Page 10 of Trusting Trey
“Apology accepted. Okay, hit me with some good books. I’m ready to broaden my horizon and party like it’s 1999.”
I took a deep breath and launched into the titles, wishing he’d be the one to broaden mine.
September 27
13 Years Prior
I looked at my watch and tapped my toes on the floor. It was after four and the library was only open another half hour. I blew out a breath and pulled a Coke out of my bag, drinking it, lost in thought. Last Sunday Trey and I had hunted down books for the rest of the afternoon, but then he got a page from the hospital and had to take off, before we could exchange numbers. I’d been obsessed with going back to the library this weekend to see if he would be there. Loukas had strict instructions to give him my number if he came in, but she hadn’t seen him this week. I looked at my watch and knew in the half hour until we closed, the chances of seeing him were slim.
Good thing I had plenty of studying to do this weekend. It wouldn’t look odd or pathetic if I spent hours at the library. I’d keep one eye open for a certain blue eyed, brown haired Shorty McShort Shorts while I was at it.
“Okay, Miss Desperate, now that you have that worked out, what’s for dinner?” I asked the empty room. I had eaten lunch late and wasn’t starving. Maybe I should go to the student union and get dinner there. I hadn’t bought groceries in forever so that was my only option if I didn’t want macaroni and cheese, again. Glancing outside, the sky was getting dark, and the street lights had already come on. I had heard the dreaded S word on the radio this morning, but it was still too warm. Worst case scenario it would rain rather than snow. I grabbed my raincoat and shrugged it on. I pulled my campus cafeteria card out of my wallet and stuck it in my pocket, gathering the rest of my things. I could catch a bus up to the campus, eat, and then walk home. Even if it was raining, it was a short jaunt to the house. Since Daphne wouldn’t likely be there until late tonight, or early tomorrow morning, I would have the shower all to myself.
I waved at Loukas as I pushed through the door and came face-to-face with the pair of blue eyes I had been dreaming about for the last week.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing my arm so I didn’t tip over. He had a pile of books under his arm and a grin on his face. “I was hoping to run into you, just not literally.”
I laughed softly. “I’m glad I didn’t leave a few hours ago, like I planned. I was hoping to run into you, too.”
The smile on his face grew at my admittance and he pointed into the building. “I need to return these books, but would you like to get a cup of coffee or something?”
“I would love to. I haven’t eaten since lunch, so maybe a cup of a coffee and a sandwich?”
He nodded, the hair that lay smoothly on his forehead, bouncing with the action. “Let me return these and we can go anywhere you’d like. I have my car, but if you don’t want to get in a car with a strange guy, we can walk.”
“It’s going to rain. I think I’m safe. If Loukas sees me leaving with you she’ll alert authorities if I don’t report to her within three hours.”
He laughed, his cheeks turning crimson, and pointed at the door. “Fair enough. Let me return these.”
I held the door for him and he went through with the books, his feet light as he walked to the return desk. He put them in the receptacle and turned back toward me. Loukas stood behind the desk, her hands on her cheeks doing ‘the scream’ pose, and then pointing at her watch. I gave her one nod to let her know I would check in with her afterward, to prove I wasn’t dead.
He walked over to me and took my laptop bag then held the door for me. “Your friend must think I’m some kind of serial killer,” he said as we walked to his car. He drove a sensible Subaru all wheel drive wagon, with what looked to be a cross-country ski rack on the top. I guess he was preparing early for snow.
“Loukas and I have been friends since I was in second grade. She was in fourth grade at the time, but we didn’t care. We were best friends immediately and have stayed that way ever since. She graduated ahead of me and took a job here, but we still see each other nearly every day.”
He held the door open for me and I sat in the seat. He closed the door and ran around to the other side as a deluge of rain began. He slammed his door and shook his hands, wiping them on his pants.
“Isn’t Loukas a guy’s name?” he asked as he turned over the car and turned on the defroster to fight the rain and humidity in the air.
I held one hand out. “Technically, yes, but when she was born hermahad some issues and they told them they wouldn’t have any more children. Herbabahad been hoping for a boy who would be Loukas Junior. When they told him she was all they would have, he bestowed her with the name.” I rubbed my hands together. “So, where do you want to go? I asked as he pulled away from the curb and headed down Superior Street.
“Our options are limitless. I was thinking Drakos Agape. I love their gyros there.”
My breath caught in my chest and I had to cough to release it. “I was thinking a burger or pizza.”
“That’s easy enough. We have Pizza Lucé or the Brewhouse at Fitger’s.”
I tapped my chin. “It’s going to be quiet at The Brewhouse. Let’s go there.”
“Sounds great. I love their wild rice burger,” he said, as we drove down Superior Street.
I expected the streets to be emptying out as it got darker earlier, but it seemed no one wanted to give up on summer just yet. The lampposts had come on, throwing ambient light across the bricks under our tires. I could still remember the first time I walked down Superior Street with my dad. At five I could barely holdBaba’shand without stretching, but I remember how exciting it felt to be walking past all the shops with beautiful window displays at Christmastime. Most of those shops were gone now, but the memory never faded away.
“You’re lost in thought,” he said, pulling into a parking place at the curb.
I turned to him and smiled. “Just remembering the first time I walked down Superior Street withBaba. I grew up here, and you would expect it to seem ordinary now, but the memories are extraordinary and that’s why I remember them vividly.”
I noticed his shoulders sag a bit and he looked past Fitger’s to the hospital. “It sounds wonderful to have memories like that.”
