Tuesdays Are The Shortest

December 1st

"Hey!" Oh my god. My voice sounded disgusting. The air around me was so cold and dry that it shattered before it got to her. "Mrs. Liquese! Do you remember me?" A small, grey-haired woman turned around with a bit of a start. She adjusted her glasses, to find someone a head taller than her holding her elbow. 

"I'm sorry?" Her voice had gotten much harsher in only a few years.

"It's me, Maggie. You subbed for civics and I was friends with your daughter for a while."

"Oh, oh. You're so old, I didn't recognize you." Can you believe this. I would totally say the same thing. But I like, won't, because I would probably feel bad afterwards. She didn't seem interested in having extensive chit-chat anyways.

"I mean, yeah well, I'm turning 18 soon, that was something about me and your daughter, our birthdays were so close that we usually spent them together. How is she, how's she doing?"

Mrs. Liquese gave some grunts and turned as if she was walking away. "My children don't call me. She's barely home, maybe Nick is coming for Christmas, my stepsons don't call me.."

"We seemed to have all had a falling out. Say, you don't remember the last time we had our birthdays together do you?" 

She only squinted and nodded side to side.

"I think I must've insulted you. It was something like before I left, maybe I threw breakfast out." I threw in so many maybes to soften the blow, like who wants to be told that their cooking all tasted like fish? None of it was fish. "Well I hope it didn't go to heart, because you know I never turn down a meal, and as much as I would've love to stay," I paused as Mrs. Liquese dramatically wrapped her unbuttoned jacket around herself. We were in a gas station parking lot for fuck's sake, I better make my burn quick so we can warm up. "I would've loved to stay, but unfortunately I was a bit hungover. Never been before, so it really was the best thing for me to go home and rest. Though I do say, Sam handled it pretty well, I couldn't even tell!" I'm so petty. But, seriously, loose ends. Tying loose ends. Someone told me that before and it just sounded really appealing.

Her glasses were fogged up, from the heat of her open truck door. "Well maybe you'll have to come by and finish your breakfast sometime." 

"Say hi to Nick for me!" Words, again, stopped and shattered in the snow, but this time against a steel door.  Like god how embarrassing. It was probably the oil she fried shit in.