talk about?” I asked, trying
to keep control of the conversation.
“Why don’t we start with something easy? Can you tell
me one of your happiest memories as well as one of your most unhappy memories?”
The effects of the whiskey were loosening my defenses.
The second one hit me doubly hard. Daniel had followed me here, but it couldn’t
have worked out better for my cooperation. I don’t know if I’d feel the same
way sober and in his office, but at the moment, I would tell him anything.
Everything. Yet, I was still in control enough not to tip my hand. “Okay.” I
nodded coolly.
“Great. Which would you like to start with?”
“That’s easy. They’re both the same day.”
The server had been refilling Daniel’s coffee as I
spoke. When he heard my response, he swung back to me with narrowed eyes. I
never felt any sort of satisfaction having Dr. Wallace’s listening ear, but
knowing Daniel was attentively hanging on my words fueled my desire to share
them.
“Really?” There may have been skepticism behind his
guise, but who could blame him?
I went on to recount the day my baby brother, Noah,
was born when I was around seven. The day I lost my beautiful mother as a
result of amniotic-fluid embolism. The day that forever changed the course of
my life.
From as far back as I could remember, I’d planned to
be exactly like her. When she died, my naïve aspirations of continuing as a
mother to Noah and developing into a woman she’d be proud of were short-lived. I’d
been cut off at the knees by a reality I hadn’t yet understood.
“My mother was the heart and soul of the family. The
goodness. The rock. All the clichés rolled into one, and when she was gone, it
was like everyone else had become ghosts, too.”
I stared off into the darkness, watching the traffic
from a nearby street, wondering how many of those people were truly happy. How
many of them felt broken like me. Was I so beyond repair?
“And what about your father?” Daniel’s words took a
full minute to travel through the darkness and reach me.
I turned with an empty smile. “Well, Dr. Harrison. I’m
afraid that’s all the time we have for today.”
“That’s my line.” He chuckled. “It’s fine, Gray.
You’ve had quite a day today.”
“Oh, this is nothing.” I squinted a genuine smile at
him.
“Would it be too presumptuous of me to order you a
coffee? I don’t like the thought of leaving you like this.” He nodded to my
empty glass on the table.
“Considering men usually presume to buy me drinks,
I’ll take this as a positive gesture.”
“Great,” he said, waving down the waitress.
After he ordered the coffee, I said, “I’m a big girl,
Daniel. You don’t have to stay and babysit me. And I don’t live far from here.”
“Okay, I’ll be in touch.”
He stood, brushing my arm to get by the table. Before
I realized it, I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Daniel?” The contact from
his skin shot a bolt of electricity through me, sobering me faster than the
coffee. Somehow that touch put me at ease as well, and I couldn’t bring myself
to let go.
His eyes caught mine, unable to hide his surprise and
concern. I released his hand, and my body registered the immediate loss.
“I…wanted to say thank you. For everything.”
He nodded and then walked away.
An hour later when I left, the bar jumped in full
swing. I kept my focus on the door and walked briskly until I reached the exit.
I’d been in that lot dozens of times at night and most of them alone. Safety
was not my concern. Yet, something came over me as I walked to where my car was
parked. An enigmatic feeling floated in the air around me. I stole a few
glances up and down the aisle preceding me, and that’s when I spotted it. A shrouded
figure sat in a car a few spaces down from mine. I couldn’t be sure, but the
car looked familiar. Against a dark backdrop, I imagined Daniel sitting,
waiting, ready to watch over me.
CHAPTER
to keep control of the conversation.
“Why don’t we start with something easy? Can you tell
me one of your happiest memories as well as one of your most unhappy memories?”
The effects of the whiskey were loosening my defenses.
The second one hit me doubly hard. Daniel had followed me here, but it couldn’t
have worked out better for my cooperation. I don’t know if I’d feel the same
way sober and in his office, but at the moment, I would tell him anything.
Everything. Yet, I was still in control enough not to tip my hand. “Okay.” I
nodded coolly.
“Great. Which would you like to start with?”
“That’s easy. They’re both the same day.”
The server had been refilling Daniel’s coffee as I
spoke. When he heard my response, he swung back to me with narrowed eyes. I
never felt any sort of satisfaction having Dr. Wallace’s listening ear, but
knowing Daniel was attentively hanging on my words fueled my desire to share
them.
“Really?” There may have been skepticism behind his
guise, but who could blame him?
I went on to recount the day my baby brother, Noah,
was born when I was around seven. The day I lost my beautiful mother as a
result of amniotic-fluid embolism. The day that forever changed the course of
my life.
From as far back as I could remember, I’d planned to
be exactly like her. When she died, my naïve aspirations of continuing as a
mother to Noah and developing into a woman she’d be proud of were short-lived. I’d
been cut off at the knees by a reality I hadn’t yet understood.
“My mother was the heart and soul of the family. The
goodness. The rock. All the clichés rolled into one, and when she was gone, it
was like everyone else had become ghosts, too.”
I stared off into the darkness, watching the traffic
from a nearby street, wondering how many of those people were truly happy. How
many of them felt broken like me. Was I so beyond repair?
“And what about your father?” Daniel’s words took a
full minute to travel through the darkness and reach me.
I turned with an empty smile. “Well, Dr. Harrison. I’m
afraid that’s all the time we have for today.”
“That’s my line.” He chuckled. “It’s fine, Gray.
You’ve had quite a day today.”
“Oh, this is nothing.” I squinted a genuine smile at
him.
“Would it be too presumptuous of me to order you a
coffee? I don’t like the thought of leaving you like this.” He nodded to my
empty glass on the table.
“Considering men usually presume to buy me drinks,
I’ll take this as a positive gesture.”
“Great,” he said, waving down the waitress.
After he ordered the coffee, I said, “I’m a big girl,
Daniel. You don’t have to stay and babysit me. And I don’t live far from here.”
“Okay, I’ll be in touch.”
He stood, brushing my arm to get by the table. Before
I realized it, I reached out and grabbed his hand. “Daniel?” The contact from
his skin shot a bolt of electricity through me, sobering me faster than the
coffee. Somehow that touch put me at ease as well, and I couldn’t bring myself
to let go.
His eyes caught mine, unable to hide his surprise and
concern. I released his hand, and my body registered the immediate loss.
“I…wanted to say thank you. For everything.”
He nodded and then walked away.
An hour later when I left, the bar jumped in full
swing. I kept my focus on the door and walked briskly until I reached the exit.
I’d been in that lot dozens of times at night and most of them alone. Safety
was not my concern. Yet, something came over me as I walked to where my car was
parked. An enigmatic feeling floated in the air around me. I stole a few
glances up and down the aisle preceding me, and that’s when I spotted it. A shrouded
figure sat in a car a few spaces down from mine. I couldn’t be sure, but the
car looked familiar. Against a dark backdrop, I imagined Daniel sitting,
waiting, ready to watch over me.
CHAPTER
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