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“Popcorn?”
He nods.
“Who doesn’t like the smell ofpopcorn?”
“Kara, apparently.”
I see it on his face that he’s uncomfortable talking about her again, and I hate it. It makes me wish there was something I could do to reassure him.
Instead, I turn my attention back to the movie and we continue to watch in silence. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s cheesy. I’ve judged its cover a million times while searching for something to watch, and don’t feel too disappointed that I’ve skipped it until now.
The only sounds in my living room for an hour and a half are the crunching of snacks and the opening of cans. I’m so used to doing this alone, but I find myself really enjoying his quiet company.
I’m disappointed when it ends, not ready to say goodbye for the night. I almost want to ask him what movie is next, but I don’t know if that’s too presumptuous. He might be tired, might have to work early tomorrow. I’d feel rejected despite his reason, so with that in mind, I decide not to say anything.
I’m nervous to look over at him, worried that he’ll take that as his cue to go. To keep myself from doing so, I pretend to be interested in the credits that are now on the screen.
I am not reading a single word of it.
My beautiful, wonderful, amazing cat picks this exact second to jump into his lap and start kneading. That means in less than sixty seconds, she’ll curl up into a big, fluffy ball and claim him as her bed. I know for a fact now that she is on my side, despite our struggles with her chewing on my phone chargers.
I’malmostwilling to completely let go of the fact that she’s ruined three of them.
“I guess Elaine doesn’t want you to leave yet.”
He runs his hand down her fur, from her head to her butt and continues to repeat the motion.
“I told you she’d love me,” he says with a smirk. “I won’t leave then, unless you want me to?”
I shake my head. “No. This is nice.”
He smiles in agreement, and we pick out another movie.
10
Autumn
Ican’t even begin to imagine what the inside of Miles’ house would look like. His old apartment had a hand-me-down couch and a couple posters on the walls. Does his mom help him decorate now? Does he decorate at all? Are any of Kara’s things there? I don’t even know if he bought it before or after the divorce.
These things keep me up at night. Well, they would if I had initially thought about them last night instead of this morning. I know it’s his day off, because we stayed up late talking while I tried to get some chapters written.
He distracted me enough that I finished exactlyone.
The first couple hours after I woke up were spent making up for it, and I’m very satisfied with my work by the time ten rolls around.
“Hey, A.”
I make a face at that, and I amwellaware he can’t see me.
“Where’d that come from?”
“I’m not sure, it just came out.” He chuckles. “I don’t have to use it again.”
“No, no, no. I liked it. Please use it again.”
“Okay, then I will.” I really enjoy being able to hear the smile in his voice.Ugh.“What’s up?”
“I haven’t met your dog.”
