You Are My Sunshine

Chapter 43 - Clarifying and Renegotiating Terms

"In all the wild world, there is no more desperate a creature than a human being on the verge of losing love." - Atticus

Missing two and a half days, Mae dragged her feet into work Wednesday at about half past twelve. She didn't greet Kylie, she didn't even smile at the young woman, Mae simply shuffled into her office silently. Although far from physically ill, Mae suffered from a heartbreak that consumed her. She felt childish, like some lovesick puppy, but all her hopes and her secret plans crashed around her and she was destroyed.

After scanning her work emails and jotting notes about her numerous voicemails, Mae left her office and headed toward Kylie's desk.

"You alright?" Kylie asked with genuine concern. "You never miss work for an actual sickness. I thought you had like, the flu...or Syphilis."

Not in the mood for Kylie's joke, Mae huffed and rolled her eyes. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Kylie replied with her eyes on her computer screen.

"When you're out with Sky and his friend," Mae said softly not wanting Kylie to think she was angry. "You know, the guy you're seeing, can you not mention me anymore?"

Pulling a confused face Kylie looked at Mae. "Talk about you? We don't go out with Sky. It's always just the two of us," Kylie winked.

"Oh, well, don't mention me to him then, please?"

"I don't talk about you." Kylie laughed at the idea. "No offense but I'm banging this dude, water cooler bullshit isn't what we talk about."

Mae drew her head back. "You didn't tell him, or Sky, about our inside joke about Opie being Sasquatch?"

"Hell no!" Kylie's palms slapped on her desk as she looked at Mae as if she were crazy. "I mean first off, it's our joke and secondly it's not funny to them because they don't know Opie. What's going on, Mae?"

"I don't know," she pressed her palm to her forehead. "I get a weird vibe from Sky but," nothing fit and Mae felt suddenly unsure of her suspicions. "Do you?"

"Nah," Kylie scoffed. "He's harmless. Intense, I guess, he likes you for sure but he's such a nerd, a sweetheart gentleman type." Kylie wriggled her eyebrows and laughed. "Maybe he knows you like to ride convict dick?"

"You're disgusting," Mae snapped.

"Whoa," Kylie was taken aback. "Sorry, I was just joking."

"Ope and I split up," Mae admitted sadly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be a bitch."

"Shit, Mae, I'm sorry."

"Probably better," she sighed in defeat. "I gotta make a ton of calls. Drinks after work? I need it."

Kylie agreed, excited to hit the bar, and returned to her work as Mae shut her office door. She lied though, she wasn't returning client or employer calls she was phoning her boss.

"Hey, it's Maelynn. Do you have a second?"

"I'll be in the office tomorrow. Can it wait?"

Mae opened her mouth to agree but quickly changed her mind. "It can't," she said meekly.

"Alright, what is it?"