Page 111 of All In
After a very tense and quiet ride home, we make it to my condo. Geoffrey squeezes my hand, a silent understanding passes between us, and without another word spoken, I exit the car.
Once I’m inside and settled for the night, I sit down at my desk in my room and fish out a blue-lined piece of paper and a pen. And without a second to spare and a plan in place, I write a letter.
Chapter thirty-nine
Sam
On tired feet and legs, I drag myself out of my office chair after a long, exhausting day. Granted, most of my job involves sitting and listening to patients talk about their lives. Then me trying to help and guide them through their problems.
My work is mostly mental, but that doesn’t mean, on certain days, those patients don’t weigh heavily on my mind. Also, our computers and phones went down, which was a major inconvenience. Talk about stressful.
Needless to say, I am looking forward to heading home and relaxing with a pizza, some scotch, and maybe a movie with Mikey.
I say goodbye to my workmates, their laughter and chatter fading into the distance as I walk to my car. My heavy footsteps echo against the pavement as I try to make a decision about my evening plans. I pull out my phone and shoot a text to my son.
Me: Hey. How about pizza and a movie tonight? Unless you have other plans.
Which wouldn’t surprise me. His social life is much more robust than mine, even when Cara was in the picture.
Plus, lately, I have been introducing Mikey to the movies that I loved growing up or were released long before he was born. I want to show him one of my favorites tonight.Men in Black. So I hope he doesn’t have anything going on.
I swiftly slide my phone into my back pocket as I reach my car, parked in its usual spot, resting beneath the shade of the tree. For some reason, I never want to park anywhere else.
Well, I know the reason.
This spot will forever be associated with Maria, particularly the sight of her walking into work in those darn pink scrubs.
I shield my eyes from the blinding glare caused by the sun shining through the branches onto my face. As I wave goodbye to one of my workmates, who’s parked a few spots away from me, I hit the unlock button on my key fob. The familiar chirp of my car unlocking fills the air.
“Looks like you might have gotten a ticket,” she yells to me.
A ticket? Did I hear her right? What in the world could she be talking about?
“A what?” My voice echoes as I holler back at her.
She points, which directs my attention to the windshield. Something’s pinned under the wiper.
What the heck?
“Thanks!” I wave back to her as she gets in her car, and I reach to grab whatever this is. I know we are allowed to park here. This is a shared lot between the hospital and the office building. The one Maria used to work in.
Unless they changed the parking arrangement and now this spot is off limits. A host of thoughts are running through my head as I lift the wiper blade and retrieve the white envelope without giving it a second glance. If it’s a parking violation ticket from the hospital, it’s strange that it would be in an envelope. Honestly, I’m too tired to care.
After the day that I’ve had, I don’t want to deal with it, so I open the car door, get in, and throw the envelope into the passenger seat. Just then, my phone vibrates. It’s Mikey.
My Cool Kid: Sure. Sounds good. No plans for me.
After ordering the pizza, I toss my phone into the car’s center console, ready to put this day behind me.
“So, K just goes and lives his life after reconnecting with his woman?” Mikey asks as the credits roll onMen in Black.
“That’s right.”
“And now J is going to take over?”
His excitement about one of my favorite movies is clear, and it brings a smile to my face. “Yep. So, you liked it?”
“Heck, yeah! It was awesome. Is there a second one? I want to see what happens.” He stands, picking up the empty pizza box and our two soda pop cans.
