Page 5 of Fall Twice

“Will your wife or fiancée meet us later?” she innocently asks as she stirs a spoon in her mug.

I raise my eyes and run my tongue along the inside of my mouth. “Nah, she’s kind of history.”

“Oh.” Lena looks down at her drink and then back to me. “Sorry, I just kind of assumed since I remember seeing something once. Your social media isn’t exactly the source of many clues.”

I smirk because she’s right. “It’s okay, you didn’t know. Tamara and I broke up about a year and half ago.”

“Weren’t you two together for quite a while?”

“Four years, yeah, but she didn’t want to get married in the end, soc’est la vie.” I place my drink on the side table. At that moment, I notice that Lena is missing an accessory that I was expecting on her finger. “You seem to have lost a ring.”

She gulps the small cookie that came with the coffee. “That’s because I did. I got divorced recently.”

My entire body freezes for a second or two as my brain adjusts. I was planning to catch up with Lena, as the guy whose life is gray and her who is very much taken. That expectation now went out the window.

“It’s okay,” she assures me. “He’s off to Tokyo for work soon, and he won’t be taking our son with him. Actually, we’re on good terms.”

I slowly nod in understanding. “Can I ask why it ended?’

“Oh, uhm… maybe I’ll fill you in over alcohol sometime,” she chortles. “Anyway, I’m actually moving here due to my job. I had no idea you lived here until two days ago, so that was a fun plot twist.”

Jesus, what is the universe throwing at me? I haven’t been waiting for her, but something about this puts me on edge. “Here?” I point down to the floor. “As in Hollows?”

She sucks her spoon then pulls it out. “Yep.” She pops the P. “Good schools and easy commute. That’s why I’m here for a few days, to sort out the relocation.”

“Right.” It comes out faintly from my end. Internally slapping myself, I know I need to not let my thoughts stray. “Your… son?” I remember seeing a photo of her and her son at his birthday on social media, a rare one, as she doesn’t post much of him.

Lena smiles because she knows we’re both digesting these new facts that we discovered about each other. “Oscar is a star. He just turned six and doesn’t seem fazed by this change of situation. I did promise him a turtle or frog, so maybe that plays a role.”

I scratch my thumb over my chin. “Amphibians sometimes do the trick.”

A thick silence overcomes us as we stare at one another. For a moment, I remember another time when we met at party then realized we were in the same political science class together. We became two people who studied together in the library and fucked like crazy at night.

And even though I knew it was a fine line, I let us continue for a year. Never making it official and never giving a promise. We were friends first, or lovers—truthfully, it blurred, but we weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, that’s for sure. But God, we cared for one another.

Every now and then I would wonder if she got the life she wanted. I knew she was meant to be a mom and marry a man who wanted to settle down. Back then, I wasn’t the guy for her, and she wasn’t what I wanted or needed. We weren’t even going to stay in the same state. Doesn’t mean she didn’t linger in my thoughts throughout the years, a constant wonder that I just never understood.

Now she seems lost yet content as she plays with that damn spoon. “September is a good month, October and November even better. I like that this place has a ginger theme.” She randomly speaks as if she’s trying to fill the shift in our air.

“I remember.” I bring my hands behind my head. “You would dance in the leaves.”

Our eyes catch, and I notice she swallows. “I did… So, tell me, Mr. Professor, what else have you been up to?”

“Nothing crazy. I taught down in Georgia and here I am now. It’s a great university here.”

“Not too pretentious?” She raises a brow because for the most part I’m laidback, and I hate anything that resembles the life my parents lead.

“Not unless you have dinner with the dean. Okay…” I clap my hands together. “So you’re moving here.”

She weaves her fingers through her hair, and I notice the earrings she’s wearing are little flower studs. “I am. I looked at a few places today, found a townhouse. I can’t deal with a normal house now, the idea of mowing grass after years of never doing it is a tad too much. Plus, the subdivision has a communal playground, gym, and pool. I’m going to sleep on it then probably put a deposit down tomorrow. I need to visit the elementary school to register Oscar, but that’s just boring stuff that you don’t need to know.” She looks away.

“Where are you staying?”

“The inn on the edge of town. I fly back at the end of the week. Where do you live?”

I grin proudly. “I got a great apartment in a historic building that I’m 100% positive you would say is a cliché professor address, but it fits the bill.”

“I’m not going to say it’s cliché unless you tell me you drive an old convertible.” My face cracks, and she bursts out in laughter when I don’t answer. “Oh my God, you really are going all out on this.”

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