my hands over my face as I tried to make sense of what had happened in the last twenty-four hours. How had we gone from waking up in each’s arms after our first night of making love to me standing in an empty sublet?
Anderson - Hey Derrick, it’s Anderson. I can’t get ahold of Jurnee. Any ideas?
Derrick - I’m staring at a rental in her driveway.
Anderson – What the fuck? She’s in Michigan?
Otis was sitting at the island, eating a bowl of cereal when I walked in. Life as an actor was grueling at times, but mostly he floated back and forth between New York and L.A., with sporadic weekends at his ranch in Montana. A quick nod of the head was all the catching up we required.
“She left.” The words cracked. “She was the last person who I ever thought would bail on me.”
“Wait a minute.” He placed the cereal bowl next to him and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling on the ends in disbelief.
“Yesterday, we were here together. She didn’t show up to work today, so I went to her sublet. Almost everything’s gone. Check this out, everything that I purchased for her, she left.”
“What happened yesterday?”
“Nothing.” I thought back to waking up next to her. I had watched her sleep until it was time for my swim. She said that she was afraid in the beginning to let it really sink in that I was real.
“She asked me if this was real because she was so happy.”
Otis shook his head. “Something had to have happened.”
“I made her coffee and went for a swim. Then she went home.”
“What made her go home? What did you do after the swim?”
“I got a call… from my dad. Oh fuck.”
“What?”
Mentally scanning my every step through the house during that conversation. I had left her in bed. I didn’t see her when I went into the bathroom. “She couldn’t have heard.”
“Well, she’s in Michigan now.” He was king of the obvious. “So, it seems she overheard you. The question is, what did she hear you say?”
Otis was right. The only way this all made sense was if she overheard my conversation. “He asked about Jurnee.”
“Page Six makes it all the way to France?” He got up and returned to his perch with a couple of beers in hand. “Probably going to need this.”
Accepting the beer, I tried to remember exactly what I said. “I told him she was from Michigan. Which he already knew.”
Otis shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes, “Obviously.”
“I said I was just having fun–”
“And?”
“That it didn’t mean anything, and he didn’t need to worry himself.”
“Yeah, so, my guess, Jurnee heard some or all of that. What did she say when she left?”
“She left a note.” Otis’ hands flew in the air. “I know. It just said she wasn’t feeling well. The girls got pretty drunk yesterday afternoon.”
He took a long pull of his beer. “A note. Ouch.”
“I have to talk to her.”
“Voicemail?”
I held up her phone. “She left this charging on my dresser.”
“Jurnee flew to Michigan without a phone?”
I shook my head. “Worse, she drove.”
“She drove to Michigan without a phone? Wow. That is really unsafe. She really wanted to get away from you.”
“Thank you, Otis. Thank you very much.”
“Fine. Let me ask you a question.” He placed his beer on the counter, and his expression morphed into one that matched the seriousness of the situation. “Is there any part of you that is relieved that she returned to Michigan?”
Staring down at the bottle in my hand, I thought about my best friend’s words for a moment. “I could hardly breathe when I read Derrick’s text and realized she was gone. Man, I don’t want to do this without her around.”
“Like…”
“Otis, I want to wake up with her next to me. More importantly, I want to be the last thing she sees before she drifts off at night.”
“So, I guess you’re ready.”
“Ready?”
“You’ve been going at a slow drip for quite some time. It’s time to go all in.”
“Slow Drip.”
“That’s what you got out of what I said.”
“For Jurnee’s coffee chain, Slow Drip.”
“Slow Drip. For a coffee shop? I don’t know.”
“The Slow Drip.” I reached for my phone to call her, it went straight to voicemail. A text would have to do.
Anderson - I’m not sure why you’re in Michigan, but we need to talk. What about the name The Slow Drip for your coffee shops?
Anderson - Please call me so I can explain. I miss you.