Page 111 of The Close-Up
“Oh god, I’m sorry!” he says, his face twisted in worry. “It’s my first night at this job, I’ve never been a server before. I’m so, so sorry, I—”
I let out an understanding sigh and force a small smile. “It’s okay. Really, don’t worry about it.”
Tamara puts a gentle hand on my arm. “Bathroom’s just down there,” she says, nodding to the end of the nearby hallway.
Once inside the women’s restroom, I clean up with paper towels and walk back out.
And then I hear Simon’s voice behind me.
My heartbeat stutters as I turn around and see him standing six feet away, right in front of the men’s restroom, his blazer-clad back to me. I’m about to walk over to him when he pivots to the side and I see he’s on the phone.
I purse my lips, and stand off to the side behind a giant decorative vase that separates the entryways between the men’s and women’s restrooms. I don’t want it to look like I’m creepily listening to his phone conversation.
Closing my eyes, I take another deep breath. This is it. As soon as he’s off the phone, I’m going to tell him I love him. My body is vibrating with how close I am to him.
“Uh... I don’t know how Naomi’s doing, Grandma.”
My eyes fly open at Simon’s words. He’s talking to his grandma. About me.
He lets out a heavy sigh. “I do. More than anyone I’ve ever been with.”
I gasp, then immediately cup a hand over my mouth. My mind runs the gamut of possible questions Simon’s grandma asked him about me.
Do you care about her?
Do you want to be with her?
Do you love her?
Even though I can only hear one side of the conversation, I fixate on that last hypothetical question. Because that’s what I hope. That Simon loves me, just like I love him.
I spin around and peek at him around the giant vase. His back is still to me.
“It doesn’t matter,” he says. “She didn’t want to... It’ll be fine... I’ll figure out a way to get over this.”
My eyes well up at the defeat in his voice. My throat aches to speak, to tell him that he doesn’t need to get over it—get over me—that I don’t want him to. Because I love him.
But I can’t tell him that, not while he’s talking to his grandma.
Yet the more seconds that pass, the more that sinking feeling at hearing his broken voice cuts me. He’s already given up on me—and I need to do something to change that ASAP.
I take a breath, step out from behind the vase, open my mouth, and am promptly interrupted by a wave of shouts.
“What the...” I mutter while cupping my hands over my ears. I spin around to where the sound is coming from.
Behind me a group of people chanting and clapping marches in the direction of the party room that Cole and Tamara have reserved. The six-member group of people dressed in all black formal wear start belting out an a cappella version of Tony Bennett’s “The Way You Look Tonight” in deafening multipart harmony, just a few feet away from where I’m standing.
Cole and Tamara beam. Tamara’s eyes glisten while Cole sways along, grabbing her hand in his. The melodic sound thunders around me as I stand there and observe for the next minute. How the hell can six people make such a thunderous, collective noise?
My head spins. I need to think of a plan B. I spin around, determined to grab Simon by the arm and drag him outside so I can tell him without any interruptions that I love him and want to be with him.
But he’s not standing there anymore. Where the hell could he have gone? I’m contemplating busting into the men’s bathroom when I realize that he probably went outside because he was on the phone and it was too loud in here with the music.
I sprint down the other hallway, in the direction of the entrance. Rounding the corner, I spot him outside, just a few feet in front of the glass doors. His back is to me and both hands are at his sides now, which means he’s done talking on the phone.
Yes! No more loud noises, no more interruptions. I can finally tell him how I feel.
I’m reaching for the door handle when Simon turns around. The second his eyes lock on mine, I start to smile. But when I focus on his expression, my smile drops. Instead of opening the door and running to him, I pull my hand back to my side and stay standing in place.
