Page 24 of Trial Run

When they pulled up at his house, she killed the ignition and turned to him.

“Well. I hope things keep getting better for you.” She fiddled with the keychain, flipping it between her fingers. Was it his imagination, or did she seem to be stalling?

“And you as well.”

“They will. I’m looking for a third job. To make ends meet better.”

He frowned. “I didn’t know you had a second job.”

Nell rolled her eyes at him. “Of course I have a second job. It’s still not quite enough, though. Your money was nice, but it can’t solve all my problems.”

She said it playfully, but Ben’s chest tightened further. He hadn’t improved her life at all. He’d temporarily helped the problem, but now she was right back where she’d been last month.

She’d improved his life in a lasting, real way. And he’d given her money, something far less valuable.

She fiddled with the keychain some more, and Ben didn’t make a move to get out of the van yet.

“Do you want me to walk you to the door?” she asked, after another minute of the awkward silence.

“No. I can manage it myself. Thanks to you.”

“You have to stop thanking me. I did nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing to me,” he said fiercely. “I’m only sorry I can’t—” He shut his mouth, shook his head to clear it. “You deserve more. You deserve for someone to see all the good things about you, and appreciate them. So I will say thank you. And … Goodbye, I guess.”

“Goodbye, Ben.” Her voice held a hint of a wobble, but he wouldn’t analyze that right now. The week was over, and it was time to walk himself back into his house, back into his real life. Next week, he’d pick up right where he’d left off at the clinic.

He took the dozen steps to his door in long strides, covering the ground in seconds. He kept his head down, not looking at the sky or the neighbors’ yards, or the cars parked on the street. With single-minded focus, he made it to the door, unlocked it, and let himself inside. He wasn’t even winded.

This was how he’d do it next week. Fast, no distractions. No giving in to his anxiety, and definitely no enjoying the scenery.

He turned and gave Nell a single wave, and she waved back, put the van into drive, and pulled away from the curb. Marco’s eyes watched him from the rear window as they pulled away.

Ben shut the door to his house. It was quiet and cool inside. He toed off his shoes onto the wood floor, and the soft click echoed in the entryway. He walked into the living room and looked around, as if he was a stranger seeing the pale, lifeless room for the first time.

He’d been fine alone here for a month, but nothing felt the same now. He sank down onto the plush white couch, letting the silence of the house swallow him up.

Chapter 7

Marco talked about Ben and his geode all afternoon as they finished the floral deliveries, and most of the way back to the flower shop. His non-stop chatter filled the van, making her smile.

Did she know what a geode was? Ben was an expert at finding geodes, and he’d told Marco all the ways to spot them. Could they take rocks they found outside to the rock shop to get them sawed in half? Maybe they could cut them in half at home with the toolkit.

Marco hadn’t been so animated in a long time. He held up the rock Ben had given him, demonstrating how the two halves fit together for her to admire in the rearview mirror.

“From the outside, it j-just looks like an ordinary rock,” he told her.

“It absolutely does.”

“And you never know what’s going to be inside. It could be any color, not just purple, like this one. Or there might be nothing inside.”

“It must be so exciting to cut them open.” Nell smiled over her shoulder at him.

“We have to try it. Can we look for rocks tomorrow at the park?”

“I have work tomorrow, but maybe Sunday.” Tomorrow she had her weekly shift at the coffee shop.

“Okay. And when we find one, we have to show it to Ben. I know we’ll find at least one.”

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