Between Octobers

October 10th

October 10th

I accepted the phone was gone. The sentimental attachment was hardly worth the fuss I was making.

“Stupid plastic,” I murmured, gazing at the bags under my eyes in the mirror. “It’s just a piece of plastic.”

Tears trailed the mascara down my cheeks and I gave up applying make-up. My hair was full of static, too, so I threw on a baseball cap. Maria would arrive soon and I wanted to be gone before then. I walked out to the kitchen, where Lily was sitting with the boys, having breakfast. My stomach growled but I had no use for food.

I turned on the small TV on the kitchen island and put in a movie for Caleb. Noah didn’t complain when I kissed him which meant he was still worried, which made me worry, so I taped on a smile and made an effort to sit down and eat so he could see that I was really and truly going to be fine. I even made a little conversation, mostly shallow observations about the appropriately gray weather and my hair. 

Lily barely spoke, wrapped in her own thoughts about the bleak anniversary.

When I heard the car out front, I grabbed my purse and made for the garage door. Turning to give a last goodbye, Noah shot me a half-smile as if to say, “Some things never change.” Avoiding Maria was normal and he took comfort in that.  

My feet hurt. I had seen every exhibit in the Science Museum dozens of times. There were several pictures of us in this place in the phone. Maybe that was what drew me there that day.    

I chose a seat at a small table in the back of a café I visited each time I came. My stomach was growling. I set my purse on the other side of the table to fill the empty space and asked the punctual waitress for water.

I forgot my book of crosswords and had nothing to kill the time with. Adjusting myself in the hard metal chair, I felt the pinch of my bank card cutting into my thigh. While moving it to its’ proper place, inspiration struck. There were dozens of receipts to account for tucked in my wallet, and with any luck I could fill the next hour calculating.

The receipts were organized by date, stacked on my right. I double checked that all of them had been added to my checkbook, and then took out my pocket calculator. Slumped over my work, deep into computations, I heard the sound of footsteps and cautiously covered my balance sheet.

A dark chuckle sounded directly behind me. 

“Cheese and crackers!” My hands clutched at my heart as I turned.

It was him. Tall, slightly leaning, unintentionally handsome and looking right at me. “Hello, Gracie,” he greeted me. The alluring accent lingered with his smile, enjoying my three-alarm surprise to his stealthy approach. 

 “You scared the crap out of me!”

“Sorry, but I wasn’t sneaking up on you.”

“It’s alright, uh…”   

“Evan,” he reminded me, grinning.

“Evan,” I nodded, “that’s right.”

“It is nice to see you again, Gracie.” He took my hand between his, patting twice before he let go.   

“How have you been?” 

“I shouldn’t complain. And yourself?” He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and cocked his head to one side.

I couldn’t honestly say I was fine, and just forced an awkward smile.

“I’m glad to run into you. May I?” He gestured to the empty chair.