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13
Frank
Caroline was so proud, handing me an ice cream cone.
“I remembered it was your favorite.”
I agreed and thanked her, reminding her that it was her favorite as well. Her cone was almost gone and mine was melting at a rapid clip. I took it to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl, wiping my hands. It was just like her to think of me, and it melted my heart. She was such a sweet kid.
Caroline was full of all kinds of information that she wanted to give me. What they had done that day and how much she had enjoyed it. I was hopeful that I would be able to get a little time to go see Amber later. Caroline was talking a mile a minute, and I tuned out for a few. She noticed and asked me what was wrong.
“Nothing, Caroline. I'm glad you had a good time. Thank you for the ice cream. It's exactly what I needed.”
In truth, it was getting all over me and it even got on the cuff of my sleeve. I tried to wipe it off because I didn't have time to change into something else before another meeting, but that bright blue color wasn't coming off.
“I'm sorry I got it on your shirt.”
I waved her off and told her that it wasn't a big deal. She also wanted to ask a bunch of questions about Halloween that was coming up. I didn't know what to tell her because my mind was on the woman that had gotten away.
“We will just have to see. Have you thought about what you're going to wear? What you want to be this year?”
She said that she didn't know, and I was finishing up my ice cream. I told her that I would see her back in a little bit, but I had a meeting that I had to go to first. I got the same questions about why I had to go to a meeting at all. I was used to them when Caroline was home, but they still bothered me. I wished that I didn’t have to work so much, but running my own business took time, and that time had to come from somewhere.
I promised that I'd be back as soon as I could and made my way to the other side of town for the meeting.
I let work go by the wayside when I was engulfed in Amber for the week. Not only did I need to find time to make it up to her, but I also needed to find time to make it up to my clients, as well.
When it started getting late, I told my client that I just needed to go. I was used to running late with clients, but I wasn’t used to being as antsy as I was feeling lately. Usually I would stay and have a drink, but tonight I had no patience for work.
It was late whe I called my house to see if Caroline was still up. When I found out she wasn’t up anymore, I was relieved, in a way. That meant that I could go see Amber without too much guilt. I knew that Amber was a bit unhappy with me. She knew that something was going on and I had not really acknowledged it. I was going to have to at some point, but a big part of me was afraid that it would somehow ruin what was going on between us. To me, that was probably the last thing I wanted to happen.
I called her and she didn't answer. I left a message, but finally I just went down to see her. Her grandfather’s house wasn't too far from my own. Then I would be able to focus on something else. Right now, all I was focused on was her.
When I got down to her house, her car was in the driveway, and I was just going to take that as a sign. I walked in after nobody answered. I figured that she didn't hear me knock. I didn’t feel too weird about doing it, since I was quite familiar with the house, even after all the years that had passed since I’d been in it.
Calling out her name as I walked in, I looked around and saw that there was swaths of cloth everywhere. She had been busy, but what she was doing I had no idea. At least she wasn't packing everything to leave like she had been the last time I was there. I was so afraid of her leaving, but I knew that if she knew my secret, she just might. That was at the root of why I stilled my tongue, even though I wanted to share all of my life with her.
When I finally found her, she was in her old bedroom and she had even more cloth thrown around in there. I asked her what she was doing, and she had been so involved with whatever it was, that she jumped when I finally spoke. She hadn’t even heard me come up or anything. She was obviously completely enthralled in whatever it was she was doing.
“God, you scared me! I didn't know you were standing there. You can’t sneak up on people like that!”
I apologized for scaring her, and she just waved me off like it wasn't a big deal. Considering how much she had jumped, I felt like it was. I wondered why she was so jumpy. What was she thinking about so hard that she had reacted in such a way?
She was on the bed, hand sewing something together, and I leaned down to give her a kiss. She kissed me back, but it wasn't sweet like it usually was. She was holding back, and I could taste it. Why, though, I didn’t yet know.
When I asked her what was wrong, she just shrugged.
“I've just been busy. I tried to get ahold of you a couple of times, but it seems like you've been busy, too.”
“Work has been crazy.”
“I hear ya. I work a lot, too, but I don't usually work every single night. I didn't know that I wouldn't see you anymore once you started back to work. Do you always work like this?”
“Do you?”
I motioned to the work that was in her hand at that very moment. She waved me off and said that it was only to keep her mind occupied.
“All I'm trying to do is forget. What's your excuse?”
