I didn’t have many leads. So I was stuck with revisiting our old haunts. Maybe they’d give me some kind of hint. A sign showing me where she’d gone. I’d wracked my mind over and over all the conversations we’d had, all the little things she’d let slip. But one thing I’d never really spent much time asking her about was where she was from.
It was like I had a mental block. I could remember insignificant things like the way she took her coffee or how she wrote the letter R with a little extra flourish than the other letters – the only thing she could remember from a calligraphy class she’d been forced to sit through once, she’d said. But I couldn’t remember solid facts she’d told me.
I guess she never did tell me much about herself in the first place. I’d mostly figured stuff out on my own or had some lucky guesses. I’d had a lucky day when I met her and I just needed one more to find her again.
* * *
‘Where d’you go at lunch?’ George asked, unlocking the doors to his truck.
‘Nowhere.’
‘Wow, you’ve learned to dematerialize - teach me your ways. Preferably before my math test next Tuesday,’ he replied, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
‘Don’t worry, you won’t have to deal with me for much longer,’ I reassured him, getting in the passenger side uninvited.
He was taking me to pick up my car tonight from the garage. At first, I didn’t mind being driven around but after a while, the lack of independence was frustrating. I wanted to be able to go where I wanted whenever I wanted without relying on the others.
‘I’ll have to deal with you for the rest of my life,’ George snorted. ‘I wonder if in ten years you’ll ever tell me what’s actually going on. You know how nosy I am.’
I snorted at his response.
‘You sounded like-’ I broke off.
‘Like,’ George repeated, drawing the word out. He sighed when I didn't continue. ‘You know, you’ll have to use her name eventually.’
‘Not necessarily.’
When we arrived at the garage, I could already see my freshly repaired car outside ready to go. I must’ve gotten some of my senses back because I felt a whoosh of relief go through me upon seeing the new windshield. It lifted my mood marginally but I wasn’t sure how long it would last. Maybe five minutes or so.
‘Good as new,’ Joe said, startling me. I’d been staring at my car too much to hear him come over. I glanced over my shoulder at him just in time to react and catch the keys he tossed my way.
‘Looks great,’ I agreed. ‘You’re good.’
‘I know.’
‘Very modest,’ George snorted.
‘You’re one to talk,’ Joe pointed out before gesturing for us to follow him inside. ‘Come on, I’ll get your papers and you can settle up. Managed to get a good deal on the screen so the damage to your wallet shouldn’t be too bad.’
We both followed him inside and I spotted a scowling Cole dealing with a blonde woman by the counter. He was probably the worst person for customer satisfaction as he tended to say his thoughts aloud no matter how rude they were. And mostly they were rude.
‘Thank god,’ Cole sighed loudly with relief. ‘Joe, this one’s all yours,’ he added before hastily disappearing through the back door out of sight.
‘Just sit down and don’t touch anything,’ Joe said, turning to us but looking more at George than me.
‘He blames me for breaking the spinny chair in the office,’ George confided as we sat down on a couple of chairs by the front window. ‘He says the back support has never been the same. But like, we’re genetically related, we probably have the same needs for our backs. What suits mine should suit his.’
A Month to Love (40)
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