“You’re in a good mood today,”Amy said after our last conference call of the day ended. “Is Joe coming this weekend?”
“No, I’m going to see him. Only he doesn’t know it yet.” I grinned, almost feeling my cheeks crack from the excitement. After all the anguish of another month of failed plans, this time, I wasn’t giving the universe the opportunity to screw us over again. In fact, my car was already loaded with Halloween decorations I’d picked out for the tour. My plan was to take the subway home, grab the bag I’d already packed, and drive to Ocean Cove. Three hours of traffic alone didn’t bother me in the least, especially since this time, I wouldn’t be running away in a rage. Knowing where I was heading, and who I was headed to, excited me so much my knee bobbed like I was an impatient kid on Christmas.
“Oh, sorry,” Amy gasped when she knocked over my shopping bag from this afternoon. “Wait a minute.” She laughed as she picked up the spilled contents of the bag. “What isthis?”
Covering my eyes, I yanked the purchase I’d made on my lunch hour out of Amy’s hands. It’d been two long months without Joe, and I wanted to give him the best reunion I could. After sifting through a sea of lace and G-strings, I settled on a crotchless, barely-there one piece. He could appreciate the whole package without having to worry about peeling anything off to get inside me.
“Now, that’s what I call good weekend plans!” She dropped the shopping bag on my desk and turned to leave. “See you on Monday.” She stilled and glanced at me over her shoulder. “Maybe.”
A laugh, carefree for a change, bubbled out of me when I noticed my phone buzzing across the desk. Smiling at Joe’s photo on my screen, I snatched it up and pressed the green button, so giddy that in only a few hours I’d see him for real that it was pathetic.
“Hey, Joe. What’s—”
“Hey, baby. I didn’t know if you were still at work, so I called your cell. I have to leave tonight, and I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance to call you.”
I stilled as my stomach sank to the floor under my desk. Aside from the crushing disappointment, Joe’s short and flustered tone had me frozen with worry. “What’s wrong?”
“My grandmother took a bad fall. She’s fine, only a few stitches, but I’m the closest one since she lives in New Jersey. My mother and sister are coming down late tomorrow afternoon, but someone needs to keep an eye on her until then. We’re all staying until Sunday night. Eighty-five-years-old and still lives alone. She’s stubborn as hell.”
“So, that’s where you get it from.” I tried to make my voice sound light, but I was sure Joe could hear the crack at the end. Hopefully, he was too distracted to notice.
“Like you should talk,” he teased. “Are you okay? You sound a little off.”
“Nope,” I answered shrilly, my effort to sound cheery unsuccessful. “All is fine. You’re a good grandson.” My eyes landed on the bag of fancy underwear on my desk, and, although this cancellation was no one’s fault, I still wanted to put my fist through the shiny material and tissue paper and forget how all my joy had disintegrated in a matter of minutes.
“When she’s settled, I’ll call you. We need to talk about what we have to do for the tour.”
I fought the urge to scream as I was reminded of all the pumpkins and light up spider webs I’d piled into my trunk last night. I wanted to do this with him. I wanted tobewith him. Yes, I knew long-distance would be difficult but not impossible.
“Sure.” My gaze wandered around my empty office, feeling more alone than I had in months.
“Caterina, what’s going on? You don’t sound like—”
“I’m fine. I just really miss you.”
“You have no idea how much I miss you. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
I ended the call, my face falling into my hands as hot tears of frustration pricked my eyes. Grabbing my phone again, I scrolled my contacts for Megan’s name.
“Hey, girl! Did you get on the road yet?”
“He’s not there, so I’m not going. But I don’t want to go home. It’s still warm enough for the rooftop bar on 51ststreet. Can you meet me there?”
“Sure, sweetie.” The genuine sympathy dripping off her voice made me feel even worse. “I’ll meet you there at 5:30.”
“Thank you.” I stuffed the bag into my desk drawer and headed out, hoping a drink and a friendly ear would fill the gaping feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“You’ve had some bad luck,” Megan reasoned as she pinched the stem of her happy hour wineglass. “It happens.”
“Two and a half months of bad luck. How long can we keep this up? This is exactly what I was afraid of.”
“I grant you, you’ve gone longer than I thought you’d have to without seeing each other, but I still like the effect Joe has on you.”
“What effect is that?” I slammed my glass down on the table. “He’s reduced me to a mopey, sad girl who keeps listening to eighties ballads on a continuous loop and wastes money on expensive underwear she’ll never use.”
“Aw, babe.” She patted my hand. “Give the underwear a chance before you throw it out.” An unexpected giggle slipped out at her arched brow. “He’s still supposed to come to Brooklyn for your cousin’s engagement party in a couple of weeks, right?”
I took a long pull of my fruity half-priced cocktail and nodded. “So far.”
