Page 55 of Absorbed

“Seriously?” Stacey turned her shoulders to face Melissa. “You were here yesterday. He barely said five words to me the whole day.”

“Last night Jessie said he was busy.” Melissa narrowed her eyes. “I think he was with you.”

“Wow.” Stacey lifted her eyebrows high. “I thought you and Jessie stopped talking to each other a couple weeks ago.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Whatisyour point?”

Melissa shook her head and turned away. She put her feet on the ground and bit into her burrito.

Stacey picked up her bag and started gnawing on another handful of fries.

Chad pulled open the door from the pool deck. “Any lap swimmers yet?” he asked Mark before stepping inside.

Mark shook his head quickly, attention focused on the mounting cat fight.

Chad closed the door behind him and pulled off his sunglasses. He looked at the girls, then back at Mark. “What’s going on?”

Both Stacey and Melissa shot warning looks at Chad.

He put up his palms. “Sorry I asked.” He backed up, and was opening his locker when the lobby door flew open, followed by a loud squeal.

Desiree ran to pull open the office door. Chad bent his knees and braced himself to catch her. She jumped onto Chad, wrapping her golden legs around his waist. Their mouths opened as if on hinges before they kissed. This public display of affection was over the top, even for them.

Seemingly uninterested in being a spectator, Mark backed his chair up and turned away. He covered his face with his hat as if taking a nap.

Melissa’s irritated pout became more pronounced. She dropped her burrito in her bag, then crossed her arms while staring the pair down.

The clock clicked to 12:08.Longest shift ever.

“I missed you so much, baby!” Desiree said between slobbery kisses. “I wish my parents would’ve let you come with us to the river.”

“Me too.” Chad gripped under her butt. “Worst Fourth of July ever.”

Desiree was at the movies Wednesday night. At most she was gone–what--two days? Seriously?

The room felt claustrophobic and a new wave of exhaustion hit Stacey. She grabbed her Carl’s Jr. sack and stood.

“Thanks for lunch, Mark. Seems like your afternoon crew is here. Can I head out?”

Mark gave a thumbs up without uncovering his head or turning around. Stacey reached into her locker to grab her keys, then slid along the wall to ease past the couple.

Before leaving, she glanced at the schedule posted on the wall. Jessie, Melissa, and Desiree were supposed to work night swim.Awesome. Melissa gets Jessie all to herself tonight.

After she got home, Stacey checked the machine. No messages. She fell into her bed.

It was late afternoon when she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

After a long, hot shower, she found a note on the kitchen counter that said her mom was going to Aunt Susie’s. “Your room and bathroom are disgusting, and your car is covered in dust. You need to clean them this weekend.” In the bottom corner, a sad face was drawn with an arrow pointed to the ripped Northern Lights painting, still sitting where Stacey left it that morning. Stacey dropped both halves along with the note in the trash.

She made a bag of microwave popcorn and put an old recorded tape ofThe Princess Bridein the VCR. She sat on the corduroy couch braiding her damp hair, Murphy’s head in her lap. Stacey squinted when Cary Elwes appeared onscreen; he looked a lot like Jessie. She’d fantasized herself as Buttercup with her own farm boy romance since she first saw the movie in sixth grade.

“Hopefully Jessie is in his Dread Pirate Roberts phase, Murph.” She offered Murphy a few pieces of popcorn. “What are the chances it’ll turn out this was all an act, and Jessie will whisk me away into the sunset?”

Murphy licked the salt off her palm, then sat up, expecting more.

“Okay, okay…” She gave her dog the last handful, then set the bowl in the middle of the coffee table.

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