“Yeah, but it’s better than nothing.”Salzy doctored his coffee.“Where’s Joesph?”
“He’s about to jump into the shower.”
“What’s happening today?”
Jamie told him what Joesph had said about the things that were to happen that day.Salzy nodded along as he sipped his coffee.
“And I have a date tonight,” Jamie blurted out after a few moments of silence.
“Oh, thank God,” Salzy breathed out.“I hope you get laid.Watching the two of you is downright painful.”
“Who said it was with Mike?”
“Yeah, right.”Salzy looked at Jamie, hard.“You’re not fooling anyone but yourself.”
Jamie sighed.“Okay, it is with Mike.”
Salzy leaned in, propping his elbows on the table, his coffee cradled in his hands.“He’s a decent guy, from the short amount of time I’ve known him.I can...like read people.I’d trust him.”
Jamie concentrated on his own coffee.
“Give him a chance, Jamie.What have you got to lose?”
Jamie looked at Salzy.He felt as if he couldn’t take a deep breath.“My heart.”
* * * * *
“Why do I have so manyclothes?”Jamie said to himself as he crammed the hanging clothes into the closet.
“I’m home,” Joesph called out as he entered the apartment.
“I’m in here,” Jamie called out.“I’m almost done.”
Joesph appeared in the doorway to the bedroom.He looked around.“Uh, Jamie...what’s with all the boxes stacked in the corner?”
“There wasn’t any other place for them.”Jamie turned and closed the closet door.
“What’s in them?”
“Mostly kitchen stuff.Odds and ends.”
Joesph sat on the bed and patted a place next to him.
Jamie sat down, pushing the sweat-soaked hair off his forehead.
“Jamie, darling, that kitchen in there is yours now.There is a place for your stuff.”Joesph put a hand on his friend’s back.“At some point, you will have to let go and...live your life.”
The tears seemed to just appear and rolled down Jamie’s face.“Why is this so hard?”
Joesph pulled Jamie close.“It’s hard losing those closest to you.Nothing in life is easy.You will get through it.Do it at your own pace.But...remember, you have a long life ahead of you and you deserve to be happy.Theywould want you to be happy.”
Jamie wiped his face with both hands.“Thank you.”He let his hands drop into his lap.“I know you’re right.In my head, I know you’re right, but” —he pounded his chest with a fist—“in here...in my heart...it feels broken.”
“And that is completely normal, Jamie.”Joesph rubbed small circles on Jamie’s back.
They both sat there in silence; the only sound was the oscillating fan moving warm air about.
“What time is your date?”Joesph asked.
