Falling for a Memory

Monday, September 30 cont.

"I could say the same," I muttered as the redhead squeezed himself in, which was made more difficult thanks to the sizable cardboard box he carried. "Do you work here too?"

His innocent question caused panic to grip me. It hadn't occurred to me that perhaps you knew this man through work. He just didn't seem the type. In fact, he didn't seem like you at all. I couldn't fathom how you two were related.

"No, I do not, thank goodness," he said, with a roll of his eyes. "I could never spend all day in front of a computer as it sucks my soul out of me." He laughed, but most of the other occupants in the elevator groaned with disapproval while the elevator doors shuddered closed. As we began our climb, he reached into his pocket, elbowing a sour faced gentleman behind him, before he pulled out a card and extended it to me, reaching across a woman who stared daggers at him in return. "Here, this is where I work."

I mouthed an apology to both the woman and the man, and really to everyone else on the elevator, since most of them seemed to blame me for the addition of Quinn to our tight confines. I then looked down at his card as a couple of people shouldered their way out of the elevator, giving Quinn a good push on their way to the third floor. Your friend, however, is built like a tank. His thick trunk sits on two sturdy legs and supports a pair of broad shoulders. I think the two men that pushed their way out were more damaged by their collision with Quinn than he was. And his cheerful disposition didn't help the matter. I'm not sure he even noticed it happened.

"You're a contractor?" I asked, after glancing over the fairly basic business card in my hand. It had a very simple illustration of a hammer sandwiched between the words 'Connor Contracting.' Next to it was the name Quinn Connor, Co-owner and Chief Project Manager at Connor Contracting.

"Yep, it's a family business," he said, brimming with pride as the rest of the car reshuffled to make use of the space left behind by those who had vacated the car. "My dad passed on the company to me and my sister, Ashlynn — I told you about her, she's the one that gets angry. I handle the construction aspect and she handles design. She makes the floor plans and picks out paint colors, that sort of things. She also manages the clients when they don't pay. Hell hath no fury as Ashlynn on a good day..."

He sighed and looked over at the lighted panel that showed our steady progress up to the next floor.

I thought of the beautiful woman, her hair so vibrant within a sea of black at your funeral. Even as tears poured from her eyes and mournful cries shook her lean shoulders, she still couldn't dim the fire that she exuded. And then, when I saw her at the lacrosse game, I felt that fiery bite that Quinn was keen to point out whenever he had the chance. I wondered how a fierce woman like her was brought to her knees at the funeral. How did you render her so fragile and exposed before your casket? Were you the only one who could tame her wild spirit? Were you the special person in her life? Was she yours?

"Hey, you okay?" A hand gripped my shoulder, the fingers rough and firm, though the touch was soft and warm. The scent of sawdust and fallen leaves brushed my nose, and I suddenly wished I was back out at the park watching the sun rise over the city skyline.

"Yeah," I mumbled, turning to find Quinn standing a lot closer to me than I had thought. Apparently, the elevator crowd was more than happy to have him step away from the door, and so they gave him ample room to draw close to me in my quiet corner. "I was just..." I tried to think, but a slight blush touched my cheeks and my head swam with the rich smells of hard labor and chopped wood that clung to Quinn.

"Thinking about John," he finished for me with a sigh. He wasn't wrong, so I didn't answer him. Instead, we stood in silence as a couple of people departed for floor six. Once the doors closed, he continued. "I'm sorry about the other day. I just assumed you were a frazzled older sister or something trying to find one of the youth games. It never occurred to me you might be in a haze because of... because of John."