Cam pulls up beside a fluorescent white gas station and unclips his seatbelt with an economical flourish. "D'you want me to get you anything inside?"
"I'll go in."
"Okay." He touches my knee, just a barely there pat before hopping out of the SUV and jogging around to the gas pump.
It's cold, more icy than snowy outside and the breeze bites at my arms because I'm wearing a hoodie instead of a coat.
Inside it's too-bright and the radio is softly playing from some sort of oldies station. I can just make out: don't you... something, something, something.
I choose 2 bottles of the prettiest packaged water and peruse the candy selection.
Arms slip around my waist and my heart skips a beat for a second. Cam's chin dips to my shoulder and I take a controlled breath. "Fuzzy Peaches are always good."
"Mm... Sour Patch Kids too... think they have Maltesers?"
"I'll look..." His arms leave my sides and he strolls around to the other side of the candy display.
The radio is still playing: As I walk...
"What's this song called?" I ask with a casual voice, even though the familiarity of it is niggling the back of my mind.
He looks up from the chocolate and tilts his head to the side, listening. "It's the Breakfast Club song. Don't you... forget about me... Blahblah, as I walk on by, will you call my name... et cetera, et cetera."
"Oh."
Before the nightmare last year, my mom and I watched the John Hughes movie marathon on TV all evening. At the bagel shop we went to right before leaving, we discussed how the Breakfast Club wasn't even a great movie.
The Breakfast Club. That cannot possibly be my trigger.
The Breakfast Club. I hate myself so much.
"Kat? Did you hear what I said?"
"Hmm?"
"The guy who pulled up next to me said there's a bad storm about to roll through New Brunswick so would you want to just find somewhere to stay the night? Apparently we're twenty minutes away from a town."
"Yeah, that's fine."
"Are you alright?"
"I'll tell you later."
***
so i guess this is a plot twist
if you love the breakfast club....whatever?
dedicated to the fam takingbacknachos justthugs lankyqueen because i've been in the dedicating mood lately
YOU ARE READING
Conversations From Afar
Short StorySEQUEL TO BALCONIAL CONVERSATIONS | In which Katherine and Cambriel suffer the ups and downs of a long distance relationship | Wattys 2016 | cover by the fabulous @kdkellow
