Aiken
“How ya doing?” I sat down across from Abbie at a dingy diner a little over half an hour away in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
“Glad you came. I know Professor Richards saw you out last night with Allison.”
“She did, and I gotta be honest, she wasn’t happy. She couldn’t quite understand how you and I came to know one another. And I gotta wonder if there’s more to the story than you’re owning up to.”
Before going to bed last night, I’d messaged Abbie on Facebook. I felt like a stupid asshole, too old for that kind of shit. My life was moving in a different direction.
The whole time, I couldn’t get Claire out of my head. Claire in my arms on our trip, talking about the shower heads, us moving in, the way I felt. I really wanted that—to be with Claire forever.
Somewhere between coming to Podunk, Pennsylvania, to find my mom and getting closer to doing it, I’d fallen for the woman next door.
I needed to fix shit, so I’d asked Abbie if I could come meet with her…farther from campus. Meeting up with her anywhere near campus could have ended up backfiring, and I didn’t dare risk it.
Claire’s house was dark when I left early this morning, and I figured she needed space from me, in addition to nursing her hangover. That didn’t mean I didn’t leave with a heavy heart and a looming sense of doom.
“Look, I can’t tell you everything right at this minute,” Abbie said. “Just know I have a vested interest in you finding your mom.”
A waitress interrupted us. “Can I get ya anything?”
“Black coffee and whatever she’s having.”
“Green tea and oatmeal.”
I didn’t plan to stay long enough to see Abbie eat all of it. If she wasn’t going to cough up information, or even attempt to be transparent about her motives, I was leaving.
“I don’t really get what your interest is. I mean, I know Allison’s dad knew my mom. But that doesn’t necessitate you getting this involved, stalking me, to tell me what I already know. My mom was a pain in everyone’s ass. And now I show up in Centre, and it’s like every townie is worried about where she is. You’re from there too? Are you worried?”
I’d already done some Google sniffing and knew she was from Centre, but I still needed answers.
“Yeah, my dad worked over in the Economics Department until two years ago when he retired.”
“Did he know my mom too? How did you even get on this jag with me? This is fucking crazy.” The last part was a whisper.
I began to resent sitting in this greasy-spoon diner across from this blonde, who thought she held the keys to my success, hating that she could insert herself into my shit.
“I don’t think so,” she said while turning to grab a few sugar packets, her face hidden.
Strange that she didn’t make eye contact, but I didn’t call her on it. Rather, I stuck that tidbit in my back pocket for a later day. I needed to try to gain an advantage. My male ego was at risk of crumbling like a stale roll.
The waitress smacked my coffee down in front of me, the hot liquid splashing around the coaster. “Cream?”
I shook my head.
She set Abbie’s tea down more gently and walked away.
“Look.” I ran a hand over my chin, my scruff almost a full beard. I made a mental note to trim it when I got home. “You’ve been very nice, seeking me out, making the connection with Allison’s dad, but neither of you have anything concrete to say. I’m making some progress in cracking the code on my mom. I found an old email account of hers, and I think she’s posted in some chat rooms, so I’m getting close.”
“Oh yeah? Tell me.”
“Not now. If you’re going to keep your cards close to your vest, so am I. I’ll tell you this: Keep Claire outta this shit. I know you’ve taken a shining to her, and that’s fine, you want to be teacher’s pet or whatever.”
I stood, tossed a ten on the table, and walked away. Normally, I wasn’t as big of a dick, but I was pissed. These two freaking coeds knew something I didn’t.
They were hiding something.
Fuck ’em.
