It’s on the tip of my tongue to invite her to meet Franklin. To show off the house I’ve worked so hard on. Maybe catch up in a more private setting.
Would she say yes? Would I want her to?
“Darcy.” It’s sharp. Tinged with annoyance. But as soon as Darcy turns to Allison, her friend gives her a smile. “I really wanted to talk to you. About something that happened at work. If you wouldn’t mind…”
To me, Allison adds apologetically, “Sorry to interrupt. But I really need Darcy’s advice. Unless… MaybeIshould leave so you two can talk more.”
“Oh no,” Darcy replies. “It’s okay. I’m sure”—she glances at my table, where Ari, Cash, Shea, and Oliver are sitting—“Mike needs to get back to his friends.”
“I probably should,” I agree, even as a pang of disappointment stabs into my chest. “And I should let you two get on with your night.”
“Yeah.” With a soft sigh, Darcy adds, “It was nice talking to you, Mike. I’m sure I’ll see you around town.” A beat, and then, “I don’t go out much aside from work. But…”
“I’m sure I will.” Before I can do something stupid like hug her, I take a quick step back from the table. “It was good to meet you Allison.”
Lie. It really wasn’t. She had that predatory gleam in her eye I’ve seen from some of the other single-and-looking women in town. And apart from that, I really don’t appreciate how she cut into the conversation as soon as she realized I wasn’t responding to her advances.
Allison gives me a cursory nod. “Same.”
As I take another step back from the table, Darcy says, “Enjoy the rest of your night. And drive safe heading home. The weather report says we might get sleet and snow tonight.”
Darcy always used to say that. Drive safe. It’s a small thing, but no matter where I was driving, whether it was just across town or back to the U of Albany campus, she never failed to say it. And I always made sure to call her the second I stepped through the door, so she wouldn’t worry any longer than she absolutely had to.
“You too,” I reply. “Drive safe.”
Then I turn and walk back to my table, fighting the urge to turn around the entire time.
Once I take my seat, I let myself be pulled back into my friends’ easy conversation, listening as they chat about upcoming events and Cash and Ari’s daughters first dance recital and Shea’s newest article in the New York Times. Instead of jumping in, I’m content to be the quiet bystander, nodding andmmhmmingat appropriate times.
If I’m honest with myself, I don’t have the mental energy to do more. Seeing Darcy has me unsettled in a way I wasn’t expecting.
Heading over there, I thought I might be bitter after talking to her. Or alternatively, I might discover she’s changed, and the attraction I once felt for her was gone.
But neither are true. I don’t feel bitter. I just feel… sad. Because there was still something there, at least on my side of things. A draw I haven’t felt towards anyone else, even my ex-wife.
I’m not sure how much time goes by before Cash says, “Well, I think we should be getting home. Looks like the snow is picking up out there. I’d like to get the babysitter home before it gets too bad.”
Glancing out the window, I’m surprised to see a steady downfall of large flakes, already an inch thick on the ground.
Oliver pulls out his wallet and slaps some cash on the table. “Yeah, good idea.”
I sneak a quick look at Darcy’s table. It’s empty.
Disappointment slams into me again, though there’s no rational reason.
“She probably wanted to get home early, too,” Ari says. “She’s all the way out on Sleepy Hollow Road. That road gets pretty messy when it’s snowing.”
I freeze as I’m just about to get up from my chair. “She lives out there?”
“Yeah, at her parents’ old house. After her mom passed, she left it to Darcy.”
I knew Darcy’s mom had passed a few years ago, but by then, Mrs. Hamilton was living down in Florida and I assumed the house had been sold. But if Darcy’s living there now…
“That road is pretty shitty in the snow,” I agree. “I hope she has all-wheel-drive, at least.”
I shouldn’t be worried. Darcy grew up driving in the snow, just like me. She’s more than capable of getting safely home.
But as we all head towards the door, shoving on coats and hats as we go, I wonder if she still remembers all the little tricks after living in California for so long.
