See You in the Morning

14 // Fugue

The day before Thanksgiving, Grand Central Station brims with harried travelers with long coats, families with cranky kids, and people rushing to get home for the holidays.

Josie walks in the crowd with one hand slung around the large bag over her shoulder and the other cradling her phone to her ear. She glances at lit signs and screens as she weaves through the masses, waiting for the inevitable beep from the other end of the line.

"Hey, it's me again," she begins after the electronic tone. "I just wanted to check in on you and ask how the funeral went. I know you're probably busy. It's just... I haven't heard from you in two weeks, and I want to know if you're okay."

She sidesteps a crying toddler throwing a tantrum in the middle of the Main Concourse, adamantly refusing a lollipop bribe from her mother.

"I'm not sure what you're doing for Thanksgiving this year," Josie continues. "But I'll be back home for a few days. Me and Dad and Michelle are going to the Silvas for dinner. We should catch up, if you're in town. I miss you."

Her stomach churns with unease as she ends the call.

Lyla had sent a brief email after it happened. In the days that followed, she texted once to convey that she was with Lucas's parents, and again with details about the memorial service; but her missives were short and mechanical, and not in a poetic or pithy way.

No matter how many times Josie reached out, Lyla did not reply.

She understands Lyla's silence. She can even understand Lyla's horrific grief. It's entirely unfair that she and Marco are engaged, but Lyla loses Lucas to cancer. If their situations were swapped, Josie's not sure she'd want to talk much, either. But at the very least, she'd let Lyla know, one way or the other.

Josie sighs, feeling troubled.

To complicate things, she and Marco have not spoken much since their unsettling brunch outing with Vanessa. It had been easy to explain her lack of communication with an increased workload at the magazine, but now that she is heading back to Marbleton to spend Thanksgiving with his family, she's feeling less and less optimistic and sure about everything.

"Jojo!"

Up ahead, Marco stands casually beneath a sign indicating their train's departure time. Clean shaven and freshly showered, he gives her an easy smile that contrasts her afflicted state of mind.

With her phone still in hand, she dismisses her turbulent thoughts and begins to walk towards him.

"Ready to go? Train leaves in ten," he says, offering to take her heavy bag.

"I can carry it," Josie says.

Marco shrugs playfully. "If you think that's wise."

With their tickets in hand, they make their way onto the platform where they board a train towards New Jersey. They locate their seats and make quick work of storing their duffel bags. Josie takes her preferred spot by the window, while Marco gratefully stretches his long legs out in the aisle.

She leans against her headrest and fiddles restlessly with the charm attached to her phone, a tiny, red glass strawberry she found in a quirky toy store in Dumbo. There isn't much she can do but to wait for Lyla to call her back. But the longer she waits, the more she fears that the distance between them will eventually surpass the three thousand miles of land and sky that already keeps them apart.

"Still no word?"

Marco glances at her with mild concern. Josie shakes her head.

"It's been almost two weeks since the funeral. She ignored all of my texts and calls. This time of year already isn't easy for her. But I don't know what else I can do."