone and said, “Emily’s a fine young lady. Comes from a good family too. Don’t be fooled just because she works here—it’s only to keep herself from getting bored. You should put in some effort.”
“And why exactly do you all think I’m interested in Emily? We’re just around the same age and get along well. I can’t exactly sit here in silence and eat alone, can I? That would make me look like some kind of recluse.” Leon looked helplessly at Willy’s gossip-hungry expression.
“That so?” Willy looked a bit disappointed, clearly bummed at missing out on a juicy rumor.
Leon just shook his head, wondering if people automatically became nosy about these things with age. Gus was like that, and so was Willy. Good thing he and Emily didn’t have much contact, or the whole town would probably think he was pursuing her in a few days.
Truth be told, Emily was great—both her looks and her personality were first-rate, and in the game she was one of the bachelorettes you could woo. But right now, Leon’s priority was still the farm.