Page 8 of See Her

Break through.

“Holy shit,” I say to myself for, what, the third time since meeting Mayzie?I just wrote four lines.This is huge.For months I’ve not come up with anything.I’ve written words down, sure, but I didn’t feel anything when I did.There was no excitement, no energy, not the feeling of encouragement you get when you’re expressing yourself to the fullest and it just keeps coming out of you.But here I have four lines that I am passionate about.

This could become a song.

I set my pen down and sit back, allowing myself to think of Mayzie for a minute.Her light brown hair had a few lighter strands in it; her grey eyes, wild and innocent with a hint of mystery.The feather tattoo on her inner left forearm that I only caught a glimpse of… She was sweet and a little shy.I could tell she was being brave by talking to me.When she came to my table she seemed so nervous, like she’d come over to talk to me on a dare, but not like she didn’t want to talk to me.That’s what was so heartening about it.She smiled at me like I was one of her best friends, without even knowing me.

She’s a person that makes a total stranger feel good. When I caught her dumping a canister of sugar into her coffee, she seemed so embarrassed, but she shook it right off.She can laugh at herself.Then I was a dumbass and got up and left, chalking it up to just an exceptional interaction. But when I walked out the door, I realized the further I walked away, the worse I felt.During that short time in the cafe, I was feeling joy and didn’t realize it until I was walking away. Away fromher.

She brought me to life with that laughter and that smile, and being away from it seemed to take that life away again.

I could actually feel the warm, buzzing feeling in my chest dissipating with each step.And then I found myself standing outside the place, trying to decide if I should go back in and askto sit down with her, or if that would make me look too much like a creeper.

Then she came out and I didn’t think; I just acted. I felt ridiculous, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.That joy came back immediately.The time I spent talking and laughing with her in the park ended too soon, but she inspired me, and I knew I had to get home and write.And as weird as this sounds, I had the crazy sense that if she knew what I was feeling, she would want me to write.It was crazy that she seemed to care, without really knowing me.

Trooper comes over and nudges the hand resting in my lap.Seeing his furry face reminds me that I get to see Mayzie again on Sunday, if she shows.Please let her show.He tips his head to the side, like he’s really listening to me.“Come on, pooch. Let’s go outside.” I get up and we head out the back door, into the early afternoon.

Mayzie

I takemy earbuds out and stretch my arms above my head. I’ve been working for three hours straight, and it’s time to take a break.I grab a glass from one of the cupboards and get some ice and water from the fridge.It’s late afternoon, and I’ve put a good dent in one of the jobs I signed up for earlier.

When I got home, I spent an embarrassing amount of time obsessing about Jack, and dissecting the crap out of our interactions. The guy took me hostage with his charisma and made me stupid.

Having a lean, chiseled, tatted man who plays music and is genuinely friendly and charming initiate a conversation with me was like seeing a unicorn at a gas station.

I found myself overanalyzing the whole exchange to thepoint of insanity, and so I opened my laptop and immediately hopped on my company’s website to see if there were any jobs I could snag, and I’ve been typing my ass off ever since.

I pat my leg and call for Penny, who comes lumbering in from the living room.I take my water and we go outside to throw the ball for a few minutes.Just as we’re coming inside from the back yard, pounding starts coming from the front door.I have a feeling it’s my brother, Ian, so I yell, “It’s open!”

“Well, it shouldn’t be,” he grumbles, letting himself in. “It should always be locked.You’re a single woman living alone for crying out loud.” He tosses his keys on my coffee table and heads to my fridge.

“You seem to keep forgetting that I’m not alone. I have Penny.”

“And?” he asks, pulling out a beer.

“And she’s a good guard dog.Rotties are very protective of their owners.”

“Hate to break it to you, Maze, but Penny’s a wuss,” he says, cracking the beer open and tipping it back.

“Sic ‘em, Penny! Kill! Kill!” I yell to my dog, pointing at my brother. He sits in the nook and she puts her head in his lap, yawning.“Shut up,” I say when he smirks at me.“What do you want anyway?”

He runs a hand through his brown hair.Ian and I look a lot alike;same hair and greyish eyes anyway.He’s just…. bigger.And a dude.And a whopping year older than I am, which he won’t let me forget. We can really get each other going, but at the end of the day, there are times I’m actually thankful for him. Back in high school, he was the popular jock while I was the awkward girl that ran with the wrong crowd. Despite how different we were, he would not let anyone mess with me.

That time could have been a lot more painful without him around.

“Just got off work, and didn’t feel like heading home just yet.”

“And there was nowhere else you could go?”

“Ouch,” he says, clutching his chest.

“Excuse me, sorry.There wasn’t anywhere else youwantedto go?”

“No. I thought I’d see what you’re doing for dinner.”

“Just a bowl of cereal probably.And why don’t you eat with Tina? Or should I even ask?”

“She’s...” he trails off.

---