George just nodded. Did anyone enjoy reading a self-help book about obsessive-compulsive behavior? And if they did enjoy it, did they admit it to anyone? “Thank you.” He tookhis package and headed for the door but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
“Mr. Emerson?” Collin sounded urgent and his eyes looked troubled. “Will you be home this afternoon? Any chance I can talk to you during my lunch hour? I mean, if you’re not too busy.”
“I’m not too busy, Collin.” He smiled. “Feel free to pop on over if you like. You can meet my new cat, Baxter.”
Collin solemnly thanked him, promising to come at noon. As George left, he wondered if this might be related to Collin’s mother. Josie had a knack for bringing out the worst in her son, but George had hoped his little talk with her might’ve helped some. Still it was an odd and awkward relationship between mother and son. And George felt sorry for Collin. Such a sensible young man with such a flibbertigibbet for a mother. As he waited to cross the street, George checked his watch. He had just enough time to get a bag of kitty litter and make it home before Collin came to visit.
George had just freshened Baxter’s litter box when Collin arrived. He introduced Collin to Baxter then offered him lunch. “I usually just have a peanut butter and honey sandwich, apple, and milk,” he admitted as he washed his hands. “If that suits you.”
Collin shrugged. “I guess so. I’m not too hungry.”
“Go ahead and take a seat.” George nodded to the dinette by the window. “While I fix our lunch you can tell me what’s troubling you.”
After a long silence, Collin spoke. “It’s Marissa. She broke up with me.”
George sighed as he spread peanut butter. “I’m sorry to hear that. Marissa seems like a very nice girl.”
“I thought so too,” Collin said glumly.
George wasn’t sure how to proceed. He was no expert on things of the heart. “Did you two have a disagreement of some sort?”
“No, no, nothing like that. It was all very civilized.”
“Oh?” George cut the first sandwich in half.
“It all started after we left the gallery show on Friday night. Marissa and I went to Common Grounds as planned. And everything was perfectly fine ... until this guy came in. Then she started to act pretty weird.”
“Weird?” George cored the apple, sliced it into neat eighths, and placed four pieces on each plate.
“Weird as in sort of flirty and silly—not how she normally acts. But it was all toward this guy named Marcus Schnell. He used to go to Warner.”
“I remember that boy. Didn’t he graduate a year or two ago?”
“Yes. He just finished his first year of college at Oregon State, but he’s home for the summer. Anyway, I guess he and Marissa had been friends in high school. More specifically, Marissa had crushed on him since she was fifteen. But they never dated or anything.”
“I see.” George set their plates and paper napkins on the table then went to get the milk glasses. No sense in telling Collin that Marcus had been a good student, well liked by everyone.
“For some reason, Marcus was being extra friendly to Marissa, and she just ate it up. I felt pretty much invisible.”
George returned with their milk and sat down, waiting for Collin to continue and wondering what he could possibly say to encourage this young man.
“Anyway, Marissa ignored my texts on Saturday. Then she called me on Sunday morning to say she was breaking up with me. Naturally, I asked if it was because of Marcus. She admitted that she went out with him on Saturday night. So just like that I’m yesterday’s news. End of story.” Collin had real tears in his eyes.
“That must’ve been very hard.” George took a bite of his sandwich, slowly chewing and wishing he had some words of comfort.
“What do I do, Mr. Emerson?” Collin used the paper napkin to blot his tears.
George swallowed, then took a sip of milk.
“Do you know how it feels to get your heart broken?” Collin looked desperately at him. “Have you ever been through anything like this?”
“Not exactly like your situation, Collin. But I did get my heart broken ... when I lost a girl ... the love of my life.” George felt surprised that he’d actually admitted this to anyone. He hadn’t spoken of it for decades.
“What happened?” Collin’s eyes grew wide.
George thought hard. Was he really ready to tell this story? But seeing Collin’s pain, the tears in his eyes, George began. “Well, you see, I fell in love with a girl in college. Laura Vincent. She was beautiful ... inside and out. I’d admired her from afar for a whole year before I got up the nerve to ask her to get a coffee with me. I couldn’t believe it when she accepted. It was autumn. My senior year. Laura was a junior. We were both serious students and we dated steadily for the whole year. We had a few ups and downs, just little misunderstandings, but we were both in love. I asked Laura to marry me a few weeks before my graduation.”
“And she said no?”
