Grayscale

Chapter Sixteen

        “So, what you’re telling me right now is that not only did you leave Reed sobbing on his dead girlfriend’s grave, ending the best non-soulmate relationship I’ve ever heard of, but you actually found your soulmate today, and you barely know more than his name? Calypso Elizabeth, what the actual fuck?”

        Robin and I were sitting cross-legged on my bed, facing each other, while we each mowed down on our own pints of ice cream. I had Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, and Robin had what was left of a pint of Blue Bunny Birthday Cake ice cream. This was our ice cream stash in my freezer here, reserved for special occasions like today, when something was just too big to handle without help. My vice of choice would usually be a little more self-destructive than this, but with Robin around, downing a fifth of Crown wasn’t really an option. She’d call 911 on me faster than I could blink. Alcohol and I didn’t exactly have a great past. Ice cream and I though? Lots of good memories.

        “What, like I planned it?” I said around a mouthful of ice cream. “Like, Jesus, I wasn’t asking for this to happen today.”

        “I get that, but holy shit. Wow.”

        We both took a few more bites of ice cream before Robin groaned. “I’m out.” She stood up to toss the container away, and her phone vibrated on my nightstand. She stopped in the middle of my room. “You have to call him,” she said, suddenly whipping around. “Caly, you have to call him! Right now. Get his card out.”

        “Robin, please."

        “It wasn’t a suggestion. Calypso, he’s your soulmate. What are you waiting for? Pick up the god damned phone, and dial his number.”

        “Robin . . ."

        “What are you afraid of? He is your soulmate. He’s not going to freak out or turn you down – at least not seriously. He might do it for kicks after the way you treated him earlier. But, seriously . . . don’t throw this away. You already broke up with Reed. You did that for a reason. Don’t let both guys slip away. He won’t wait forever.”

        I sat my ice cream on my nightstand and rubbed my eyes. “You make it sound like it’s been a month or something. He’s not going to run away if I give myself a day or two to get used to the idea of all this."

        “No, probably not,” she conceded, coming to sit back down next to me, ice cream container still in hand. “But what if he did? What if you missed your opportunity because you’re too god damned chicken to pick up the phone? For all you know, your reaction was just what he needed to know he should marry his “temporary” girlfriend – I bet he’s got one. Don’t argue.” She held up her empty hand to silence any protests I might have had. “If you’d gotten that from him, that’s what you would’ve done with Reed, and you know it.”

        I didn’t want to admit it, but she really had a point. What if?

        My coat was hanging on my desk chair, which was just on the other side of my nightstand, so I leaned over and reached into the pocket, fishing around receipts and change before I felt the distinct paper of a business card. I pulled it out and held it up to examine. I hadn’t actually read it before. I’d looked at the numbers, but beyond that, the rest may as well have not existed. “Gabriel ­Ángelos, attorney. The corner says he works at . . . Oh my god. Holy shit. Robin, he’s from California. He works for a firm in California. Oh shit. Oh my god.” I stood, tossing up my hands, card still clutched between my fingers. “What is going on with my life?”

        “Jesus.” Robin reached around me and took a spoonful of my ice cream. “You know, you’ve really got shit luck, babe.”

        “Hands off the ice cream, babe. Cherry Garcia is absolutely not your thing. But yeah, I know."