when are you leaving now?”
“I have to leave in the morning. I have to drive. I have a POD being delivered. I still don’t know how I’m going to do this…”
“Who’s helping you load?” He asked.
“Oh, you know…me. And then there will be…me…” She laughed, but knew it was hollow even before it escaped her mouth.
“Well, I can fix that.” He made some phone calls. And while he worked on that, she wandered around the house. She looked at this place that he clearly hadn’t worked on at all to personalize. He loved color, warm color. She knew that from the choices she had made on her home. This style…well, there was no style. It was like he didn’t care.
In the living room once more, he turned to face her. “I have three big strong guys who are going with you. They will be here at 7am. You will all take four hour shifts behind the wheel so everyone gets a chance to rest. This will be a super quick trip. You are going to have to pack and load, pretty much through the night in order to make this deadline and then be able to drive back. Think you can make this work?”
“With that much help? Shoot, I could be back before you even know I’m gone.” She smiled. “Thank you for that.”
“Anything for you.” He stared into her eyes. “I mean it.”
She shivered. “Yes, I know. Well, I gotta go get ready, I guess.” She turned and headed out the door. She didn’t know what to say. She stood outside for a moment and stared up at the night sky. There was not a single star to be seen . She could tell even without sunlight that the clouds were dark and menacing. She pulled her fleece up around her neck and walked across the road. Just as she was about to open her vehicle door, he stopped her.
“What is your problem?” He looked utterly annoyed. “I do everything for you.”
“I said ‘thank you.’ What do you want me to say?” She was confused. “You want undying gratitude? You may get that, but not tonight, not right now.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I don’t know what to do here. I don’t know what this is. And I don’t like the way it feels not knowing.” He gestured wildly in frustration while he spoke. He ran his fingers through his hair. “All I know for sure is that I went to bed holding you last night, and then I woke up this morning alone in a dark room. I hated it. I didn’t like the way it felt one bit. Oh, and I hate that, too!”
She was stunned by his admission. He missed her. He liked having her close. And he was all unbalanced because he didn’t know where he stood. “What? You want me to define this? We’re friends. We’re friends and more. I don’t know how I feel yet.”
There was thunder rumbling in the distance. She looked at him. She knew nothing of southern storms. This would be her first. He stood silently. He was more interested in what she was going to say next.
“Okay, I guess that isn’t entirely true,” she admitted. She watched as his face took on a smug look. “I feel like I’ve had the rug ripped out from under me.” She glared at him.
“I feel pressure. And I’m mad as hell because this is my first chance to be free, to be finally independent.”
“How can you claim to be independent and need me as much as you do?” He crossed his arms and stared at her as though he had made some statement that should have sparked an epiphany for her.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been doing fine on my own.” She glared at him and waited for him to back his claims up.
“I had to pull you out of your porch. You fell through. If I hadn’t been there who knows what would have happened to you!”
“That doesn’t count. That could have happened to anyone!” She could just throttle him for bringing up that incident.
“Well, what about the bathroom. By the time I stopped you from demo-ing the tile, you were already a bloody mess.” He leaned towards her while he spoke for emphasis.
“I think we should leave the demo out of this. What about you? Without me, you would have ended up in the hospital last night!” She could see that was a sore subject by the