Departure

Lorelei

Six months ago:

I got dressed into a soft dark grey long sleeve cotton shirt with jeans even though it seventy degrees outside. I've gotten into the habit of wearing long sleeves whenever I could. People think I don't like short sleeves but that's just not true. Short sleeves are fine I guess but I don't like people noticing my scars that are all down my forearm. I can't just tell them they are burn scars because they are to straight for that. It's annoying.

Elijah left me a note on the counter saying that he was going to be late and that he will just meet me at the restaurant. It doesn't really bother me, I remember when I was in college, I was so off schedule and it bothered me deeply when I would be late but he was forgiving and I know I have to be as well.

I grabbed my house key and walked out of our apartment. I like living in the city, it is so noisy. I don't think I could deal with the quiet of the suburbs, it would leave me alone in my head for far too long. I don't own a car which is okay because Darkness City really isn't big, it's maybe about five miles which means I can walk everywhere.

It took awhile to convince Elijah we didn't need a car but once I convinced him there was now going back. He wouldn't let it. I probably would have called a cab if the diner was far however because I fell asleep this afternoon and when I woke back up I only had thirty minutes to get ready for dinner.

I turned the corner and found the diner that we were eating at tonight. It was a humble little place called Sunrise Cafe. They only serve breakfast but Elijah knows I adore the place so he takes me once a month. I sit down in our little booth and five minutes later Elijah walks in. He smiles as he catches my eyes in his. He walks over to the booth that we always sit in and sits down next to me.

"How was your day?" He asks as he slides closer to me.

"It was good. I finally cleaned our apartment and so now it finally looks presentable. I bought some food for our dinner with Tori and Sage. What about yours?"

"It was long. I had a bunch of testing today but it's all good because I knew we were having dinner tonight."

As soon as he says this a waitress named Maria walked up to us and asked if we wanted our regulars. My order was always a Ham and Cheese Omelet with a small Hot Chocolate. Elijah always ordered a Breakfast Burrito with Orange juice.

Maria was always our waitress but that's okay because she was a really sweet lady. Maria comes back with our drinks and goes to the back to count her tips for the day. There is almost nobody else in the Cafe because of how late it is. Elijah always gets out of school late and I like having late dinners so I don't get hungry in the night.

"So how did you think you did on your tests?" I asked Elijah who was leisurely sipping his Orange Juice.

"I studied a lot so in theory I did well but I can't be sure. The unit we were working got really difficult in the end so I could have possibly failed." He answered me.

"Impossible, you are the smartest person I know."

"Although that may be true, I'm still worried." He answered.

"Alright here is what we are going to do, you are going to enjoy your dinner and your time with me and not worry about your grades for the rest of the night. Then in the morning you can go back to worrying about college. Can you do that for me?"

He smiled and nodded at me. I kissed his forehead.

"So how has it been going in the labs? I know you didn't have work today but I feel like it's kept you busy."

"Well, there is this other astronomer who works in my division who had this theory. We have already proven that this solar system is thirty-seven trillion years old give or take, which means that the sun is really old. So maybe it's not working as well anymore and that is why our temperatures keep fluctuating." I tried to explain.