Aftermath

5

"Where have you been?" The words were venomous as they exited her mother's mouth. She expected her mother would be unhappy about her lack of return from work that night. It wasn't that at 25 she had to notify her mother of her whereabouts at all times, but she could guarantee not being woken up for dinner pissed her off immensely.

What had once made up Cal's mother had left when her father did. Along with that went seemingly all of her mother's parental instincts. At fifteen Calpurnia became the breadwinner, cook, housekeeper, and caretaker. Meanwhile, her mother couldn't hold a job, and spent a lot of time on the couch, surrounded by boxes of Franzia to keep her cozy. All that was left of Harmony McConnell was a bitter woman and resentment for the only reminder of the biggest mistake of her life.

"I asked you a question, Purnia. I was late to work because of you." Cal cringed at the anger in her tone and scoffed. Backtracking, when she realized her mistake, she made up an excuse quickly and made a beeline for her bedroom.

Once her door was shut and locked she let out the breath she'd been holding and flopped onto her bed. She wrestled her phone from her pocket and connected it to the charger next to her bed before letting her eyes flutter shut, exhaustion taking over.

Cal woke with a start, breathing heavily from her dream to her phone buzzing. She pulled it off her nightstand and answered.

"Hey," Matthew said on the other end, he relayed the details and said they'd all be meeting up in a half-hour. After the call ended, she sat up, giving herself a moment to get her bearings, then headed for her dresser to change.

Calpurnia wasn't sure what to expect when she arrived, but it was definitely more people than she'd considered being there. She recognized most of them, not personally, but had been classmates with them, or ran into them around town, she'd probably even sold books to most of them. That was the story for anyone who lived in a small town.  She spotted the group before anyone saw her, so she made her way to the bar to get a drink before heading over to them.

"Hey, you made it," Cal jerked her head to the person beside her, relief flooding her when she realized Mattie had found her before she made it over to the group.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late." Cal took the drink from the bartender and looked to Matthew to lead the way. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, he was a hard read. He extended his elbow toward her and she hooked her arm through to weave through the crowd over to the group.

"Calpurnia! Hey!" she heard the voice before she saw it, when they made it to the break in the crowd she caught a glimpse of unruly blonde hair. He finally broke through the wall of people blocking her vision and found a smiling Oliver.

Oliver and Cal had been close when they were young, but as they got older they drifted apart. They shared no classes, Oliver was busy with sports and Calpurnia was always shoving her nose in a book. Age simply revealed that living in the same town and attending the same schools since preschool doesn't mean you have other things in common. She offered him a smile and a small wave of her hand in acknowledgment. Slipping her arm out of Matthews, and shoving it in her pocket she gulped her drink and begged herself to settle.

The others started noticing Cal's arrival and she reciprocated smiles and nods addressing their presence back. Oliver stayed by them and talked to Matthew about what he'd been up to, their conversation was light.

"How have you been?" Oliver's question pulled her out of her thoughts and Cal stared blankly for a moment before her brain caught up enough to respond.

"Oh, I- uh good" she stumbled, kicking herself for being so awkward. He nodded, still looking at her, so she quickly added, "how about you?" He launched into a conversation about how college went, and how he had moved back after graduation and he had a solid job and Cal found herself ever so slightly smiling as she listened.

It was good to see Oliver, he had always known how to brighten up a room. He was a talker, that's for sure, but something to outweigh the lack of talking Cal did wasn't a bad thing. They parted ways when he left to get another drink and she looked up to Matthew. He was already looking at her and she gave a half-smile response.

Calpurnia, by the end of the night, found herself stumbling out of a bar for the second time that weekend. This time, Mattie was not with her though. She left when he had slipped away to the restroom, in need of a breath of fresh air. Heading in the direction of her house she ambled down the sidewalk. The only thought on her mind was how badly she wanted to sleep again.

    Calpurnia didn't see Mattie again for nearly a week. She had shot him a text back the morning after they'd hung out and talked with Oliver. Part of her felt bad when she had gotten up for work and had a text from him from late the night before.

Can't find you. Call me so I know you're okay. She'd sent back a simple message.

I'm ok. Went home early. And that felt appropriate enough.

Since then, she had been busying herself with work, opening the coffee shop down the street from her house and closing out the bookshop in the evening.

Today she found herself distracted by thoughts, dreams even, of being anywhere but working. Her mother had been increasingly unbearable the past two days, screaming at her over things that were obviously out of her control. Cal was good at keeping the peace though, able to take it in stride and talk her into calming down discreetly. She watched as the espresso shot finished pulling and topped off the customer's drink before handing it to them with a smile.

The clock read half past 10, which meant she would leave and head to the bookshop in 30 minutes. She wiped her hands on her apron, brushing off imaginary dust, and started wiping down the countertops that needed attention.

"What would I do without you?" Meg exclaimed walking out of the backroom. Cal couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She enjoyed working with Meg, even though she was younger than her by five years, there was an air of maturity around her.

"Just doing my job Meg," Cal said with a laugh and continued to wipe off the counters while Meg took an order for a customer that had walked in. When the door creaked open again, Calpurnia looked up to see Matthew strolling in. Head down typing something on his phone, concentration apparent on his brow.

"What can I get for you?" Cal asked, smoothing her hands down the front of her apron. Without looking up from what he was doing Matthew ordered an americano, only when he pulled out his wallet to pay did he look up and meet Calpurnia's glance. His brow softened and a small smile turned up the corners of his mouth as he handed her the cash. She waved it off.

"On the house," she said and turned around to make his drink before he could refuse. Cal bit back the curiosity riling up inside her. She wondered what could have grabbed his attention so consumingly. He had been acting off, rightfully so based on the circumstances, but she had no right to pry. When she delivered his coffee to him at the booth he'd chosen he gestured with a lifted brow asking for her to sit.

"Are you okay?" he asked when she placed herself on the edge of the booth seat opposite him, glancing around to make sure no one needed her at the moment. She whipped her head back around to look at him when her brain processed his inquiry.

"Yeah," she deadpanned, "why wouldn't I be?"

"You just left so abruptly the other night and I was worried so I wanted to check on you, but you're surprisingly difficult to get a hold of these days." She felt a tightness in her throat at his words but swallowed it down. She wouldn't consider herself someone who enjoyed texting so it was not something she bothered to check regularly. Once Matthew had moved, she hadn't even kept up with the habit of keeping it on her. Frequently forgetting it at work and home. Deciding not to address the last part Cal settled for an apology.

"Sorry, I was just tired and needed to get home and make sure my mom woke up for work. She has a new job and she's on night shift." She wasn't used to having anyone around she needed to keep in the loop. Granted most of the time all she was doing was working. Another wave of customers entered and she offered an apologetic glance before going back to the register and taking orders. Matthew was gone by the time she cleared the line, and she clocked out, shouting goodbye to Meg, as she rushed out the door in the direction of the bookstore.