set it to cool on the dry sink. "I guess I'll go on down to breakfast," she said, wishing he'd hear her and tell her not to go. She might have said it too softly, or he might have chosen to ignore her. She sighed, collected her supplies, and left him alone.
*****
Nicholas studied his clean-shaven face in the mirror and frowned. She liked the landscapes and the pony pictures. Cole's, not his. She'd never understand that, how he came into possession of the artifacts of another man's life, and, for convenience and temporary sanity, passed them off as his own. He didn't understand it himself, or didn't want to understand it.
They were a part of his madness, the only proof that he continued to exist in the shadows when reality no longer existed. A pile of photographs and a spiral notebook that said there was a summer that year, after Janey, and it took place in Myrtle Beach.
God, how he wished he knew what normal was and how to be it. For her. For himself. He would not survive if he lost her as he had lost Janey. He splashed his face with Aqua Velva, slapping his cheeks hard to be sure it was Nicholas Brewer who stared back at him in the mirror and not some ghost who stole his memory, who stole his life. He squared his shoulders and stepped out of the room. Somehow, he was not surprised to find that she had deserted him.
*****
At the breakfast table, May and Beverly discussed their Saturday plans with Augusta. All three women were going down to LaSalle Street, the wholesale flower district, to window shop for floral arrangements to decorate the parlors and music room for May's upcoming student recital. Of course, this was to be an expedition for ideas only. The actual flowers would be acquired much cheaper than wholesale. Beverly would rescue what was needed from discarded funeral arrangements at work, and Augusta would transform them into fantastic displays that would rival anything they could get on LaSalle.
Trissa listened to the morning chatter, wishing her plans for the day were as pleasant. When she heard Nicholas coming down the stairs, she turned her attention to her cereal bowl, as if it were vitally important to know the exact number of Cheerios that remained afloat in the milk. Even so occupied, she could not help but notice that he wore a red pullover almost the exact color as hers, except that his heightened his natural coloring while hers washed her out. Next to him, she decided, she'd seem pasty and garish, like a white-faced clown. She plopped the spoon into her bowl with such force that the milk splashed over the side.
"Good morning, Augusta, Ladies," Nicholas said, grabbing an orange from the green glass bowl in the center of the table and taking it to the sink to peel. "You're up bright and early for a Saturday."
"The flower safari is today, remember? No, I guess you missed dinner the night we planned it. May's musicale is coming up, and we have to decorate," Augusta said. "You two make a pretty pair today, all in red."
"Do we?" Nicholas looked down at his sweater, as if just noticing its color.
Trissa winced at his question, sure that it was her inclusion in the compliment that caused it to be asked. She sighed and took her bowl and glass to the counter. "I think we better go, Nicholas."
"I'm ready if you are." He broke off a section of his peeled orange and popped it into his mouth while Trissa put on her coat. She peeked up to see him frown as he turned to apologize to the women. "She's anxious about her tests. I guess I'll have to say goodbye for both of us."
He pushed two more sections of orange into his mouth and wrapped the rest in a twist of waxed paper to take along. Trissa, bundled in her coat, banged out the back door. Leaning against the locked door of his car, she let her head droop forward while a blustery wind tossed her hair so that it covered her face. She brushed her coat sleeve across her eyes.
She did not really look at him when she shuffled out of the way to let him unlock the car door and open it for her, "If I were in charge, I'd give an A+ just for one of your smiles," he said.
"Don't tease. I'm not in the mood." She whisked past