You, Again

The Reconnect

Devin hovered over her phone. She had opened a new text and her thumb was currently wavering over his name. When Joe had texted her his number she hadn't told him the truth. That she had his number memorized because she never saved it. She had spoken to Christian regularly over the years. But she could never bring herself to save his name in her contacts. That felt too formal. But she was an adult now. With a new job. And in desperate need of a new apartment. She could save his info once and for all.

"C'mon Devin get a hold of yourself." She ignored the looks from a passerby as she gave herself a pep talk.

She had already drafted the text. It was light, a check-in of sorts. A "isn't it funny" type story of her running into Kiera and Joe. She hoped Christian wouldn't see through it. In all likelihood he would. In all likelihood Joe had already texted him about their run in. Let him know about her situation. Probably even given him a detailed account of how she looked these days. Maybe that was going too far. Joe probably had said something like "Remember Devin from college? She's looking for a roommate. You have an open spot?"

She looked down at her phone once more. She had to remember that people were a lot calmer than she gave them credit for. She too, could be a calm person.

"Hey, I ran into Joe last night when I was grabbing a drink with Kiera (remember her?) and he mentioned your roommate was moving out in a few weeks. Any chance you want to live with me?" She hit send before she could rethink it.

Within seconds her phone buzzed.

"Seriously Devin? Did you decide to talk to me because you're desperate or because you miss me?"

Okay she deserved that. She couldn't scroll through their previous texts because she always deleted them after she became frustrated with him. She was pretty certain she had blown him off in their last conversation because he had skipped seeing her to spend time with his friends.

In the moment it had felt right, kind of like she was punishing him for choosing other people over her. That was the thing about Christian. When given the option he always chose someone else over her.

"I get it. No need to be mean about it. I'm texting you because I do need a place to live." She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of agreeing that yes, she was desperate.

"Of course you do." She could feel his eyeroll through the screen. "Come over later, I'll show you the room."

He texted her the address. She scoffed. He didn't even both to ask when she was available to see it. Typical Christian.

---

Hopping off the N train at 9th street, Devin took stock of her surroundings. She rarely came to Brooklyn. It wasn't just because she was a city girl. It's because for the last five years she had basically lived in Astor Place. The hours at the theater were unpredictable and she was often getting called in at a moment's notice. One day she would be needed at 6 pm, the next 6 am. She tirelessly paid rent on a shoebox studio for a few years. But she barely saw the place. For her, it was a crash pad.

Walking toward Christian's the air felt cleaner. Perhaps it was because she could see the sky more fully. She heard children's laughter in the nearby school playground. She watched as parents pushes toddlers in strollers on their way towards home. In all, it looked and felt like a place where life could be lived as opposed to being tolerated like in the city. She followed google maps to an apartment building just off a street of shops. She had no idea where she was. She noted a few restaurants, a corner bar with twinkly lights and some cute shops. She tried to imagine herself living here. She could see herself texting Christian after a long day asking if he wanted to get a drink. They'd meet at the corner bar without needing to confirm it with each other first. The bartenders would know them. They'd greet them with the familiarity of locals. Maybe they'd even think they were a couple.