Page 84 of Afternoon Delight
She actually wasn’t on speaking terms with her mom, but she smiled and murmured, “Good, thank you.”
Dad took back the figurine and set it inside the cabinet.
“Did I miss a text?” I asked her.
“No. I, um... I came over for a job interview, actually. I wanted to see you before I drove home.”
“Oh. That’s big news.” It landed like a kick in the stomach. Was this how Dad felt all the time? I was reaching for thoughts and coming up empty. “Lemme buy you a coffee. Dad, I’ll be across the street, but Roddie is here.”
Roddie was standing in the office doorway, his backpack gone. He was pretending to read his phone while shamelessly eavesdropping.
I opened the door for Erica.
“I should have called first,” she said as we walked to the corner to cross. I usually dodged traffic like a bolting deer, but I didn’t expect her to risk her life like that.
“It’s fine. You’re not interrupting anything.” My shoulders tingled as I said that. I wondered if Meg was watching us.
“How is he?”
“Dad?” I shrugged. “Zara took him to a day group on Sunday. She said it was tough because he didn’t really want to be there and a lot of the people were a lot further along.” It had upset both of them to glimpse Dad’s future. “He’s still pretty independent, so I’m mostly here to turn off the stove when he forgets. We have our moments, but we have some laughs.”
I thought of our road trip to Leavenworth, which had been entertaining in its low-key way. We’d talked and joked about that old trip that had been such a disappointment after Disneyland.
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot.” Erica paused outside the coffee shop door. “Feeling terrible for the way things ended.”
“I don’t blame you for setting boundaries.” Her ability to do so was hard-earned. She had reasons for not speaking to her mother. “It’s okay. We’re okay.”
“Are we?”
For some reason, the way she was looking at me had my chest feeling chewed by thousands of ants. I opened the door to the coffee shop and waved her in.
It was quiet, just a pair of women at a window table. One was pushing a stroller back and forth while the other showed her something on her phone.
“Hi, Zak.” Ali paused in her scrubbing to greet me with a smile. “The usual?”
“Just mine. And a scone to go.”
“We only have cranberry muffins left.”
“That’ll do. And...?” I looked to Erica.
“A latte with an extra shot, half oat, half almond milk, and a shake of cinnamon.”
Meg would be appalled.
I paid, and we sat down in the back corner, where there was a hint of privacy.
“Tell me about the job interview.” Why are you here?
“I’ve been watching for something since you left. This one is in maternity. The interview went well. Decent salary and a really good benefits package. No nights.” She widened her eyes to emphasize what a bonus that was. “I thought I’d see if I could picture living here. And see...” Her shoulder hitched. “...where we stood.”
Where did she think we stood? I’d sent a bunch of my stuff to storage and still paid my half of the mortgage, but we’d closed our joint accounts.
The sensation in my chest grew itchier and more compressed.
“Nothing has changed on my side. I still have to live with Dad.”
“I know, but if I was living and working here, we could see each other at least.” She leaned forward a little. “I know we rushed into living together, but we also rushed into breaking up. I really miss you, Zak.”
