The Calling by Ashley Willis

without scaring Mandy. He swallowed, and said, “After my sister died, she lost touch with reality.”
    “Dementia?”
    He nodded, though that wasn’t the whole truth.
    Mandy’s voice softened. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
    Justin shrugged. “That’s why I don’t talk about my parents much. My mom’s institutionalized, and my dad pawned me off on family after she was committed.” There, he’d revealed his past. Well, part of it. Eventually, she had to learn everything about him, including things no one but his dad knew. The thought made him want to shut down, but he wouldn’t, not with her. He’d waited too long for a woman like Mandy.
     
    * * *
     
    Mandy sensed Justin’s tension; though she wanted to ask how his sister had died, she swallowed the words, deciding it was better to stick with less painful memories. ”Who raised you?”
    “My grandparents until I turned fourteen, and then my Aunt Grace.”
    Good lord, in four years, he’d lived in three homes. Mandy’s dinner suddenly sat heavier in her stomach. “They treated you well?”
    “Aunt Grace drives down from Houston once a month just to bring me a homemade apple pie.”
    Mandy chuckled. “She loves you.”
    “Yes, she does.”
    “Good.” He deserved to be loved.
    After a few seconds of silence, she glanced at her watch and was surprised by how much time had passed. “You realize the movie started an hour ago.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “What’s your point?”
    “Nothing, I’m just sayin’.”
    “You in a hurry to leave?”
    She swirled the red wine in her glass, sending the rich scent of clove and cherries wafting through the air. “Not at all.”
    Mandy scooted down in the booth, slipped off her shoes, and stretched her toes. With Justin for a dinner companion, she could stay there all night. In fact, she was so relaxed that sometime during the evening, Ty had become a distant memory, which was odd, given that he’d taken up a large space in her brain since his visit. Well, dang, she was thinking about him again, but more with curiosity than confusion, probably because she’d resolved never to get back with him no matter how much he begged.
    As she slid her heels back on, she asked, “Did you and Ty talk after I took off with my sister?”
    Justin nodded. “He wanted to know if you and I were buddy-buddy again. When I didn’t answer him, he glared at me while I ate.” His expression turned smug, as if he’d enjoyed pissing off Ty.
    Mandy was careful to show no emotion, though she was disturbed by how fast those two had gone from ‘ I got your back ’ to ‘ Don’t turn your back ,’ all because of her. If Ty had confided in Justin the way he had with her in her apartment earlier, would they still be friends? The possibility made her ache.
    “Do you think you and Ty will ever become friends again?”
    He grimaced as if he’d just bit into a lime. “Hell, no.”
    “What if he didn’t leave me for the reasons you thought he did?”
    Justin leaned forward. She thought he’d been hanging on her every word earlier, but he now appeared to be one giant listening ear. “What are you talking about?”
    She took a deep breath, afraid to darken the perfect mood of their date. But if telling him about Ty’s visit could possibly repair their relationship, she was game. “Ty came over today.”
    Justin tilted his head slightly, his face emotionless, but a fire sparked in his eyes. “What’d he want?”
    “To talk.”
    “About?”
    “Why he left me.” She squirmed uncomfortably in her chair, realizing the conversation could easily go south. She chose her next words carefully. “He said he watched his dad die of cancer, and he was afraid to watch me die, too.”
    “You believed him?”
    “Why wouldn’t I?” Justin studied her, as if deciding on her level of gullibility. When he said nothing, she asked, “You don’t believe him?”
    “I lived with him for two years. I know the kind of shit he can pull.”